Adult ADHD Assessments Canberra

Information Re usual Process For Adult ADHD Assessment (or Behavioural Assessment)

Please note that Dr Connor is now  fully booked for 2023.  

 Dr Connor is not in a position to accept any more clients - either child or adult -  for 2023.   However, Dr Connor is happy to take names and contact details for a waitlist for 2024. 

Please email your inquiry, rather than phone, as this will yield a faster response.

[Please note that former clients re-presenting will be accommodated, if possible, using cancellations.]

The process for an ADHD assessment is outlined below.

In order to ‘rule out’/’rule in’ ADD/ADHD, I will need to do a comprehensive psychological assessment which will include an assessment for AD(H)D, but will also consider other disorders/conditions that can “look like” (manifest symptoms similar to) ADD/ADHD, including depression, anxiety, trauma, and learning difficulties etc. To focus exclusively on ADHD may lead to missing some other important aspect of your presentation. Thus, the process is quite lengthy and (for adults) time consuming and involves the following:

• An initial interview (usually 2 + hours) in which a comprehensive psycho-social history is obtained and questions to enable a differential diagnosis will be asked.
• (It is possible to proceed no further after this interview. Usually at, at the end of this interview, discussion is held as to the best way to proceed.)

If ADHD seems to be a possibility the following will take place:

• Where possible, an interview will be held with someone else who knows you well (partner, sister or brother, parent). I am happy to talk with more than one person.
• You will be given a number of psychometric inventories to complete. You will also be given inventories for someone who knows you well to complete.
• Review of copied school reports primary school through to secondary school ( these need to be provided in hard copy) ad any other previous reports.
• Consideration will be given to a number of diagnoses (differential diagnoses).
• [One of the diagnoses that requires extensive additional testing is that for Specific Learning Disorders.If there is any suggestion of a learning problem, a full cognitive and learning assessment is required in the consideration of Specific Learning Disorders. The cost for this part of the assessment is separate, given the time involved in this assessment. [PLEASE SEE BELOW]. If there is no suggestion of a learning disorder, no assessment will be required.
• Writing of report. After all the data is collected, a comprehensive report is written containing an account of the initial interview, other interviews, a summary of the results of the psychometric inventories, and the consideration of several possible diagnoses, including a summary of the learning and cognitive assessment.
• A feedback session is usually then scheduled to go through the information collected, and the results, conclusions and recommendations.

Overall Process in Table Form

STAGE OF ASSESSMENT	TIME TAKEN
Initial Interview (Inventories may be provided at this interview or undertaken at a separate time – no fee charged for session where inventories completed)	2plus hours
YOU MAY NOT NEED TO CONTINUE AFTER THIS SESSION as the interview may provide enough direction itself.
Interviews with others who know you well (where possible)
Review of school reports and other reports
OVERALL REPORT: includes write up of  comprehensive history, analysis of data/inventories, information from interview, and writing of full report (only includes brief summary of cognitive and learning assessment)	Many hours
FEEDBACK SESSION	1 hour

If any additional testing is required (e.g. Executive Functioning assessment), A SEPARATE FEE WILL BE CHARGED FOR ADMINISTRATION, SCORING AND ANALYSIS).

Cognitive And Learning Assessment Process (not Always Required)

• [In order to determine whether or not a learning disorder present, a full cognitive and learning assessment needs to be undertaken to contribute important information to the assessment. This is because attention and concentration difficulties, or hyperactive behaviours, can often be related to learning problems (even with highly intelligent individuals).
• If this test is necessary, I will advise of the full cost for this at the first session.