Autism Assessments for Highly Masked Autistic Women
Lucy offers thorough, deep and intentional autism assessments for those seeking to better understand their experience of the world. These are in-person assessments for Melbourne-based individuals. They are designed for folks who are not seeking NDIS funding.
Before anything else, Lucy will have an initial consult with you via telehealth to make sure this service is right for you and whether it’s likely to be helpful. There will be no pressure to book the assessment during the consult, you can come back to me whenever you’re ready. The fee for the one hour consult is $220.
If we agree to go ahead, the assessment will occur in two phases. Scroll down for more details.
Fees for the first phase of the assessment are $1850. For most people phase one is more than adequate. Phase two is an additional $800. During the initial consult I will let you know whether I think phase two is likely to be helpful.
Please feel free to email with any questions. There will be no pressure to book a consult if you make an enquiry, so please get in touch with any questions that might help you make a decision.
Initial Consult
During this one hour consult, we will ask more about how you came to consider an autism assessment, and make sure that our style of assessing is the best pathway for you. We will be clear and honest with you about the benefits and limitations of the assessment, and refer you to other services if we feel that our way of working is not likely to serve you best.
At the end of the consult, I will share with you whether I think an assessment is likely to be helpful/a good use of your hard earned money. There will be no pressure to book the assessment at this time. You can come back to me at any point in the future if/when you would like to proceed.
Phase 1
Phase one starts with a clinical interview which is 3 hours long, in-person. During this time we will work through the criteria according to the DSM-V, and we will help you to understand how you do/do not meet each criteria.
We will then schedule an interview with someone who is either a parent or trusted person, so that we can get some extra information about you. This interview is held over zoom, and you are encouraged to attend and hear what your trusted person has noticed about you.
Often we will end the assessment here if you feel satisfied that we have explored things far enough. A report will be written and sent to you for checking within 4 weeks.
Phase 2
If further testing feels helpful for you, we can schedule a cognitive assessment. This takes around 2 hours and is done in-person. This involves, at minimum, a cognitive assessment using the WAIS-IV (a measure of ‘general intelligence’).
Once testing is complete, I will write up your report in 4 - 6 weeks.