How our FASD assessment and diagnosis process works
Having an assessment for Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) can help you understand why someone thinks, feels, and behaves the way they do.
We use a detailed two-part assessment to understand the full picture and give clear recommendations for support. We carefully consider Prenatal Alcohol Exposure alongside other possible causes such as childhood neglect, prematurity, drug use during pregnancy, and genetic conditions. This may result in a diagnosis of FASD, and/or other Neurodevelopmental conditions such as Autism, ADHD or Intellectual Disability.
Why is a diagnosis of FASD important?
Why is a diagnosis of FASD important?
Making a diagnosis of FASD is important for multiple reasons. The main one is, the single thing that we know keeps people healthy and well and prevents lifelong difficulties, is for them to understand themselves. If nothing else, their understanding of what they need, how to keep themselves safe, how to make a difference to their life comes from the diagnosis.
Now the issue with why not any diagnosis is for example a lot of people who will have FASD will have other diagnosis as well, for example ADHD, but they don't fit that group particularly. The thing that binds them together and that pulls all the different strands together is the FASD diagnosis, and for them, what they often will say to us and this is not my me saying it's other people saying it, is it helps them to understand themselves. It makes them being able to function in life better and that then has a longer term benefit. It also directs you towards treatment. It directs you towards support. It helps you then formulate the wider needs. It gives you access to services and all of those kind of things are vital in terms of somebody who is affected getting the right level of support so they can function in life rather than needing constant lifelong help.
Who we assess
We assess children aged 6 years and above, and adults of any age who may have FASD.
You must be referred by an NHS professional, such as a GP or paediatrician. We do not accept private referrals. We can accept private payment if your local NHS area will not fund the assessment, but you still need an NHS referral to access our clinic.
How the assessment works
The assessment has two parts:
You will visit us at Gatton Place in Redhill for a full day of assessments. Children should come with a parent or carer. Adults who are coming for an assessment and need support can also bring a parent or carer.
You’ll typically meet the following members of our team, not necessarily in this order:
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FASD Specialist Clinician to gather information from the person about their strengths and difficulties, as well as take some physical measurements
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Clinical Psychologist for cognitive and executive function assessment
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Speech and Language Therapist for a communication assessment.
We tailor the day to the individual’s needs and include plenty of breaks. We understand that new environments can be overwhelming, and we will support you throughout the day.
Please bring:
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Any hearing or visual aids
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Snacks and lunch (or money for local shops), including for yourself if you are a parent or a carer
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Sensory items or anything that helps the person being assessed feel calm and settled
About 12 weeks after the first appointment, we’ll hold two further sessions. These usually take place online, but if you would prefer this to be in person, please let us know. Someone who knows the individual well (e.g. parent or carer) should attend.
Part 2A involves questions about development and social communication. We use the DISCO (Diagnostic Interview for Social and Communication Disorders) to build a full developmental history.
Part 2B includes further assessments and feedback. There will be a summary of our findings, and you will have the opportunity to ask questions.
What happens after the assessment
We provide a detailed multidisciplinary report and care management plan for everyone we assess, even if the person doesn’t receive a FASD diagnosis. This outlines the person's strengths and needs, and what support they may benefit from, now and in the future.
We do not provide therapy. Instead, we make recommendations for local services to help them understand what is needed.
What happens if an FASD diagnosis is not given?
What can happen if our clinic doesn't give a diagnosis of FASD?
So sometimes it's not possible to give a diagnosis because information missing. And so if we don't know the alcohol history, if we can't find out, if the facial features are not there, you know, we sometimes just can't say yes, this is definitely FASD. People may want it, but we can't do it. It's not a safe diagnose to make. If for example there's a really strong genetic load that we've identified that may also contribute to it as well as the alcohol, you can't give a diagnosis.
So there are going to be times where we can't say this is FASD because there's more going on or there's not enough information.
What we will do is we will still give a comprehensive report. We will still help you understand the person. We will still give you information as how to help manage that individual and so they have a better quality of life. They can take it to their schools. They can take it to their wider health system and they can hopefully get access to the support that they need because they will look at the whole comprehensive presentation.
And so yes, I get the disappointment. Sometimes people come hoping for a label, but we have to be accurate. We have to do it properly. And if we can't give a label, there will be a good reason why we can't. We will still do our best to try and give as much help to that individual as possible.