Service overview
Our team provides autism assessments for children and young people from ages 2½ to 17½ years. Autism is a lifelong developmental condition that affects the way people communicate with and relate to others, and make sense of the world around them.
Our team is made up of speech and language therapists, psychologists, occupational therapists, social workers, community paediatricians, specialist mental health practitioners, specialist nurses, assistant psychologists and administrators.
Our service works in a range of clinics across Berkshire.
Accessing our service
We provide support for children and young people aged 2½ to 17½ years who are registered with a GP in Berkshire.
We do not offer assessments for children under 2½ years of age and for young people aged 17½ years or over, please visit our Adult Autism Assessment service.
Support while waiting for an autism assessment
Preparing for an assessment
Once we get your referral, our team will look at it and send you a letter. If we think an autism assessment is needed, we’ll let you know and share details about support while you wait. If we don’t think an assessment is needed, we’ll explain why and suggest other ways to get help.
You’ll be invited to one of our centres. Two team members will meet with you, one will talk to the parent or carer, and the other will spend time with the child or young person.
The appointment lasts up to three hours. We’ll also look at forms and reports from others who know your child. Sometimes we can give feedback the same day, but we might need more information, like a school visit.
If autism is diagnosed, we’ll share tailored support options for home and school, including local autism-specific workshops, specialist advisory teachers (where available), and access to an online support network.
If autism is not diagnosed, we’ll discuss the young person’s strengths and differences and recommend other sources of support, such as other parenting workshops or groups.
Managing your health
Discover practical strategies to support children with their attention, activity, communication, sensory needs, emotions and behaviour.
Explore our pages about how professionals, parents and carers can identify when a child may need support for possible autism and/or ADHD, outlining the steps, support available before assessment, and the process for requesting help or making a referral.
Read our guide on what to do if you think your child may have autism or ADHD. It explains how to create a support plan, access help without a diagnosis, and when to consider an assessment.
Thinking About Possible Autism or ADHD
File size: 287KB
Anna Freud
The Anna Freud Emotion Wheel for Children is a simple, colourful tool that helps kids identify and talk about their feelings.
The Autism Page
A personal blog from a mum of two autistic boys sharing information, experiences, and support.
Autism Toolbox
A toolkit to support the inclusion of autistic learners in early learning settings, primary and secondary schools.
Calm and Connected
Provide mobile, clinical and online support to the adults surrounding a child, and teach the child how to address the foundational skills that affect our ability to connect.
National Autistic Society
Supports autistic people and their families with everything from running specialist schools, campaigning for improved rights and training companies on being more autism-friendly.
Contact us and FAQs
Erlegh House
Children and Young People Autism Assessment Service
Contact number: 0118 904 6425 Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm (excluding bank holidays)
Email: cypaatadmin@berkshire.nhs.uk
Post Address: RG6 6BZ
Location detailsDingley Child Development Centre
Children and Young People Autism Assessment Service
Contact number: 0118 904 6425 Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm (excluding bank holidays)
Email: cypaatadmin@berkshire.nhs.uk
Post Address: RG6 6BZ
Lower Henwick Farm
Children and Young People Autism Assessment Service
Contact number: 0118 904 6425 Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm (excluding bank holidays)
Email: cypaatadmin@berkshire.nhs.uk
Post Address: RG18 3AP
Location detailsWokingham Hospital
Children and Young People Autism Assessment Service
Contact number: 0118 904 6425 Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm (excluding bank holidays)
Email: cypaatadmin@berkshire.nhs.uk
Post Address: RG41 2XR
Location detailsSt Mark's Hospital
Children and Young People Autism Assessment Service
Contact number: 0118 904 6425 Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm (excluding bank holidays)
Email: cypaatadmin@berkshire.nhs.uk
Post Address: SL6 6DU
Location detailsFir Tree House
Children and Young People Autism Assessment Service
Contact number: 0118 904 6425 Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm (excluding bank holidays)
Email: cypaatadmin@berkshire.nhs.uk
Post Address: SL1 2BJ
Location detailsFrequently asked questions
Is an autism diagnosis needed to access support?
In Berkshire, many of the same services offered after an diagnosis are also available while your child is waiting for an autism assessment.
Support in school, and benefits such as Disability Living Allowance, should be based on the individual’s needs, rather than a diagnosis.
What happens if I choose to have a private autism assessment whilst waiting?
If you're considering paying for a private ADHD assessment, we would recommend you ensure that the organisation follows the NICE guidelines for assessment.
If you go ahead with a private assessment, please let us know so that we can remove your young person from our waiting list.
What should I tell my child or young person about the assessment beforehand?
If the young person is aged 14 or over, they must be told about the purpose of the assessment, and be able to consent to it. If they are younger, it's up to you whether or not you want to talk about autism with your child before the assessment.
Some families prefer to know the outcome before talking about autism with their child. If this is the case, you can explain that the assessment is to find out about them, including what they are good at and anything they find more difficult, so that people can give them the right sort of help.
What if I need to get in touch?
The quickest way to get in touch is to send an email to CYPAATadmin@berkshire.nhs.uk with your query. Please include your child’s name and date of birth (or NHS number if you know it), and one of our administrators will get back to you as soon as they can.
Please be aware that if you contact us via telephone on 0118 904 6425, your call may be diverted to voicemail. Please leave a message with the same details. Our administrators check messages at regularly and respond to calls in order of priority.
What is autism?
We can also help you with
Is there any information for friends, family and carers?
If you’re a family member/carer or you look after someone, there’s practical, financial, and emotional support available to you from a range of local communities and national organisations.
How do I request an interpreter?
We can provide language translation and interpretation support whenever you visit or contact us.
Tell our staff which language you prefer to use, and we will make sure the right communication support is in place for your assessment and treatment. Please let us know as early as possible so we can ensure the appropriate translation or interpreting support is available.
We offer a range of professional services to ensure everyone can understand and be understood:
- telephone interpreting
- video remote interpreting (VRI)
- face‑to‑face interpreting
- written translation
- British Sign Language (BSL) interpreting
How can I get information in an accessible format?
Anyone with a disability, impairment, or sensory loss has the right to receive information in a format that meets their needs. Under the Accessible Information Standard (AIS)—a legal requirement for all health and adult social care providers—we must ensure that people who use our services, including carers and families, can understand the information we provide and communicate effectively with us.
We can offer information in a range of accessible formats, including:
- British Sign Language (BSL)
- large print
- braille
- audio
- easy Read
- text message
- face‑to‑face support with a carer or advocate present
If you need information in any of these formats, please tell a member of our team and we will make sure your communication needs are met.
Are service dogs allowed to my appointment?
Yes. You are welcome to bring your registered service animal, such as a guide dog, hearing dog, medical alert dog, or other trained assistance dog to your appointment.
These animals are recognised as essential support and are permitted in most areas of our services.
To help us prepare, please let the team know before your appointment if you will be attending with a service animal. This allows us to make sure the environment is safe and comfortable for you, your animal, and other patients.
Please note that service animals may not be able to enter certain restricted clinical areas for safety or infection‑control reasons, but we will always work with you to find an appropriate alternative.
Treating our team with respect.
Respect is important.
We will be polite and kind and we expect that you treat our staff in the same way.
Abuse, hate and discrimination against our staff is unacceptable.
We will take strong action against anyone who is verbally, racially, physically, or sexually abusive to them.
This includes contacting the police to prosecute, and stopping future access to our healthcare services.
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