Diagnostic centres
We know it can be hard to find a diagnostic team who understands demand avoidance. This page is designed to help with that.
We’ve created a directory to help you find diagnostic centres that are supportive of neurodivergent people, especially those who welcome and understand PDAers (people with a Pathological Demand Avoidance profile).
This directory will help you to find diagnostic centres . If you are looking for other types of support, please visit our Organisation Directory. https://www.pdasociety.org.uk/support-and-training/organisation-directory/
Please remember that each centre uses their own terminology for describing a PDA profile: some may use “Autism with a PDA profile” whilst others may use different terminology or reference the demand avoidance profile in the diagnostic report. You may wish to contact each centre in advance to check which terminology they use and to ensure you’re happy with this before proceeding. It’s also important to note that sometimes a different reason for demand avoidance, other than a PDA profile, may be identified during the assessment.
While this Diagnostic Centre Directory is designed to be helpful, it’s important to note that PDA Society doesn’t endorse or recommend any specific services or providers. The organisations and individuals listed have told us that their assessments follow the NICE guidelines, that their assessment team have read and follow the PDA Society Practice Guidance – identifying and assessing a PDA profile https://www.pdasociety.org.uk/research-professional-practice/identification-and-diagnosis-process/ and are confident in separating out the different causes of marked demand avoidance.
Before working with any services on the directory it is helpful to:
- Do your research: As a small organisation, we can’t quality-assure the providers listed. We strongly encourage you to research providers to ensure they meet your needs. For example, requesting to see a safeguarding policy. Our guidance on finding safe and appropriate support goes into more detail about how to tell if a provider is safe to work with.
- Remember these are self-declared standards: Providers in the directory have stated that they follow our guidance, but we cannot guarantee this as no checks have taken place.
- Decide what you are comfortable with: It’s up to you to check you’re happy with the process, costs, and potential outcomes before engaging with any service.
- Understand our role: We update the directory regularly and may remove providers if safety concerns are raised. This doesn’t mean we’re judging the quality of a service – it simply reflects our commitment to safety and the limits of our capacity to investigate. Safeguarding concerns will always be referred to the appropriate authorities.
Explore the directory
The directory below lists diagnostic teams who have self-declared they feel able to assess for a PDA profile. Use the filter to define which area you wish to find a service
Psychiatry in London
Starjumpz Children’s Centre
Spectrum North West Ltd
Help for Psychology
Grow and Thrive Ltd
Dh Psychology Ltd – Autism and ADHD assessments and support
Enhancing Futures Ltd.
Curious Minds
All Things Therapy Centre
Chichester Child Psychology
Autism Oxford UK
Foundations Child Therapy
EPIC Solutions
Autism Assessments Farnham Ltd
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