Background

Bird & Jones is an independent assessment service for individuals and families who want to better understand themselves or a family member. Primarily based in Bristol and the South West but also offering assessments in the East Midlands, we offer comprehensive, flexible and cost-effective assessments for children and adults that address your specific questions.  We use a range of evidence-based, internationally recognised interviews and observational assessments to ensure that the diagnostic outcome is robust and fully explained. 

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Our diagnostic assessments have historically focussed on Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and this is still the main body of our work. However, ASD is just one form of neurodiversity and we are often able to give an indication about other issues during a standard ASD assessment. More recently, we have started to undertake formal diagnostic ADHD assessments. Please note, however, that we cannot prescribe medication even if we give a formal diagnosis. If you think that you might seek medication for your child or yourself, it may be worth approaching a different service that has access to a qualified medical professional (e.g. a nurse prescriber, paediatrician, or child psychiatrist) rather than seeking this separately. 

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We now also offer smaller, discrete pieces of assessment work that can be commissioned in addition to (or instead of) a full ASD or ADHD assessment. This allows families and individuals to create a bespoke assessment to target their specific needs. We currently offer the following additional assessments, with more to follow:

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• Full cognitive assessments (adult or child) - WAIS-IV, WISC-5

• Assessments of Executive Functioning - D-KEFS

• ​ADHD Screening questionnaires - Conners 4

• Child and adult mental health and personality screening - MACI-II, MCMI-IV

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More information will follow soon.

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A tiered approach

If you are unsure whether to proceed with a full diagnostic assessment you can request an initial discussion, supported by some screening questionnaires, to clarify the best way forward. If you decide to progress to a diagnostic assessment, we will then convene a multi-professional team to complete the work. 

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You can also commission just one aspect of the assessment. This can be useful for those who are seeking insight for themselves, but are less motivated by obtaining a diagnosis. 

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Clarity, balance and independence

We work with a strong focus on balance and engagement.  We believe that persons with ASC profiles are differently abled, and identifying strengths as well as areas of difficulty is a key part of our approach.  

 

We operate from an ethical, evidence-based position. Our assessments must be independent of vested interest, aside from the best interests of the person under assessment.  In our experience it is essential to demonstrate the foundations of any diagnosis that we make, particularly if the person or family in question hopes to take the report to statutory services that may have preconceptions about the validity of independent assessments. 

 

Sometimes, our conclusions differ from the views of those who have commissioned the work. This typically happens when evidence emerges from the ADOS-2 and / or the school interview does not support the picture emerging from the parental assessment. We try to approach these situations with sensitivity, but with a consistent focus on the evidence that we have been able to gather.  

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Women and Girls

Historically, more boys than girls (men than women) have been diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Condition. More recently it has become clear that women and girls could be overlooked for a diagnosis because they don’t fit into a ‘male pattern’ of autism. Our approach is to recognise this evidence and have an open and flexible approach to assessment, whist maintaining rigorous standards. In the past two years since the  COVID-19 lockdown, well over half of our assessments have been of females.

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Pre School Children and children with learning disabilities

Assessing preschool children is a complex process. We believe that this work is best undertaken by a traditional multidisciplinary team, hosted within the NHS or a similar organisation. The assessing team must have strong links with nurseries and other relevant settings, and have the capacity to map a child's general developmental profile due to the wide band of 'normal' presentations in infancy. The same is true for children who have, or are suspected of having, significant additional developmental needs such as global learning difficulties or a language impairment. We cannot currently offer this type of intensive input, so our assessments focus on school-aged children with otherwise typical learning and language profiles. ​