ADHD is a neurological condition typically diagnosed in childhood and lasts into adulthood. ADHD affects the way individuals pay attention/focus, control their impulsive behaviours, or affect their level of activity.

An ADHD assessment allows an individual, in conjunction with the Psychologist, to assess for the symptoms related to ADHD and explore the history of the challenges those symptoms have presented. This allows the Psychologist to accurately determine the presence of ADHD to support a diagnosis. While an assessment from the Psychologist can help with obtaining a diagnosis, a Psychiatrist or Paediatrician is needed if medication is required.

What is Involved?

An ADHD assessment has a number of components involved to ensure accuracy of a diagnosis. For children, the following is done as part of the assessment:

• Review of any medical, therapy or school reports.
• Feedback from your child’s teacher, where possible.
• Parent interview to gather the history relevant to the diagnosis, as well as completion of a formal assessment questionnaire (Conners 4).
• Completion of an IQ assessment, where one hasn’t been done recently. (Typically the WISC-V)
• Completion of a test of Executive Functioning (DKEFS)
• A feedback session to explain the results

For adults, the assessment process is very similar, involving:

• Review of any medical, therapy or past school reports where available.
• Feedback from or an interview with a close person in your life. Ideally this may be a parent or someone who has watched you grow up, but may also be a partner or close friend where someone from your family is unavailable.
• Client interview to gather the history relevant to the diagnosis, as well as completion of a formal assessment questionnaire (CAARS-2).
• Completion of an IQ assessment (Typically the WAIS-IV).
• Completion of a test of Executive Functioning (DKEFS)
• A feedback session to explain the results

How Long Does the Assessment Take?

Prior to the assessment, you will be emailed some forms to complete including a general intake and consent form, a form that asks questions about background history, including medical history, and the Assessment Questionnaire (Conners 4 for Child Assessments, CAARS-2 for Adult Assessments). Please allow 1-2hours to complete all forms.

Once everything is completed prior to the assessment, the in-person part of the assessment is split into two halves – the clinical interview and the ‘hands on’ assessments (the IQ assessment and Executive Functioning assessment). While the whole assessment can be completed in one day, for child assessments we normally recommend the clinical interview is completed without the child present so they are not having to spend too long waiting in the clinic. Each half takes approximately 2hrs to complete, but may be shorter or longer depending on the day.

After the assessment, a comprehensive report is completed and discussed with you during a 30-45min feedback session.

Why Would I Need An Assessment?

Whether for yourself or for your family member, most people who are seeking a diagnosis of ADHD do so for the following reasons:

• They want to understand why they are experiencing difficulties with certain aspects in their life and a diagnosis may help explain the reason why.
• They want a diagnosis to help inform the strategies needed to help cope with challenges they experience. This may include therapy strategies tailored with ADHD in mind, or medication treatments.
• For children, they may benefit from a diagnosis to help school understand the presenting concerns and for strategies within school to be implemented.
• Due to long waitlists at Paediatrician and Psychiatrist clinics, getting an assessment with a Psychologist may help them confirm a diagnosis sooner and implement non-medical strategies sooner, while waiting for an appointment with a Paediatrician or Psychiatrist for medical strategies.

How Much does the Assessment Cost?

An ADHD assessment takes a Psychologist approximately 8hrs to complete, which includes the time needed to conduct any interviews, complete the IQ and Executive Function assessments, review past reports/information, score the assessments and write the report. Currently, this means an ADHD assessment with Anastasi Psychology will cost $1760.