Frequently Asked Questions

Why do people seek a private assessment?

People seek a private autism assessment with us for a range of reasons, but the predominant reason is the long wait for an NHS assessment.

NHS waiting lists for autism assessment continue to grow as services struggle to find the capacity to meet the increasing demand. There are currently 157,579 open autism assessments on NHS lists across England, an increase of 16% since September 2023. With March 2023 seeing 11,827 new NHS referrals for an autism assessment and completing only 8,122 it is no wonder that some areas are seeing waiting lists of up to 4 years.

Many individuals and families seeing other barriers emerge, such as pathways not being open to the under – 5’s or suggestions that referrals are only accepted for people at crisis point.
Some of our clients also experience a lack of understanding of autism from front line professionals being an issue, for example refusing to refer a child ‘because they have eye contact’ or misdiagnosing an adult with personality disorder.

Our prime mission is to improve access to quality autism assessments. You do not need a professional referral to access us, and we can usually get your autism assessment started within a week.

What is the autism assessment process?

You can find our process for under 18’s here and over 18’s here.

What is the cost of an autism assessment?

The cost for a full autism assessment and professionally compiled report with recommendations and feedback session is £1995.

What are the symptoms of autism?

Every autistic individual is different and so is the way that their autism impacts them. You can find out more about the characteristics of autism here.

Will a private autism diagnosis be recognised by the public sector?

As the NHS waiting lists grow, more and more people are accessing private assessments. There is no reason that a public body would not accept a private assessment, as long as it has been completed robustly. You can find out more here.

Can I undertake an assessment online?

Autism assessments for certain age ranges can be completed online with confidence that the outcome would be comparable to a face to face assessment. Read more here.

What do people say about their assessment process with you?

Read our adult client’s experience after getting an autism diagnosis here.

Or take a look at our reviews below

Becky

a week ago

Great process from start to finish. Everyone very professional and were brilliant with my daughter.

jill

3 weeks ago

Extremely efficient from the first phonecall to getting the final report. Katie who assessed our son face to face was very knowledgeable and made us feel at ease. This report confirmed what we already knew, we would 100% recommend Veritas if you are thinking about using them for your child's assessment.

Dani

4 weeks ago

Thank you to all at Veritas in helping me get my diagnosis. Dr Duncan, Katie and Leoni were exceptionally kind, understanding and compassionate. I’ve learnt a lot about myself and about Autism in general. Thanks for making this whole process infinitely less stressful than I thought it would be and I would recommend your services to anyone in need of a diagnosis.

Alexander

a month ago

Amazing service, enquired for my 2 year olds autism assessment on a saturday lunchtime via the website. By Tuesday we were all booked in for the assessments the following week. Jo and the team have been fantastic throughout the process and the knowledge they have is far greater than any Nhs service ive ever seen. If you are struggling getting help then Veritas is the way to go

johanna

a month ago

Fantastic from start to finish

Beccy

a month ago

It's a hard decision when trusting someone to do your child's autism assessment, but you are in very safe hands with Veritas. The whole process was stress free and easy to navigate. The wealth and knowledge in the team at Veritas is vast. They are so experienced in the field of autism, especially with girls. We are so happy we chose them for this important task. We would highly recommend Jo and her team!

Alice

a month ago

Would recommend Veritas to anyone who is looking for an ASD assessment. The process was clear, efficient and I felt fully supported the whole way through. The team reply quickly and really do what they can to help and make your experience the best it can be. The assessments were very thorough and to a high standard. Thank you so much.

Kelly

2 months ago

From the initial point of contact all the way to our feedback appointment at the end of the process, every member of staff has been incredibly helpful and supportive. The entire Veritas team have answered any questions we've had incredibly quickly and the members who carried out our assessments were incredibly knowledgeable and helped us get the diagnosis we need for our son. I'd highly recommend Veritas to anyone who is looking for a private autism assessment to be carried out. The whole process for us took less than 2 months vs the incredibly long NHS wait where we are!

Andy

a month ago

When we were told the waiting list for an assessment was going to be 2 years on the NHS we started researching companies to do private assessments. Having found and read about Veritas we felt comfortable going with them and that the report would be acknowledged by school and other institutions. Throughout the whole process Veritas were fantastic. They were prompt in their communications and explained what the steps were clearly along with timelines. I think overall the process took about 4 weeks and we were well looked after throughout.

Stuart

2 months ago

I have been doing things my own way all my life and I am 66 next week. In May 2024, by absolute chance, I was invited to fill in a questionnaire about empathy and I discovered I might be autistic. The NHS didn’t want to know me and refused an assessment. I still wanted to know one way or another, so I contacted Veritas for help. From the start, I was treated with respect, kindness and understanding. Lauren, Leonie, Katie and Duncan were amazing and the whole assessment and report only took 16 days, with a review appointment 2 weeks later. I cannot thank all of you enough for the wonderful way you treated me and the sensitivity shown to me, a retired bloke looking for an explanation of who I am. I thoroughly recommend Veritas for a caring, professional and detailed assessment for the older person. You looked after me so well and the final result of being autistic has given me great relief and encouragement to enrich my life using my many strengths. Thank you so much, Veritas. Stuart Stares.