Complex cases stay away
I took my 17-year-old son to Aspen Clinic for an initial assessment because we suspected ADHD and his symptoms had been getting progressively worse. We were hoping they would guide us properly on what kind of assessment he needed and help us move towards answers. Instead, we left feeling completely let down.
We were advised to have him assessed for both autism and ADHD, which we agreed to because we were desperate to get some proper help for our son. The process involved many long, repetitive questionnaires and questions, but there was very little real guidance about why we were completing them, what they were looking for, or what would actually be needed to reach a diagnosis.
In the end, no diagnosis was given. After spending over £3,000, we felt completely cheated. We appealed our concerns twice, but they were not properly acknowledged or supported.
A major issue was that Aspen Clinic seemed to disregard the significant gaps in school information. My son was home-schooled from age 8 to 11. Then, when he started high school, there were two years of lockdown. From the end of Year 8 into Year 9 he was under the care of a different deputy head, and we had multiple meetings with the school regarding his behaviour. However, SEND were not involved until Year 10, when we finally began receiving small but meaningful outside input regarding his behaviour. That means nearly seven years of concerns were either dismissed or not explored properly.
We also informed Aspen Clinic that during one year of home-schooling, my son saw a talking therapist who suspected autism. We were never asked to provide her details or invite her professional input. By chance, we later reconnected with her and she wanted to contribute, but Aspen Clinic dismissed this.
We also made them aware that our son is very good at masking, which is often highly relevant in neurodevelopmental assessments, yet this did not seem to be taken seriously either.
Now, a year later, my sonâs symptoms have worsened further and our frustration has only grown. In my opinion, Aspen Clinic appears able to deal only with straightforward, textbook cases. Real-life cases are often more complex and require a deeper, more careful and more differential approach. If your loved one has a more complicated presentation, I would be very cautious.
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Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. We are very sorry to hear that you and your family have been left feeling disappointed and unsupported. This is certainly not the experience we want for any of our clients after completing an assessment.
In line with patient confidentiality, we of course cannot go into specific details of this case in a public forum. However, we do wish to acknowledge that your queries and concerns were addressed by the clinician at the time. At your request, this was then escalated to a senior manager, and at your request this was then escalated to a Clinical Director. Each point of query that you raised was empirically supported by clinical judgement, multiple disciplinary team (MDT) decision-making, triangulation of information and best available evidence at the time.
Whilst we appreciate how frustrating it may feel to not receive a diagnosis, we want to recognise that all clients are provided with comprehensive recommendations, regardless of whether they receive a diagnosis or not. As you will be aware, our terms and conditions clearly state that a diagnosis is not guaranteed, and that individuals are paying for the service of an assessment. The result of our comprehensive MDT discussions, with multiple professionals, from multiple disciplines, is therefore final. If new information that was not available at the time of assessment comes to light, here at The Aspen Clinic we are always happy for clients to choose to engage in a re-assessment, if they feel this is needed. Our MDT is used to seeing clients presenting with a range of complex and complicated variables, and our team welcomes the opportunity to support clients with a wide range of presentations and experiences.
