Axia ASD - Chester

Sarah

After years of wondering whether I was autistic, going back and forth between doubt and certainty (almost!) — I knew I needed to finally be assessed. The idea of an assessment seemed like the most anxiety provoking thing I could ever put myself through. I turned up shaking and, predictably, I arrived there early. The building was easy to locate with lots of parking spaces, and I knew who I was meeting thanks to the team profiles on Axia's website. I had anxiety about finding exactly where I needed to go. Someone walked with me across from the reception area to the consultation room.

Sian, the diagnostician who assessed me, was fantastic. She asked questions, and I provided examples of my experiences and difficulties. After each response, she clarified things in a manner that aided my self-understanding, it created a really validating and supportive atmosphere. She was friendly, patient and thorough. I never felt under any pressure to answer her. I received my diagnosis at the end of my assessment. It was an incredibly positive experience for me, from start to finish

Rose O.

A positive experience with axia from referral to assessment. The secretary Paula was wonderful, exceptionally helpful and kind. The clinician I saw was Steph and again, she too was wonderful. The whole experience was clearly strengths based and wholly positive. Steph was so skilled, knowledgeable and noticed such subtle but important details. I am so glad my assessment was through Axia. Thank you.

Sam P.

From start to finish axia have been absolutely amazing, every email phone call got answered promptly, they couldn’t do enough from enquiring to booking and also emails to and throw sending further evidence I had collated all got swiftly put into my child’s file, my daughter had Sarah and ren observing and asking questions but made my child feel very at ease and comfortable offering to move further back to give her some personal space and offering to not look at her if it makes her feel uncomfortable they was understanding and very knowledgeable they gave me the answers my daughter had been waiting for for many years they understood her and they could see right through my child’s difficulties. I now feel like a weight has been lifted as we now no exactly what her difficulties are. I was told the report will be produced in a matter of weeks and I’m sure it will be, I would recommend axia to anyone
Thank you again

Stephen R.

This is my wife's story of her experience with Axia. In my opinion, It's a story of Axia putting self interest and preservation of reputation before the needs, welfare and wellbeing of their autistic client. My wife was a private client receiving autism post diagnosis support from Axia and had attended nine sessions when Axia suspended her treatment because she made a complaint about how she had been treated by a member of the reception staff. Twenty five days later, without speaking or corresponding with myself or my wife, Axia then cancelled my wife's treatment, blaming her for the way the person at reception had behaved and adding that she was no longer allowed access to their premises. Also, on that same day, without my wife's knowledge or consent, Axia sent letters to her GP practice informing them of what they had done. Those letters signed by Dr Linda Buchan and my wife's psychologist, Dr Hannah Williamson contained wrongful and hurtful allegations about my wife, which to this day, Axia have never substantiated because they are not true and confidential information about my wife's family she disclosed to Dr Williamson, during her therapy. Thereafter, when I complained about what Axia had done they refunded all of my wife's appointment fees but offered no apology or explanation for their actions. For the next three months or so I continued writing to Axia seeking proof of their allegations, an explanation for their actions and an apology. However, they responded by informing me they had not done anything wrong and had nothing further to add. My wife was very upset so I decided to write to the director of the company that owned Axia’s premises and employed the member of staff who had been rude to her. The company director replied informing me that he was not aware of what had happened but would investigate. After he had spoken to Axia and concluded his investigations, he wrote back saying he was sorry that Axia had terminated my wife's treatment. I then contacted the equalities commission, who on hearing my wife's story, told me that, in their opinion, she had suffered discrimination, victimisation and that due to my wife's autism Axia had also failed to make a reasonable adjustment for her. The commission then wrote to Axia asking for an explanation and an apology for my wife but they did not receive a reply. I was then advised by the equalities commission to seek legal advice, which I did, contacting a solicitor who confirmed the equalities commission assessment of what Axia had done. My wife's solicitor then sent a letter to Axia, which was eventually responded to by Dr Buchan’s solicitor. Through her solicitor, nine months after my wife's treatment was cancelled, Dr Buchan denied the allegations of discrimination, victimisation and failure to make a reasonable adjustment, stating that, contrary to the letters she and Dr Williamson had wrote, signed and sent to my wife and her GP practice, she had cancelled my wife's treatment for medical reasons. Dr Buchan also said the handling of my wife's complaint was the fault of her secretary who had ignored her instructions and had now resigned. Dr Buchan went on to say, that my wife was suffering from an undiagnosed mental disorder, which Axia could not help her with, even though she has never met or spoken to my wife or myself. Dr Buchan's solicitor also disclosed twenty two pages of Dr Williamson's notes about my wife made during therapy sessions with her. However, according to Axia’s privacy policy those notes should have been destroyed when my wife was discharged from Axia's service and Axia also failed to disclose them to me after I sent them a SAR several months earlier. When my wife's legal action had ended I discovered fifteen pages of notes had been omitted from Axia's disclosure which they said was due to a scanner error adding that they were not trying to deceive me. Axia-ASD have now moved out of their rented accommodation into new purpose built premises. All my wife ever wanted from Axia was an apology,

sarah E.

My daughter had an assessment with Axia. Possibly ADHD but couldn't diagnose due to it not being seen at school/outside the home due to masking. We had to talk about my daughter in great detail in front of her (6) and she was hardly spoken to. No activities with her. They knew we weren't going to get a diagnosis before we attended the appointment. We were told she definitely wasn't autistic. A year later, not with Axia she was diagnosed autistic not adhd. I emailed to let them know and to close her case and had no response. They also lost a memory stick of recordings l had sent that contained personal information. The receptionist said my daughter can't be adhd because it can't be masked.

Lilly F.

I can’t say enough positive things about my experience with Axia. I was first referred via Right to Choose in late January 2024; I had been on another NHS waiting list for over a year prior to this with no signs of an assessment anytime soon. On the recommendation of a friend who had a positive experience with Axia, I asked my GP to refer me via Right to Choose. I had some difficulty with this as the GP wasn’t really listening to what I was saying and trying to refer me elsewhere, and I came out of the appointment quite upset and shaken. I called Axia for advice and spoke to Alex, who was instantly calming and reassuring and immediately emailed over all the information I needed to pass onto my GP. I was astounded as I have never received care and service like this anywhere else.

Without Alex’s assistance and kindness, I would have been too scared and downtrodden to pursue Right to Choose, so her help can’t be underestimated. With the documents Alex sent, my referral was quickly processed, and I received a call from Halil in mid-February with an appointment date and time. I was again so impressed by how quickly I’d been given an appointment date, and by how clear and kind Halil was on the phone. He then promptly sent over all the pre-assessment information and documents I needed to complete.

You can really tell that a real love and care for autistic, and otherwise neurodivergent, people lies at the heart of Axia’s service. Their pre-appointment guide was so thorough, and really put my mind at ease as someone who gets very anxious without having all the information about things in advance.

I had my appointment at the end of May 2024, only four months after my initial referral - an absolutely outstanding turnaround given the current state of autism assessment waitlists in the UK.

I was told who my diagnostician would be in advance, and Axia have a page of photos and bios of their whole team (not just diagnosticians!), which I really appreciated. It was really soothing to hear about my diagnostician Siân in advance, and put a face to her name so I knew more what to expect at my assessment.

Siân is an incredible diagnostician and made me feel at ease almost instantly. I was overwhelmed and tearful prior to my assessment whilst I sat in the waiting room with my mum and partner. Being there meant it had all suddenly become so real and nerve wracking, and Siân immediately reassured me that these feelings were very normal and I could take as much time as I needed to settle in.

I found Siân so easy to talk to. She is autistic herself, so really understood how things specifically affect women and those diagnosed as adults. She worked from the structure of the Developmental History Questionnaire I submitted in advance, which I really appreciated as I knew what to expect. She was really validating throughout, and quickly picked up my sense of humour and matched my energy, making things feel more like a conversation with a friend than like an intimidating assessment. She was very thorough, having prepared extensively in advance and having specific questions to ask that hadn’t been covered in my questionnaire, and she was great at gently bringing me back on track if I went off topic.

At the end of the assessment, Siân let me know that she was certain I was autistic, and handed me some post-diagnostic support materials. It was an overwhelming moment that I’d been building up to for years, and Siân had a lot of respect and understanding for how emotional this was for me, and spoke to me about the ‘grieving’ process I may experience post-diagnosis, which was something I was worried about.

I’m pleased to see Axia have regular post-diagnostic support meetings and a lot of resources available, and I’m looking forward to attending, learning more about myself, and meeting other autistic people.

Thank you so much Axia - my only regret is wishing I’d referred to you by Right to Choose sooner.

Parul S.

TLDR; Very positive experience with Axia for my Autism diagnosis, I am a woman of colour with an ADHD diagnosis. A smooth and accessible process that understands intersectionality. No interrogation, weird tests or questions.

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I am an Autistic and ADHD woman of colour and my experience with Axia was incredibly positive and I would highly recommend them to anyone, but especially gender minorities/PoC as they understand intersectionality within Neurodiversity; a rare find in the medical sector (sadly!)

My GP referred me in Nov and I got an email from Axia in Feb with an assessment date in May - very fast turnaround especially for an NHS patient. This had very detailed information on what to expect which removes a lot of anxiety.

In the assessment, I was immediately put at ease and I didn't feel rushed. I didn't feel like I was under interrogation, but the assessment felt like a structured dialogue around various aspects of my life through direct questions, not vague open ended ones so I was actually able to recall more than I thought I was able to.

I had anxiety about getting a false negative due to the diagnostic criteria being extremely outdated and biased against women but it's what they have to use to diagnose people. So having an assessor that is also an AuDHD woman was a HUGE relief.

Within hours I had received an email with my diagnosis letter and a detailed list of resources. This is far better than what I got after my ADHD diagnosis.

Whilst I had come to terms with my Autistic identity a while back, having the validation of a medical diagnosis has been a big weight off my shoulders and removes any inkling of doubt I may have had.

To my assessor: I didn't want to put your name for privacy reasons but you know who you are and if you're reading this, thank you for changing my life!

Tbh I would ignore the few negative reviews, mostly people complaining about not getting a diagnosis, which is unfortunate but not everyone can get one. People also shouldn't be relying on medical professionals for extensive post-diagnosis support. I was sent a very detailed list of resources and support groups which is more than enough. Let the specialists focus on their job and help people get the answers they desperately need.

Anomonous C.

I want to give an update 6 years on and say a huge THANK YOU to Axia and Dr Buchanan and her wonderful team for being responsible for helping our son to progress in life. We gave up waiting for a diagnosis through the NHS and ended up finding Axia for a private diagnosis. The process was really caring and understanding for all parties attending. The diagnosis allowed our son and us as a family get a marker in the ground and move forwards. Today our son is on a fully funded PHd researching in AI. I cannot thank you enough and recommend anyone thinking should I get a diagnosis and how will it help that this is perhaps a review to read and consider.