Autism
Assessment and support for autism in children and adults at the Psychological Help Centre, Karachi — in clinic in PECHS and DHA, or online.
If you or someone else is in immediate danger, this page is not the right place. Here is what to do →
What people describe
Most parents arrive at PHC holding a sentence somebody else handed them. A teacher, a paediatrician, a relative who read something: you should get him assessed. They are rarely told what that means or what happens afterwards, and they go home and type the word into a phone at eleven at night.
What they describe, once they are sitting down, is small and specific rather than dramatic. A child who does not turn when his name is called but hears a wrapper open two rooms away. Words that came late, or came and then went quiet. A child who plays beside other children rather than with them, or who talks at length about one subject and cannot tell that the listener stopped following. Ordinary places — a supermarket, a wedding hall, assembly — that end in a distress nobody can explain afterwards.
Adults describe something quieter: a lifetime of getting it slightly wrong socially and never knowing why.
Recognising your child, or yourself, in a paragraph on a website is not the same as knowing what is going on. Plenty of late talkers are not autistic, and plenty of autistic children talked early. This page describes; it does not assess anyone, and there is nothing here for you to score against.
When it is worth speaking to someone
The reason to bring the question is not that something has gone wrong with your child. It is that understanding how your child works is what makes the right support possible.
What a clinician pays attention to is when it started and how consistent it is. Differences in communication, social understanding and sensory response that have been there from early on and show up in more than one place, rather than since one difficult term. And whether daily life is costing your child more than it should: a child who comes home with nothing left, who is repeatedly in trouble for something he cannot help, or who has started to believe he is the problem.
Earlier is generally easier, because support fits around a younger child more readily — but it is never too late, and adults are assessed at PHC.
Only a qualified clinician can tell you what is going on — a website cannot.
How PHC approaches it
PHC is an assessment-first practice. Nothing is concluded about a child from one conversation, and nothing is concluded from the word somebody else used.
- An initial sessionWe ask what you have noticed, from when, in which settings, and what an ordinary day looks like. For a young child much of this first conversation is with you rather than with him. Bring school reports, any previous assessment, and whatever you remember of early development. Nothing is administered before this conversation.
- ADHD and autism assessmentWhere the initial session points that way, the next step is a structured neurodevelopmental assessment for ADHD and autism, administered in person by a qualified clinical psychologist and written up as a report. A large part of what it does is establish what is not going on — a hearing difficulty, a language disorder, anxiety, or a classroom that does not suit a child can each produce a version of the same picture.
- What the support is, and what it is notAutism is not an illness, and there is no treatment — at PHC or anywhere else — that removes it. Your child is not broken and is not waiting to be repaired.What does exist is support, and it is real. For younger children that usually means play therapy, applied behaviour analysis and sensory work, aimed at communication, at managing change, and at the social skills the child himself wants. Parents are part of the work rather than an audience for it. Where a child is also anxious, struggling to learn, or unhappy at school, each of those is worked on as itself rather than folded into a label.PHC's clinicians are clinical psychologists and do not prescribe. Where speech and language therapy, occupational therapy or a paediatric opinion belongs in the picture, we say so and work alongside it. Sessions are 50 minutes, at our DHA clinic or in PECHS, or online.
Who you would see
The two psychologists below name autism in their own supplied credentials. Every psychologist at PHC holds a postgraduate clinical qualification and over 800 supervised hours.
Amna RasheedClinical Psychologist · Lecturer
MS Applied Psychology (Clinical), Ziauddin University. 2,500+ clinical hours. Autism and inclusivity, comprehensive psychological assessments, adolescent mental health.Read their profile →
Asif J. SoherwardyAssociate Clinical Psychologist · 4+ years
MS Clinical Psychology, Bahria University. Autism Spectrum Disorder, speech delay, sensory sensitivities, social skill development and difficulty adjusting to school. Play therapy, Applied Behaviour Analysis, sensory integration.Read their profile →Who you see is decided at the initial session.
Questions people ask first
Someone told me to get him assessed. What does that actually mean?
It means sitting with a clinical psychologist who asks what you have noticed and for how long, and then — only if it is warranted — carrying out a structured assessment and writing you a report. The report describes how your child communicates, relates, learns and responds, and what would help at home and at school. It is not a test he passes or fails.
My child is speaking late. Does that mean autism?
No, and nobody can tell you from here. Late speech has several possible explanations, including hearing, and separating them is what an assessment is for. It is a reasonable thing to bring on its own, without a theory attached.
Is there a treatment that makes autism go away?
No. Autism is not an illness and there is nothing — here or anywhere — that removes it, whatever you may be told or sold. What helps is understanding how your child works and building support around that.
Should we tell the family?
That one is yours, and there is no single right answer. Some families find that telling the people around a child makes daily life much easier, because they stop guessing. Others would rather say nothing for a while. We can help you work out who needs to know in order to be useful to your child. Nothing is disclosed by us without your say-so.
Confidentiality, session length, fees and choosing your psychologist are answered in full in questions people ask before booking.
Speaking to someone starts here
PHC is appointment-only. Message or call and a real person answers — Monday to Saturday, 10am to 8pm PKT.
Not sure whether this is us? Contact us anyway. We will tell you directly whether we can help, and refer you elsewhere if we cannot.
Six details, and we can match you
- Name of the person who will attend
- Their age
- What is going on, in your own words
- Whether you would prefer a male or female psychologist
- Online, or in clinic in Karachi
- Whether the person attending is a minor or elderly
If someone else is paying, we will also ask for guardian or payer details. A slot is held once the booking payment is received — half the fee, at least 24 hours ahead.