Diagnosis Guide

A simple step-by-step guide to obtaining an assessment for an autism diagnosis in New Zealand.

Following is a general step-by-step guide:

This process can vary between regions, depending upon your District Health Board.

View the diagnostic guide for​

Diagnosis Guide Category
  • Children
  • Adults

01. Take an online test

If you suspect that your child may be autistic, you may like to take a screening test.

02. Meet with your GP

If you would like to access a publicly funded assessment, you should book an appointment with your GP…

03. Publicly funded assessment – referral

GPs are able to refer children to a Developmental Paediatrician or another qualified clinician…

04. Publicly funded assessment – appointment

You will be contacted by the organisation you were referred to.

05. Private assessment – select a qualified clinician

Some families choose to see a diagnosis privately…

06. Assessment for autism (provided by a qualified clinician)

The clinician may be a Developmental Paediatrician, Child Psychiatrist, or Clinical Psychologist…

07. Additional services referral

Depending on the conclusions in the report, you may be referred for additional services.

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Autism Connect

Autism Connect Service.

Autism Connect App

The Autism Connect app is a video chat tool for connecting our community together. Created for autistic people and those who make up their support network – so that they can connect, share learnings and journey together.

For the safety of our Autism NZ users and online community, we require every user to be verified using photo identification. Our team may contact you via email and/or phone as part of the verification process, prior to issuing you a username and password to use the Autism Dashboard and requested services.

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