A stunning £18 million autism centre has opened, aiming to transform the lives of thousands of children.
The Caudwell International Children’s Centre (CICC) intends to dramatically cut waiting times for assessments.
The new Caudwell International Children’s Centre, which provides diagnostic and therapy services for children with autism. Image courtesy of C4 Consulting Ltd
Therapy services as well as assessments
The centre, based at Keele University’s science and innovation park in Staffordshire, will also offer therapy services.
John Caudwell, the Phones 4u billionaire, helped to fund the project with around £10 million of his own money.
His charity, Caudwell Children, will run the centre.
Ben Sutcliffe is the charity’s project director.
He said Caudwell Children has seen increasing demand for autism services over the years. This had reached “the point where over half of all of our applications were from children with a primary diagnosis of autism”.
Inside the new Caudwell International Children’s Centre
Help for up to 7,000 children a year
Sutcliffe said families facing lengthy waits for a diagnosis can contact the CICC for help. In fact, the centre hopes to help up to 7,000 children a year.
At present, the average waiting time for the NHS to make an assessment for autism is at least two years. Then it takes almost another two years for children to gain a diagnosis.
In contrast, the centre said it will enable families to get a diagnosis within just six weeks.
Autism centre brings services together
The new autism centre brings together under one roof the community services that families living with the condition would use.
Its multi-disciplinary team includes occupational therapists, speech-and-language therapists and specialist doctors.
They will bring together assessment, diagnosis, family support and research into autism.
Facilities at the centre also include a sensory garden and high-specification kitchens for holding dietary workshops.
Caudwell Children is registered with health watchdog the Care Quality Commission. It has had a “thorough inspection” to set up the service, Sutcliffe said.
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Published: 15 May 2019
