Autism assessment for women

Have you had a sense of feeling different your whole life? Confused as to why you've always felt so anxious? Maybe friendships don't feel that easy? Does socialising exhaust you?

Could you be autistic?

Do you have intense meltdowns and/or feel explosive at times when overwhelmed?
Do you prefer socialising when you have a clear 'role'? Maybe you have a tendency to sit back, listen and follow? Or maybe the total opposite and you prefer to take charge, make the plans and struggle following others?
Does surface level socialising feel awkward and do you prefer more deeper, detailed and interesting conversations?
Contrary to inaccurate stereotypes, are you extremely empathetic, to the extent that you seem to have a sixth sense and feel things others don't seem to feel.
Do you have routines and rituals and struggle when things change?
Does repetition soothe you? Body movements or listening to the same songs on repeat, staring at something beautiful for long periods of time, speaking certain words/sentences over and over, watching the same film or reading the same book?
Maybe you're highly sensitive to noise, lights, fabrics, smells which you've learned to mask and cope with, but can lead to overwhelm and shutdown.

You've likely looked for answers and possibly been diagnosed with anxiety, depression, bi-polar or even ADHD, but they have never fully explained your experiences.

Sadly, it's often burn out that leads women to look deeper for answers about who we really are. Maybe that's where you're at.

We specialise in autism assessments for women just like you.

We understand that you want an autism assessment that is thorough and robust so you can be confident in it. We also know that you need to be taken through the process by kind, understanding and accepting clinicians who 'get you'.

We are both those things here at Autistic Women - experienced and thorough in our work as well as kind and compassionate with our clients. Many of us have lived experience of neurodivergence in our lives.

To see whether there are enough indicators for a full assessment and for you to see whether our service suits you, book a 30 min screening call.

Book Your Screening Call Here

Our process is extremely thorough and meets the criteria within the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) for autism assessments. But we don't just diagnose, we go the extra mile to help you really understand yourself, once and for all.

Our assessments are meaningful, not just a tick box, diagnostic exercise.

By the end of the assessment, you'll have more clarity about your differences and the support you need at home and in work, if relevant.

We want to help you in feeling confident with who you are. After all of this time not knowing why you feel so different, it's the least you deserve.

The first step is to book your 30 min screening call and we can take things from there.

Wondering if you might eb ADHD as well? have a look at our AuDHD assessments for women page.

We offer online or in person assessments, our in person assessments can take place either at or HQ in Cheshire or in Central London. Find out more about assessment locations.

Frequently asked questions

You will complete some questionnaires and forms. Some are online and some are paper copies sent by post.
You’ll ask someone who knows you well (ideally who knew you as a child and/or someone who knows you well currently) to complete a form and questionnaires.
You’ll then meet one of our supportive clinicians online or in our lovely Knutsford room (you can choose unless we feel that one is highly preferable than the other for you). This takes approximately 2/3 hours for an autism or ADHD assessment and 5/6 hours if combined. A combined assessment will likely be over 2 separate sessions but could be in one session with breaks incorporated. You can be alone or have someone there for support if that's helpful to you.

Not necessarily, no.

For adults, the most important information for diagnostic assessments are internal experiences. In other words, how you experience social situations, friendships, work, emotions, sensory environments and so on. How you behave isn’t a great indicator for whether you are autistic and/or ADHD. This is especially the case for autistic women like you who have learned to hide and mask your differences over their lives so far.

So, if being face to face will mean you’re more comfortable then we advise that. If you’re more comfortable online and in your home, then have an online assessment with us.

We can chat about this in more detail in your free screening call.

That’s totally ok. We expect many of the women coming will find it hard to speak and express themselves at times during their assessment.

Firstly, we will help you to feel as comfortable as possible. If at home, we encourage you to have anything that helps to relax - blankets, fidgets, fizzy drinks, whatever.

If in our office, we encourage the same – bring a bag of your comforts.

Secondly, we encourage you to be in anyway that feels comfortable to you. That may be walking around, lying down, bouncing, rubbing your hands/fingers, blinking hard, stroking your pet, whatever it is for you. We know you've likely you’ve learned to mask and not show these things, but our assessments are a place where you are fully accepted to be as you are. We have 'quirky' ways to help us feel comfortable too.

Thirdly, there are alternative ways that you can express yourself without always needing to speak. You can write, draw, text by phone, type on a laptop etc.

If you are semi-verbal, please do let us know at screening/registration as we have some clinicians who very specialist in helping you with alternative communication so we will pair you up appropriately.

Whilst we know that you’ll want to know as soon as the assessment session is completed whether a diagnosis will be given, we don’t tell you straight away and for good reason.

It’s really important for your clinician to reflect and review all of the assessment information and then bring it to our team meeting to discuss.

When we have concluded, your clinician will then arrange your feedback session. They will tell you in that session and you can use the time however you would like.

You can ask about the assessment details that led to the conclusion, or you can talk about what that means for you and how you are feeling – a chance to process your initial emotion. Or you can ask about practical ways that you can best support yourself at home and how to share your diagnosis (if given) with others, including your work colleagues. Or a mix of all of the above.

We are here to support you in this process and that final feedback session can be tailored to your needs. You can have someone with you for support if you choose.

After your feedback session, you will be emailed your detailed report and a 1 page letter with your diagnosis/es, if given.

You can show the report/letter to any health professional, employer etc as proof of your diagnosis. You don’t need to tell them, you can simply show your report/letter.

You will also receive details of our post diagnosis partner services if you're wanting continued support following assessment. We work closely with our partners so they're like an extension of Autistic Women, with the same values as us.

Yes, absolutely. Our expertise is in assessing those who mask or camouflage and who experience autism and ADHD differences internally rather than necessarily showing it in their external behaviour. This is often due to conditioning and common in those assigned female at birth and identify as a girl/woman, trans, non-binary.

Please contact us directly if you have any questions or queries.

Whilst we cannot predict the response of every health authority and employer, it is our belief that most accept diagnoses from assessments that meet NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) guidelines and are led by experienced clinicians.

Our assessments meet NICE guidelines. They are thorough and carried out by a highly specialised MDT (multi disciplinary team), including a Clinical Psychologist and Speech and Language Therapist.

We gather relevant information from numerous sources.

We are expert at assessing autism and ADHD in women as well as ruling in or out other possible neurodevelopmental/learning/mental health/trauma issues that might co-occur or explain your differences.

Along with your detailed report, you will receive a ‘To whom it may concern’ letter that you can take to any authority. This letter is formal proof of your diagnosis/es, if given. It also gives legal protection as per the Equality Act 2010.