The questionnaires form the first part of your assessment. We use the information in the questionnaires for two purposes:

• To decide whether there is sufficient evidence of autistic traits to warrant a full assessment
• Where we agree a full assessment is required, the information from the questionnaires is considered alongside the information gathered in the assessment appointment and the clinicians’ observations to reach a diagnostic decision
   

We require all questionnaires to be completed wherever possible. 

• Questionnaire one: information about you, questionnaire three: RAADS-14 and the consent form need to be completed by you, as the person referred for the autism assessment
• Questionnaire two: developmental history is intended to be completed by someone who knew you as a child (between birth and age 18). This can be a parent or care giver, sibling or other family member, or even a close friend if they have memories of you from that age
• Questionnaire 4: adult informant is intended to be completed by someone who knows you know, as an adult, to provide their perspective. This can be the same person who completed your developmental history questionnaire, but it can also be a friend, relative, partner, colleague, teacher, healthcare professional, social worker, support worker etc. 
   

Brief answers are encouraged, as the team who triage the questionnaires are looking for key pieces of information that show that you meet the criteria for an autism assessment.

It isn’t necessary to write absolutely everything you can think of at this stage. If you do attend for an autism assessment, then you will be able to expand on your answers.

Even if you are unable to fill out all the boxes, please do as much as you can and return it to us within the timeframe and we will contact you should we require further information. 
 

You can ask someone else to write your answers down for you, as long as they are using your own words. If you don’t have anyone who can support you, you can contact us at saansquestionnaires@shsc.nhs.uk 

It’s completely understandably that you would find this process difficult, but this information is the first stage of your assessment, so it is vital that you complete as much as possible. 

You may wish to work on one questionnaire at a time and/or just do a small section each day, rather than attempting the whole thing in one go. You can also seek support from someone else to help you answer the questionnaires and remain focussed. 

If you need extra time to complete the questionnaires, please let us know and we can allow you an extension. 
 

We understand that not everyone has parents, or people from their childhood, that they can ask to complete the questionnaires.

However, developmental history is a key part of the autism assessment process, so we do need this information if at all possible. If you don’t have someone who can do this, please complete as much of this questionnaire as you can, from your own memories and return this even if you can’t complete it all. 

Some people don’t feel able to talk to family or friends about their autism referral, or don’t feel that anyone knows them well enough. You can see the information above for some ideas of who you can ask to complete the Adult Informant questionnaire.

If you really cannot ask anybody, please still return the other questionnaires. We will review these and contact you should we require any further information to process your referral. 
 

There are no right or wrong responses, and it is not about answering the questions perfectly, just answer them as best you can. 

You may wish to speak to someone else for support in completing the questionnaires, as they may be able to interpret the questions for you, but it’s important that they aren’t providing you with responses that aren’t your own words.