Axia ASD

Diagnosed in January 2022, I've have had autistic counselling appointments and I have been chatting to a amazing kind and understanding lovely lady called Francine. I would highly recommend this service and particularly Francine, the admin staff have been very professional and supportive too, I was referred in October 2021 and within 3 months received my official diagnosis.

I work here as a trainee, and axia has been the best employer I have had to date. They have been very welcoming and delivered a thorough training regime, enabling me to develop an in depth understanding of neurodiversity.

Absolutely fantastic. Leaving this review a year after my adult diagnosis of autism. In the intervening months since then, I've broadened my understanding of both autism as a developmental difference and also the diagnostic landscape and treatment of autistic people by other so-called 'professionals'.More than ever, I can whole heartedly recommend Axia.Kind, compassionate, caring, and right at the forefront of progressive understanding of different presentations of autism in children and adults. Their breadth of knowledge is wide, and they seem well-informed on the areas where other services might fail to recognise autism, such as people identifying as women/girls/female, as well as transgendered people.During the assessment I was treated with patience and warmth and understanding.With Axia, autism is something to be celebrated, to be seen as a difference, not a deficit. They are exceptional professionals because they adhere to the standards laid out by the current DSM-5 and ICD-11 (criteria for diagnosing which is structured on a deficit model), but simultaneously are able to bring a wealth of clinician experience to untangle people's real life histories and stories to make sense of what is going on. I have never felt pathologised by Axia, only understood. It also speaks volumes of them that they employ autistic people at the centre who have instrumental roles in various departments.I've since run into many different organisations and different viewpoints on autism, and many which seem to have it all wrong. It's a great shame that there aren't more places like Axia throughout the country. For me, they are the gold standard alongside the Lorna Wing Centre (but half the price, and half the waiting period).I have now recommended them to at least 8 or 9 people pursuing a diagnosis, and I've heard nothing but high praise for every one of their experiences.Thank you Axia, you've helped to change my life!

Absolutely amazing. Our son was recently diagnosed ASD with Axia. David was just brilliant with him and it was such a calm, refreshing experience. We were listened to and understood without question. We felt David really cared, that it wasn't just a job to him and he advocated for the autistic community. Would recommend Axia to anyone considering a private diagnosis.

I can’t recommend Axia enough. I had a neurodevelopmental assessment with David, and from the start he made me feel comfortable and relaxed. I was extremely nervous about the whole thing, but I was so pleasantly surprised. I finally have answers and a diagnosis for what I have experienced throughout my 25 years of life and I am very grateful for it to have been such a positive experience. The assessor took so many things into account and was clearly very autism friendly and aware.

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. I found the assessment very basic, my daughter was hardly spoken to. They knew we weren't going to get a diagnosis before we attended the appointment but we weren't made aware of this. We were told she definitely wasn't autistic but a year later (not with Axia) she has been diagnosed autistic. I emailed to let them know and to close her case and had no response.

Everyone there are really friendly and professional. I went there with negative expectations as I'm used to feeling dismissed when it comes to seeking help and it was the complete opposite. Really caring people who made me feel calm throughout the assessment. Still processing the information but I just wanted to say thank you for being so supportive (and I'm sorry I left my cup on your table (I got distracted by the book and I feel really guilty) )

Update 31/07/23: Axia ASD have now got in touch in regards to supporting us in fighting the NHS decision to refuse the diagnosis. One of their lead clinicians is contacting the Trust involved and seeking to help resolve the situation. This is a huge boast for us as it's almost impossible to challenge the NHS on our own. As such we are very grateful to Axia for moving forward with this.Initial review:Initial service was very good but this has now turned into a nightmare. The NHS have refused to accept the diagnosis and we cannot get any support from Axia to fight this. We have had to chase Axia on multiple occasions for a response and the best we have had is a generic email. No clinicians or management from Axia would speak to us on the phone about this and we are completely at a loss.After years of frustration and anger at the broken NHS system, we have now been humiliated again by Axia who we paid a lot of money too. It's totally unacceptable, if Axia believe in their service they should be willing to fight for recognition of the diagnosis's they provide. How can I argue the refusal to accept the diagnosis, if the clinicians from Axia won't stand with me and fight the NHS on this. To say we are bitterly upset and disappointed is an understatement.

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.

I was referred here after living over half my life with another diagnosis that didn't quite fit. I had a zoom call as I had difficulty getting up to Chester. I spoke with David, who from the beginning was very softly spoken, understanding and explained certain things to me. I was diagnosed over the call and he gave me some advice and just made me feel relaxed. The only downside I feel is there isn't no help after. It just is. I would of liked a few appointments after with David just to talk through how to go forward and live with it. Overall though a good experience.