Services

Dr. Skinner provides Adult Assessments for Autism Spectrum Disorder. 

As a Family Specialist Physician, your assessment is covered under your Alberta Health Care Coverage. 

We are using the Adult Autism/Asperger's Assessment Tool Developed by the Autism Research Centre from Cambridge University. This is tool is based on self-assessment questionnaires and interviews. This is recommended in the N.I.C.E. (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) Guidance.  

We can support your family doctor's disability applications with a letter of support, should this be appropriate in your individual case. Oftentimes, just finding the words to describe how a person with Autism is disabled can be difficult. We can help you identify your individual strengths and weaknesses and explain these to others.

Please note that having a doctor complete medical forms or write support letters is usually not covered by your Provincial Health Care. There is a fee for all uninsured services. 

Medical Assessments are covered under your Alberta Health Care. However, many services are not covered through this service. Prices may change without notice. 

Costs for Uninsured Services:                                                                                                 

Service                                                                                      Price (CAD)

Appointments:

Missed Appointments (15 minutes)                                               80

Missed Appointments (20 minutes to 1 hour)                            200

Missed Appointments (1 hour 15 minutes to 3 hours)               300

Uninsured Home Visit

Daytime hours     280

Additional Fee for each additional 10 minutes      65 

Uninsured Medical Visit up to 15 minutes 150

Additional Fee for each additional 10 minutes      65 

Uninsured Mental Health Visit per 15 minutes        100

Forms:

            Alberta Works, Patient Responsible                                200

            AISH:  Special Coverage Request Form                             40

            Blue Cross Special Authorization                                     80

            Disability:       Short Term                                                120+

                                    Long Term                                                 150+        

                                    Permanent                                                 150+

            Disabled Parking                                                                 60

            Disability Tax Credit:            Initial Application             110         

                                                            Additional Forms               150

            Employment Insurance (per page)                                    60

             Fitness Note (for camp or travel): Form only                  50

                    Exam and Form                                            130

            Forms, Other (per page)                                                     60  

            Handicapped Parking Placard Application           60

            Third Party Medical Exam (i.e. University forms)*       200+ 

*Plus examination fees

             Workplace Forms, 1 page 80

              Additional Pages (each) 40

Driver’s Medical                                                                            150

Letter:

    AISH Support Letter                                                  250 per hour 

             Medical Accommodations (per page)                              80

             Sick Note / Absence Confirmation                                 30

Medico-legal

  Cost for direct and indirect time for written     200

opinion, forms and related costs, per 15 minutes

  Court time, per 15 minutes             250 

      includes time related to travel to and from court 

      and waiting time

Miscellaneous: 

             Photocopying (per page)                                                     1

             Telephone/Fax Prescription refill *                   65

*special circumstances only

             Transfer of Records                                            25+0.25 per page   

Prices are subject to change without Notice 

Patients seeking an adult Autism assessment require a referral from their Alberta Family Doctor, Nurse Practitioner, Psychiatrist or Geneticist.

See the other options for assessments section, below for other options for assessment. 

There are many psychologists, Speech Pathologists, Occupational Therapists and related professionals that can provide Autism assessments. These assessments are not covered in your provincial healthcare. Costs can vary. A complete psychological or psychoeducational assessment can cost a few thousand dollars. 

Autism awareness remains limited to the hands of those people who have sought out additional training and education.  Autism Calgary maintains a list of private psychologists with knowledge of autism spectrum disorder who can provide diagnosis.  

https://autismcalgary.com/psychologistssocial-workers/ (link reviewed 2024 01 30)

There are a variety of assessment tools used. These include the ADOS (Autism Diagnostic Observation Scale) and ADI-R (Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised). The ADOS is a semi-structured examination that varies with the client's age and IQ. The ADI-R is a structured interview of parents. 

If you are looking for an assessment, it is important to ensure that your assessor is familiar with and comfortable with assessing intellectually-intact adults for Autism Spectrum Disorder. For example, they should be able to differentiate the older Autism label from the Asperger's Syndrome label of the same time period. 

The labels "Autism", "Asperger's" and "Pervasive Developmental Disorder" are historical, coming from the book the DSM IV (1994) and DSM IV-TR (2000). They were in use until 2013. These diagnoses were combined into Autism Spectrum Disorder in the DSM 5 (2013) and DSM 5-TR (2022). 

As of December 2023, staff at both the CUPS clinic and the Alex clinic were exploring the possibility of providing Autism assessments.

Dr. Skinner provides Autism Diagnosis services in the Calgary Zone in Alberta, Canada. 

We do not have the capacity to manage out of region patients at this time.

Edmonton Zone: 

The Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital in Edmonton offers the Adult Autism Diagnostic Clinic.  

https://www.albertahealthservices.ca/findhealth/Service.aspx?id=1073107&serviceAtFacilityID=1114129  (link reviewed 2024 03 08)

General Information about Out-of-Province Medical Care

Many Canadian Provinces cover medical doctor's appointments outside of your home province. Quebec does not participate in this agreement.  

Out of province clients are required to provide proof that their Provincial Health Care is valid for the date of each appointment. This includes confirming that your home address matches what is on file for your provincial health care plan. 

Without proof of valid insurance, you will be responsible for paying all costs of assessments at the uninsured service rate and applying to your provincial insurance provider for refund.  

Moving Between Canadian Provinces

When you move to a new province, your provincial Healthcare coverage is only valid for 3 months. There also can be a delay in receiving a new Healthcare card. We recommend contacting and applying for your new Healthcare coverage as soon as possible.