Affirming Adult ADHD and Autism Evaluations in North Carolina and South Carolina
Am I Autistic?
You may have been questioning for a while now. You’ve done all the on-line tests, or maybe your therapist has brought it up. You’re sure you are autistic, but there’s still this nagging doubt in your head. You know self-diagnosis is valid, but you’d feel better having confirmation from a professional.
Or maybe you are self-diagnosed and are fully confident in your identity but need something official in order to get the accommodations you need in the workplace or at school. And you don’t want to spend thousands of dollars for a full neuropsychological evaluation that might use outdated information and not even meet your needs.
If you’re like some adults, you’ve been assessed before and told you weren’t autistic. That just didn’t feel right though. It didn’t seem to account for all the work you do to function in day to day life. Sure, you can make eye contact when you have to, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy. And all of the information about autistic adults resonates so much for you. How could you not be?
This is where affirming assessments come in.
Can adults be diagnosed with ADHD?
You’ve been struggling for a while now. Forgetting things, having trouble starting on chores and other “busy work.” It’s hard to concentrate at work. You feel constantly overwhelmed, even when you don’t think you should. You’ve started reading more about ADHD in adults and think it sounds a lot like you.
Or maybe, like some people, you were diagnosed with ADHD as a child. You remember all the struggles in school- how hard it was to get things done. Maybe you even had a prescription for medication but you stopped taking it as you got older because you’ve heard “adults can’t have ADHD.” But now you know that’s not true, but there’s still that doubt that you could have ADHD still.
You could also be someone who has read all the information online about ADHD in adults. You’ve taken the self-tests and check most, if not all, of the boxes. And now you need an official diagnosis for accommodations at work or school, or to bring to a physician to discuss medication, but you don’t want to spend thousands of dollars for a full neuropsychological evaluation. Especially because you know there are evaluators out there who think as long as you did well in school, you can’t have ADHD.
This is where affirming assessments come in.
Self-diagnosis is valid, but sometimes you need more
How adult ADHD and autism evaluations work
There are often a lot of questions about how ADHD and autism evaluations for adults work, especially when you don’t want or need a full psychological evaluation, just an answer to the question “am I autistic?” or “do I have ADHD?” You may worry that there will be hours upon hours of testing, or that you’ll have to make sure to remember to disclose everything during the evaluation, or that you won’t have the chance to explain your answers.
Affirming evaluations are different
Assessments through an affirming lens are different. You can send as much information as you want ahead of time, and if there’s anything that you need to add after the evaluation session itself, you can do that too. While there is a lot of talking during the evaluation, you are free to have whatever fidgets you need, to stim, to be off camera, to use the chat instead of speaking, really do whatever you need to feel the most safe and comfortable. In fact, I encourage folks to do what they need during the assessment.
You also have the chance to discuss your answers on the assessments. While I carefully choose the assessments to be as affirming as possible, there are difficulties with any assessment measure, especially those that don’t allow for explanations of answers. That’s why we talk about your answers, so you can be fully heard and understood. This also helps account for masking- sometimes what is seen by others does not reflect your internal experience.
What does the process look like?
Soon after you fill out the scheduling form at the bottom of the page, you will get an email from me with scheduling information, a link to fill out paperwork in my client portal, and a link to some online assessment forms. You’ll have a few weeks to fill all of that out before our appointment. While you are taking the time to complete all of the information, you can also send me any other information you have. That could be previous evaluations or notes that you’ve written that you want me to know. I will review all of the information before the evaluation appointment.
During the evaluation appointment, we will discuss your experiences with the paperwork and I may administer some additional assessments (always telling you about it first). We will talk about your experience as an autistic or ADHD (or questioning) adult. We also talk a great deal about masking, as this is the reason many of us were missed when we were younger.
After the evaluation, I may or may not have additional assessments for you to complete. We will have the results appointment a week or two later. Between the evaluation and the results, you are free to send me anything additional that you want me to know. In fact, I encourage it! During the results appointment, we will talk about not only results, but also any recommendations and next steps for you. If you want a brief summary, you will get it at this appointment. If you want a longer, full report, we may have the results session before that is ready so you don’t have to wait.
Affirming Autism and ADHD Evaluations are different
Accounts for years of masking
Takes your own internal experience into account- no need to have others fill out information (unless you want them to!)
Use evaluations to affirm autistic or ADHD experience, rather than tests to “fail” neurotypical experience.
Accounts for structures and supports you have in place that often “hide” ADHD symptoms.
Personalized to you and your internal experience. You don’t need to pull up old report cards or get input from parents or others (unless of course you want that!)
Looks beyond the typical “did you get in trouble in school” to identify what was really going on.
Considers how successes and struggles change over time when faced with new life stages, such as being out of school, parenthood, etc.
How much does an ADHD or Autism Evaluation cost?
ADHD only Evalution
ADHD evaluations cost $800 for the assessment with a written report.
ADHD evaluations without a written report (diagnostic exploration only) cost $600.
The evaluation session itself is scheduled for 2 hours, with a 1 hour follow up a few weeks later to review results. The evaluation cost includes the assessment appointment, the follow-up appointment, any necessary testing materials, and the report option you choose. Diagnostic exploration includes everything except a written report.
Autism only Evaluation
Autism evaluations cost $1,000 for the assessment with a written report.
Autism evaluations without a written report (diagnostic exploration only) cost $800.
The evaluation session itself is scheduled for 3 hours, with a 1 hour follow up a few weeks later to review results. The evaluation cost includes the assessment appointment, the follow-up appointment, any necessary testing materials, and the report option you choose. Diagnostic exploration includes everything except a written report.
Combined ADHD and Autism Evalution
Combined ADHD and Autism evaluations cost $1200 with a written report.
Combined ADHD and Autism evaluations without a written report (diagnostic exploration only) cost $950.
The evaluation session itself is scheduled for two separate 2-hour sessions, with a 1 hour follow up a few weeks after the final evaluation session to review results. The evaluation cost includes the assessment appointments, the follow-up appointment, any necessary testing materials, and the report option you choose. Diagnostic exploration includes everything except a written report.
All evaluations require a non-refundable deposit of $200 to schedule, which is deducted from your total cost. You can pay the remainder in full on the date of the evaluation appointment or split the remainder into 2 equal payments, with the first payment due the date of the evaluation and the second due on the date of the follow-up. I can take FSA/HSA cards, as well as all major credit cards.
Other payment plans are available; contact me for more details.
Frequently asked questions about ADHD and Autism testing for adults
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First of all, the person who knows best if you are autistic or ADHD is you! No one knows your internal experience better than you do. That being said, some people want (or need!) a professional diagnosis. In that case, just fill out the form here to schedule your evaluation.
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Some of that will depend, but here is a basic breakdown of how my assessments work:
Fill out the scheduling form here. Within 1-3 business days, I will contact you by your preferred method to schedule the assessment (about 3-4 weeks out) and send you a paperwork packet.
You fill out the consent forms and self-assessments and upload any past evaluations at least a week prior to the evaluation session so I have time to review.
We have our evaluation appointment over Zoom. Depending on the specific evaluation you want, this can take 2-3 hours, or two 2-hour appointments, and is when I ask follow-up questions about everything you have filled out. There may be some assessments we do together during this time. This also is when you have the time you need to tell your story, to let me know about you and your life experience. At the end of this session, we will schedule our feedback session in about 2 weeks.
Between the evaluation and feedback session, I may have additional assessments for you to fill out. You can also send me any additional thoughts or information that you want incorporated. For example, there may have been things that came up during the evaluation that you needed more time to process to explain fully; you can send those to me during this time.
The feedback session is a time for us to discuss the findings and results. If you want a brief report, it will likely be ready for you at this session. If you are looking for a full, in-depth report, that may take longer but we can verbally discuss findings at this appointment so you don’t have to wait a long time for results. We will also talk about any recommendations during this time. You can also give me feedback on the assessment process at this appointment (or any time during the process!)
Click here if you are ready to schedule!
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In short, no. The evaluations I offer only look at autism and/or ADHD; they are not a full psychological evaluation. My evaluations do not negate or replace any previous diagnosis that you may have. The report may be taken to other providers to give them information though, and I am always happy to speak with anyone you want me to (with your written consent, of course).
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There’s two easy ways to get started.
If you know you’re ready to schedule your assessment, click here and fill out the scheduling form.
If you have more questions, or want to meet ahead of time to make sure we feel like a good fit, you can schedule a free consultation by filling out the request after you complete the scheduling form.
I’m excited to get the chance to meet you!