https://www.gosh.nhs.uk/wards-and-departments/departments/clinical-specialties/department-child-and-adolescent-mental-health-dcamh/national-centre-high-functioning-autism/
Social Communication & Autism Spectrum Service
We are a Tier 4 national service for children with a suspected Autism Spectrum
Disorder (ASD), who do not have an intellectual disability. The service lead is
Dr Ruth Garcia-Rodriguez and the multi-disciplinary team includes clinical
psychologists, psychiatrists, specialist speech and language therapists,
assistant psychologist and undergraduate psychology students.
Our clinic was previously known as the Social Communication Disorders Clinic, under the leadership of Professor David Skuse. We work closely with the
Neurodevelopmental Assessment Clinic at GOSH, who carry out autism
assessments for children with intellectual disability, and with other teams
within the Psychology and Mental Health Service at GOS. This helps us to tailor
our assessments to a child’s individual needs and profile.
The clinic provides comprehensive assessments of complex cases of suspected Autism Spectrum in children in mainstream education. Children are often referred to this service if they have a number of neurodevelopmental, neuropsychiatric or mental health difficulties and where diagnostic clarity is required.
The aims of the service are to determine the diagnosis (if any), and to make recommendations for treatment or further management (for example, within the educational setting). In addition we provide psycho-education groups for children and young people and their families called PEGASUS. The aim of these groups is to enhance children’s and parents' understanding of autism and what it means to them.
What we offer
Discover more about what the Social Communication & Autism Spectrum Clinic offers.
Meet the team
Meet the Social Communication Disorders Clinic team.
Referrals
Information for professionals about the referral process at Great Ormond Street Hospital.
Outcomes
Patient and parent feedback on the care within the Social Communication Disorder Clinic.
Research
Details of research and publications produced by the Social Communications Disorders Clinic.
Useful resources
Details of useful resources relevant to ASD.
Training for professionals
Details of the courses we run for professionals.
Contact us
Contact details for the Social Communication Disorders Clinic
Feedback and case studies
Important feedback results from patients and their families.