Private assessment

Going private is an option families consider when a wait stretches into years. The NHS itself names paying for an assessment outside the NHS as a route, and a good private assessment applies the same diagnostic criteria as an NHS one.

The thing to check before spending money is what happens to the report afterwards. Some NHS services accept private diagnoses, some ask for their own assessment, and GP GP Your family doctor. For many families the GP is the first person to talk to, and the person who refers your child on to a specialist. Read the full definition of GP practices are not obliged to act on a private specialist's recommendations. That matters most where medication is involved, for example ADHD ADHD ADHD is a difference in the way a child's brain works. It affects how they pay attention, how much energy they have, and how easily they act on impulse. Read the full definition of ADHD shared care. Schools can act on the needs a private report describes whether or not anyone accepts the diagnosis.

So before you book, ask your GP how a private report would be handled locally, ask the school the same, and ask the provider who would carry out the assessment and what standards they follow. This is a different route from Right to Choose Right to Choose In England, when your GP refers you, you can usually choose which NHS provider you go to. Some families use it to find a shorter wait for an autism or ADHD assessment. Read the full definition of Right to Choose , which is an NHS referral referral When a professional passes your child on to a specialist team for assessment or treatment. A GP, school or health visitor can usually make one. Read the full definition of referral to a different NHS-commissioned provider and costs you nothing.