Diagnostic Service

Aims of the service

“Every Step Together”: Our aim is to provide a diagnostic service that is individual- and family-centred, strengths-based and connects people to ongoing supports that meet their needs.

We are providing a lower cost private option in which people seeking a diagnosis pay a reduced fee to access autism assessment and diagnosis. This will help alleviate access barriers Autism NZ identified in research on autism diagnosis in New Zealand. In particular, wait times through the public system and cost barriers through the private system.

We have worked closely with the autistic and autism community, District Health Boards and private practitioners in development of this service, as well as ensuring it aligns with recommendations from the New Zealand Autism Guideline.

Wider aims

To increase professional capacity and expertise the service also hosts professional development opportunities related to autism diagnosis. Autism New Zealand hosts yearly workshops on autism assessment and diagnosis and provides autistic authored information resources.

The service is also a teaching-based facility for Victoria University of Wellington Educational Psychology interns. We provide internship opportunities for master’s students to gain diagnostic experience under the supervision of experienced practitioners thereby broadening the autism specific clinical workforce.

Meet the team

We have a multidisciplinary team involved in our service.

• Lead Psychologist – Kristy Haslam
• Educational Psychologist – Kate Garland
• Speech-Language Therapist (SLT) – Michelle Stevens
• National Research and Advocacy Manager (Service Lead) – Larah van der Meer
• Research and Advocacy Advisor – Lee Patrick
• Intern Educational Psychologists (through the Victoria University of Wellington Educational Psychology training programme)

Who can access the service?

We will prioritise access for children under 5 years as well as adults 18 years and over who are querying a diagnosis of autism. This is based on findings from Autism NZ autism diagnostic research which identified increasing access to diagnosis for young children and adults as two key areas of need.

We do also assess some children up to 10 years. Our aim is to increase this scope over time and offer diagnosis for older children and adolescents, as we know this can be a critical period for diagnosis.

Only those living in the wider Wellington region are eligible to access the service in person. Over time we will look to increase this to other regions and possibly using online Zoom consultations.

We will also consider whether assessment for conditions other than autism (e.g., ADHD) is more appropriate. If this is the case, another service might be more suitable, and we will help you to access an alternative service if this is needed. 

When will the service run and how many people will be assessed?

The service runs two days per week on Tuesdays and Fridays. 

The service has limited capacity. We can conduct 2-3 diagnostic assessments per week given the limited funding and time available. The aim is to increase this capacity over time.

Please note: We are currently fully booked for 2023. We have also had to close our waitlist for 2023 due to very high demand for the service. 

If you would like to go onto a mailing list to be contacted regarding any changes to our service or when our waitlist reopens (this will not be until late in 2023) please indicate this in an email and provide your name, phone contact, and the name and age of the person seeking an assessment.

Alternatively, you may want to look on the Community Links page which provides alternative diagnostic options. 

How much does the assessment cost?

The service is provided at a subsidised rate.

Standard Assessment: $1,200 (incl. GST).

Our standard assessment for autism follows recommendations from the New Zealand Autism Guideline and involves observation, interview, and standardised assessment. It includes a report with outcomes from the assessment.

Complex assessment: $1,200 plus $85 per additional hour (incl. GST).

In certain situations additional assessment is required to rule out or identify other possible diagnoses (e.g., developmental delay, ADHD). If, following the initial interview, we feel that further assessment is necessary, we will discuss the reason for additional assessment, what it will involve, as well as provide a quoted price.

Please contact us if this cost is a barrier. We can work with you to see how we can support access to diagnosis.

Acknowledgement of our funders

The following funders have provided grants to support the diagnostic service:

• IHC Foundation
• Sutherland Self Help Trust
• Lottery Community Sector Research