Social Workers can do Autism Testing for better rural access in the Riverina and Central West

Accessing testing services in Young for Autism and other conditions can be tricky, often people needing to travel to Orange, Canberra, Wagga Wagga or even Sydney. They often usually come with varying fees. Clients have told us they have had quotes form $2400 a test up to $4500 for the entire battery of tests!

Many don’t know, however, that social workers and even occupational therapists can do additional training to be able to test for autism. This is extremely useful in remote communties such as Cowra, Parkes, Yass and Gundagai as often people do not want to have to drive to the city (a day trip can be exhausting for people with neurodivergence!)

We have tried to make autism testing both accessible and affordable in the Riverina and Central West. Inbstead of charging a one of fee for all the tests, or high fee’s for each one, we charge and require payment for each indivual test, as we go. This means, for example, after the first test, if we it doesn’t look like progeressing with be of benefit, we can stop and there is no further unncessary testing nor high fee’s.

Each test come with a compelted report as after you have done the testing (even with a registered psychologist), you will still need a psychaitrist (or peadatrician for a child) to confirm the diagnosis. We therefore charge $800 per test (and report is included) plus any additional travel kilometers and hours. This aims to try and make autism testing more accessible and affordable, whilst providing the gold standard required to diagnose.

What else do I need?

We also recommend getting access to an occupational and speech therapist to assess functional capacity, do a sensory profile (we can also do this on request) nad  assess for further speech issues such as echolalia we often see in autism.

Bringing along school reports noting difficulties others saw during childhood and adolescents can also be incredibly useful for any therpaists or specialists to read. This further strengths and reliability of the assessments and past history, as well as given accounts from teachers that support to help reach a diagnosis.

It can also be useful to get a cognitive and attention assessment, as it is common for cognitive issues with autism and many also have a diagnosis such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity (ADH or with autism, AuDHD). This can also help to understand the impacts of the conditions on one another, if they are present.

 What age do we do?

 We work from ages 4 all the way through to adults. We will soon do the toddler module as well.

Can we do this online?

Yes and no. Aspects need to be done face-to-face but a few of the other tests can be online. We can discuss this further once we progress to a phone call.