We are an adult service - we accept referrals for clients over the age of 16.

If you think you would benefit from a referral to our service you need to speak to your GP or another health professional who is supporting you.

If they agree that an assessment would be appropriate they need to complete a referral form.

When we receive a referral, we will assess both:

• the referral form completed by your GP or other healthcare professional who has referred you to us
• 4 questionnaires you need to complete and return to us 

If appropriate you will be put on our waiting list. We will send out a letter to confirm you have been placed on our waiting list, or to explain why we cannot accept you for assessment.

Whilst you wait to be assessed, you may find our support and resources pages to be useful. If we do not think a referral for autism assessment is appropriate, we will direct you to other possible services and resources that may be of help.

Unfortunately we cannot accept self-referrals. 

Once you have been referred to SAANS by your GP or another health professional, your referral will be screened to ensure it meets the essential criteria. You will then be sent a pack of four questionnaires through the post (also available by email on request). 

You should complete the questionnaires with if possible both:

• someone who has known you well as an adult - an 'adult informant' - such as a parent, partner, sibling or close friend)
• someone who knew you well as a child - please note this is not essential to be assessed or diagnosed 

You need to send the completed questionnaires back to us within six weeks. If you are struggling to complete your questionnaires, please contact the service for support.

We will triage your submitted questionnaires against our criteria for an assessment appointment. After screening the questionnaires, we will contact you to confirm whether you have or have not been added to the waiting list. 

If you are a GP or another suitable healthcare professional, you can refer your patient for assessment at our clinic by filling in this form.

Once you have completed the referral - and ensured consent from your patient - you need to either:

• email it to SAANS@shsc.nhs.uk 
• send in the post to Sheffield Adult Autism and Neurodevelopmental Service, Michael Carlisle Centre, 75 Osborne Road, Sheffield, S11 9BF

If you are a health professional making a referral to our service you can take a look at our guidance for referrers and eligibility and selection criteria here. 

Should you have any clinical queries please email SAANSClinicalQueries@shsc.nhs.uk

Please note that we cannot accept referrals for anyone who has been diagnosed with a learning disability.