Professional Referral

We are currently experiencing high demand. 

Inappropriate referrals may be returned or redirected with feedback.

If you are a professional supporting someone who may benefit from our services, please complete a professional referral form on their behalf. This helps ensure we receive all the necessary information to provide the best support possible

- The client must be aware that you are making the referral.

- The client must be over 18.

- The client must not have a learning disability. 

 (ADHD is not a learning disability and learning difficulties such as Dyslexia or Dyspraxia are not   considered learning disabilities in this context.)
We are aware that anyone who has had an autism annual health check or reasonable adjustment at their GP surgery, may have been listed on their system as having a learning disability. If you are confident that your client does not have a learning disability please continue with the referral stating this.

- Clients with a forensic background older than five years may be considered - referrers must contact us by telephone 0191 570 0047 and speak with a member of our team prior to completing a referral form. Referrals of this kind will be rejected if referred directly.  

Referrals where there is a forensic history of assault, violence toward professionals or sexual offences will not be accepted.

- For our pre-diagnostic service we ask that referring professionals have had a conversation with the individual about autism and can provide at least 2–3 reasons they believe autism may be relevant.  Further information is included in the referral form.

Note
If the client is currently receiving therapies from community mental health teams or having regular contact with the Crisis Team, please note that they will need to complete their current therapy or intervention before beginning a Me, Myself & Autism course. However, this requirement does not prevent them from accessing other support from AIM. 

Once a referral form is submitted the client's information will be imported onto our client management system.  

We will review the referral and contact the referrer if more information is required (if the referral is rejected at the point of triage we will not contact the client and we will inform the referrer).

We will contact the client using their initial preferred method of communication to gather more information to assess whether our service is a good fit for them.  If we are unable to reach the client using their preferred method of communication we will attempt to contact them by other methods provided.

We may invite the client to attend an initial appointment at one of our venues or online.  

If we’re unable to meet the client's needs, we may signpost them to other services. 

We will write to the client and the referrer to confirm what support we can offer the client.