If you are an existing client please contact the clinic by phone or email.
We have a limited number of appointments available for new clients. Please contact reception for further information.
You do not need a doctor’s referral to attend the clinic, however if you wish to claim a rebate from Medicare you will need a referral from your GP, Paediatrician or Psychiatrist prior to your appointment. Please visit our fees and rebates page for further information.
Payment is strictly due at the time of your appointment. For assessments, if the appointments are scheduled on different days the fee for each service is due on the day of the appointment.
Please bring along your referral (if you have one) and any relevant reports you may have from previous assessments. In the case of a child assessment, it may be helpful to bring snacks for your child and any toys/games/books they would like to play with while waiting.
This is decided during your initial phone discussion with the intake officer, and is based on the practitioner’s specific skills, experience, personality and speciality area.
The ASD Clinic Psychologists understand that from time to time appointment times need to be changed or cancelled. We send courtesy SMS reminders a few days prior to appointments, however we still expect clients to remember their appointments and arrive on time. Please email reception at reception@theasdclinic.com.au or call the clinic on 8851 3600 to reschedule or cancel your appointment if you are unable to attend. We require at least 24 hours notice in order to offer appointments to other clients on the waiting list. Missed appointments and late cancellations (less than 24 hours notice) will be subject to a cancellation fee of 50% of the usual schedule fee. This charge cannot be claimed through Medicare or your own Private Health fund. For clients with NDIS funding, cancellation fees will be charged according to NDIS guidelines.
Clients who have NDIS packages may use their funding to cover or partially cover the fees for services at The ASD Clinic if their package is self-managed or plan-managed by a third party. There may be out-of-pocket expenses for clients whose NDIS packages are plan-managed. Please contact reception or your Psychologist directly for further information.
The funding category that can be used to claim Psychology services at our clinic is Capacity Building - Improved Daily Living. The item code is 15_054_0128_1_3 Assessment, Recommendation, Therapy, or Training - Psychology.
The Psychologists at The ASD Clinic are not registered providers of services under the NDIS. Therefore, clients who have packages managed directly by the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) are unable to use their NDIS funds to pay for services at The ASD Clinic.
We do not provide formal assessments of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.
Our Psychologists do not have expertise in preparing reports for court. If you require this service please contact the appropriate medical practitioners / clinicians who may be able to provide this service for you.
We will always attempt to schedule an appointment for you when you need to see your Psychologist. However, we do not provide a crisis service, and an appointment may not always be available immediately. If you need urgent mental health care please see your GP or contact Psychiatric Triage which offers information, crisis assessment and referral, or contact Lifeline which offers 24 hour crisis support.
The following links may be helpful in such situations.
Beyondblue: www.beyondblue.org.au
Lifeline: Phone 131 114 or visit www.lifeline.org.au
Suicide Callback Service: Phone 1300 659 467 or visit www.suicidecallbackservice.org.au
Kids Helpline: Phone 1800 55 1800 or visit www.kidshelp.com.au
Headspace: Phone 1800 650 890 or visit www.headspace.org.au
All of our Psychologists offer Telehealth consultations, by phone or video-conference. During the COVID-19 pandemic phone and video-conference consultations are eligible for Medicare rebates under a Mental Health Care Plan.
All Psychologists at The ASD Clinic are independent practitioners and set their own fees. The fee difference does not indicate a difference in the quality of service provided. The fees are also devised to help minimise the out of pocket expense for you as Medicare provides different rebates for Clinical and General Psychologists.
As part of providing a psychological service to you, the practitioner will need to collect and record personal information from you. Your personal and health information will be treated with the professional confidentiality appropriate to the Code of Ethics of the Australian Psychological Society and the relevant Victorian Government legislation. If you have been referred by a physician, the Psychologist is required to provide any relevant information to them, for the purposes of your treatment. Your case may also be discussed in clinical supervision. All personal information gathered by the Psychologist during the provision of the psychological service will remain confidential and secure except where:
A court subpoenas your file
You are at serious risk of harming yourself
You are at serious risk of harming another
There are concerns about the abuse of a child
You report committing a serious offence
In the event where confidentiality is to be broken, every attempt will be made to contact you before further action is taken.
Autism is a lifelong developmental condition which affects the ability of the individual in two main areas: social communication and interaction, and restricted, repetitive patterns of behaviour, interests or activities.
Further detailed information about Autism and Asperger’s Syndrome can be found on the AMAZE website www.amaze.org.au, and Asperger’s Victoria www.aspergersvic.org.au.
The ASD Clinic is not currently running any group programs.
A First Consultation DVD (length 103 minutes)
Drawing on his clinical experience and popular presentation style, Richard talks about the day to day challenges faced by people with Asperger's Syndrome and suggests a range of support strategies.