An Adult ADHD assessment involves the following components:
- Screening – During discussion over email, you will be sent a screening questionnaire to see whether traits are present to warrant a full diagnostic assessment. We can also have a brief chat over the telephone if needed. There is no fee for this.
- Assessment – Can be conducted face to face or virtually. You will attend one clinical appointments (approx. 2 hours) to complete clinical interviewing (Includes Diagnostic Interview for ADHD in Adults Version 5 – DIVA5 – and additional tests including the ASRS-v1.
- Corroboration – Where possible, we will gather information from a 3rd party via a telephone session after our two assessment sessions. This would be someone who can provide information about you when you were a child and growing up or someone in your life presently who can give some feedback about your traits and behaviours e.g., a sibling, spouse/partner or close friend. If this isn’t possible, we’ll discuss with you how we can work around this. Unlike a child assessment, 3rd party feedback is not vital for an adult assessment.
- Report – Your clinician will review all the information gathered and map that against the diagnostic criteria. We use the ICD-10 and/or the DSM-V diagnostic criteria for adults in our practice. A comprehensive report will then be produced and emailed to you. The report will include a detailed analysis of the assessment content, a formulation, an outcome (e.g. diagnosis or no diagnosis), and tailored recommendations about next steps. If you do not meet the criteria for a formal diagnosis, there is always a formulation as to why not and what else might be going on instead (e.g. mental health condition, alternative neurodevelopmental condition).
- Feedback – You will then be invited for a feedback appointment to discuss the outcome of the report and next steps (this is the case if a diagnosis is given or not). This session can be carried out virtually or face to face.
- Post-diagnosis – If you do receive a diagnosis of ADHD, our practice offers post-diagnostic sessions to every client to help understand and make sense of the diagnosis. This includes an educational component on the neurodevelopmental condition, managing traits, disclosing to others, and future planning. This is optional and at an additional cost please see current pricing for details.
Please Note
It is important to say at this point, that it is not possible to guarantee a diagnosis will be given. We follow national guidelines. Our clinical assessors are trained in NICE recommended assessment tools, and have worked in NHS diagnostic assessment services, thus adhere to these procedures.
We then review all of the information against the diagnostic criteria before reaching a conclusion and inviting you and your family (where applicable) to a feedback appointment.
All the way through the process, we have in mind that ADHD can often be co-morbid with other developmental needs e.g. Dyslexia, ASD, early trauma and we will discuss any observations and recommendations with you as we go through the process.
We will routinely discuss a wide range of support options with you, to include educational, behavioural and sensory support. We also have links with a private psychiatry service for medication support, post-diagnosis, if this is something you wish to consider.
