Clarity Manchester

Main information

Service categories: Counselling and therapies, Diagnosticians

Service URL: https://claritymanchester.co.uk/

Clarity Manchester was set up in 2014 by Dr Kate Leonard, Clinical Psychologist, in order to be able to offer diagnostic assessment for autism spectrum disorders. She completed her professional training in 2007 and has since completed additional training in gold-standard diagnostic tools - Diagnostic Interview for Social and Communication disorder and the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule. She was clinical lead for an NHS adult diagnostic assessment service for 12 years before leaving in 2023 to focus on developing Clarity Manchester. Clarity Manchester has a number of other associates who provide assessments who have extensive experience in assessing and diagnosing autism. We are all registered practitioners with the Health and Care Professions Council.

Assessments for adults can take place face to face in therapy rooms in Sale, Gatley, Bolton or Todmorden however we are also able to conduct assessments online. After the assessment, the assessing psychologist typically meets with the individual to provide feedback about whether they meet diagnostic criteria. Assessment sessions are arranged at a mutually convenient time, and evening and Saturday morning appointments can also be accommodated on request.

We have a lot of experience in recognising the differences in how autistic women can present differently to autistic men and we see lots of females in our service, many of whom go on to get a diagnosis.

We are also able to provide assessments for children who are currently in high school. These assessments are conducted by our multidisciplinary team and this means you will be seen by at least 2 practitioners who are HCPC registered. The face to face part of the assessment would be undertaken at our base in Sale, and the developmental history can be arranged face to face or online. We will collect information from your child's school as part of the assessment. You will receive a full diagnostic report detailing the information provided which has been used to come to any diagnostic conclusion. Our assessments are compliant with NICE guidance and this means that they should be accepted by your child's school.

Diagnostic criteria refer to social and communication difficulties, as well as a preference for sameness, strong interests and sensory sensitivities. As autism is a neurodevelopmental condition, these differences would have been present since childhood. Diagnostic criteria refer to these as ‘impairments’ and ‘deficits’ however there is increased recognition of the strengths that the autistic brain and neurodiversity can have. Our assessments also aim to recognise the strengths of the autistic brain in order to promote self-acceptance. As these difficulties exist on a spectrum, there is a lot of variety amongst autistic people.

We are now able to offer various options for post-diagnostic support and have Autism consultants who have lived experience to co-produce and co-facilitate this. Please enquire if you would like further details about any of the above.