Band 7 Occupational Therapist (Neurodiversity Pathway)

Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust

Job summary

We are excited to offer this position of Occupational Therapist in our new Autism and Social Communication Assessment pathway. This post is based at Edgware Hospital in Barnet.

We are looking for an experienced Occupational Therapist with prior experience in autism assessment and diagnosis in children 0-6. The ideal candidate will be ADOS-2 trained and have considerable experience in multidisciplinary neurodevelopmental assessment clinics, working with paediatricians, SLTs, OTs, psychologists and other clinicians.

This is a new multidisciplinary team which is designed to provide a needs-led, family-centred approach to assessment and diagnosis for children under the age of seven with neurodivergent needs.

The successful candidate will assess children aged 0-6 for possible autism using the ADOS and/or other appropriate assessment tools, liaise with other members of the MDT to consider the correct outcome for the child, give families feedback about the outcome of assessments, and write high-quality clinical reports.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will work as part of the Team for the Assessment of Autism and Social Communication (TAASC) Barnet team for children 0-7. This is a multidisciplinary team which is designed to provide a needs-led, family-centred approach to assessment and diagnosis for children under the age of seven with neurodivergent needs.

The successful candidate will assess children aged 0-7 for possible autism using the ADOS and/or other appropriate assessment tools, liaise with other members of the MDT to consider the correct outcome for the child, and give families feedback about the outcome of assessments. The post holder will possess advanced expertise in assessing autism, co-occurring conditions and differential diagnosis.

The position requires an OT capable of working effectively and flexibly within an interdisciplinary framework, engaging with various professionals in a multidisciplinary and multi-agency environment. This includes collaboration with community providers, speech and language therapists (SLTs), psychologists, dieticians, paediatricians, physiotherapists, and other allied health professionals, as well as Experts by Experience (parents of neurodivergent children). The aim is to provide a holistic approach in communicating and sharing advice, information and plans to all relevant parties and family.

Person Specification

Education & Professional Qualifications

Essential

  • Recognised Occupational Therapy degree or equivalent
  • Registration with the Health Professions Council for Licence to Practice
  • Registered member of the Royal College of Occupational Therapists

Desirable

  • Recognised post graduate degree in a relevant area such as autism

Experience

Essential

  • Experience of working with neurodivergent children
  • Experience of working with children in early years
  • Experience of assessing children for autism diagnostic purposes
  • Experience of working with other MDT professionals/early years staff
  • Ability to relate clinical theory to clinical practice
  • Knowledge and experience of a range of assessments appropriate for assessing social communication difficulties in pre-school and school children.

Desirable

  • Trained in ADOS-2
  • Experience of working in children centres and nurseries, schools.
  • Experience of working with paediatricians
  • A knowledge of relevant policies and documents, e.g. Early Years Framework, SEN reforms

Skills & Aptitudes

Essential

  • Good communication and interpersonal skills
  • Experience in delivering training.
  • Able to organise, plan and prioritise own workload. Demonstrates ability to generate appropriate strategies for caseload management.
  • Ability to show sensitivity at all times to the emotional needs of clients and their carers in particular when imparting potentially distressing information.
  • Proven ability to work as part of a team.
  • Demonstrates empathy with clients, carers and families often where barriers to understanding exist ensuring that effective communication is achieved.

Desirable

  • Ability to speak another language

Royal Free World Class Values

Essential

  • Demonstrable ability to meet the Trust Values.

Personal Qualities & Attributes

Essential

  • Able to make own effective travel arrangements

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see
NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

Closing Date: 2 August 2026

To apply for this job please visit apps.trac.jobs.