Neuro Affirming Assessments for ADHD and Autism

Assessment and diagnostic evaluations can provide us with more information about ourselves and inform how we process our own experiences and navigate our home, work, school and community life. My goal is to take make this process empowering and to improve your understanding of how your brain works.

An Affirming Approach

The conventional medical approach to mental healthcare is to "diagnose and treat." In contrast, a neurodiversity affirming lens encourages us to view what were once termed "disorders" as neurological differences.

I invite my clients to see themselves as individuals with neurological differences, not deficits. This allows us to leverage their strengths and foster healthier long-term interactions with your environment.

Considering Your Intersectionality

There are a variety of intersections in identity that effect the ways ADHD and Autism show up in different people.  It is important to be aware of these for accuracy in diagnosis and these are things I take into account.  

Intersecting identities do impact how we experience and show up in the world. We will account for these differences when selecting your assessment tools to ensure diagnosis accuracy.

Identities that intersect and shift the picture in assessment include:

  • Varying age groups - pediatric, young adult, adult, elderly

  • Folks in the LGBTQIA+ community

  • People of Color

  • Trauma background

  • Other medical conditions

Rates

Autism Evaluation

With Report: $1400*

Without Report: $1200*

Includes 2-4 interviews, collateral information scoring, and follow up session**

ADHD Evaluation

With Report: $1000*

Without Report: $800*

ADHD & Autism Evaluation

With Report: $1800*

Includes 2-4 interviews, collateral information scoring, and follow up session**

  • *If you are interested in using your insurance for assessment please mention this in the consult call so we can discuss your options

  • **I offer stand alone assessments and also work with ongoing patients on assessment

Assesment
FAQs

  • A psychological evaluation is typically an extensive process - it is a time and sometimes cost intensive process of assessing cognitive, emotional, social and behavioral functioning. Psychological evaluation can encompass many types of information gathering including many types of psychological testing (sometimes called a battery of testing) and is conducted by a Licensed Clinical Psychologist. This type of assessment can be helpful for looking at a wide range of potential explanations for behavioral, social, emotional and neuro-differences, and is often valuable in evaluating developmental and neuro-cognitive differences, including evaluation for educational needs such as specific learning differences and disabilities.

  • For one thing, I am a Licensed Certified Social Worker- Clinical- or LCSW-C - not a Licensed Clinical Psychologist. This means there are key differences in my educational background and foundational training - though each individual in every field has areas of focus, specialization and training that may vary from others in their field - and there are slightly different core values, or guiding principles for my profession. Licensed Clinical Social Workers do not conduct psychological testing, however, in Maryland and Virginia, licensed clinical providers including LCSW-Cs are ethically and legally qualified to utilize the current Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders(DSM-5) in the process of diagnosis of ADHD and/or Autism.

    This means my process of assessment will include many forms of information gathering - social and developmental history, self-report inventories/questionnaires, and interview session(s) using neurodiversity affirming, evidence based diagnostic protocol. And it does not include full neuropsychological testing.

  • My evaluation process is intentionally limited in scope, as this is my area of specialization and expertise - Diagnostic Evaluations for Autism and/or ADHD are for the sole purpose of evaluating and identifying/diagnosing Autism and/or ADHD. Additionally, it is important to note that my diagnostic evaluation process does not seek to validate, nor reevaluate any previous mental health diagnosis, as the scope of the assessment process is limited to exploring differential diagnosis as part of identification/diagnosis of Autism and/or ADHD.

    This means that I use my experience and training in assessment, trauma-informed practice and mental health disorders to consider a wide range of explanations for sensory, social, emotional, and behavioral differences for the purpose of clarifying ADHD and/or Autism using a neurodiversity affirming framework.

  • To make an accurate and non pathologized diagnosis, skills and training in assessment and use of psychometric measures is paramount. Measures were chosen for their validity, reliability and scope of assessing a wide variety of presentations. The measures listed below are those that I have been trained in and use in assessment:

    For ADHD:

    • Child Behavior Checklist

    • Attachment Scales for Children, Adolescents and Adults

    • Trauma Symptom Checklists

    • PTSD Checklist

    • Adult ADHD Self Report Scale

    • DIVA - 5 - Diagnostic Interview for ADHD in Adults

    • BDEFS - Barkley Deficits in Executive Functioning Scale

    For Autism:

    • CAT-Q - Camoflauging Autistic Traits Questionnaire

    • RAADS-R Ritvo Autism Asperger Diagnostic Scale–Revised

    • RBQ - 2A Adult Repetitive Behaviors Questionnaire

    • MIGDAS-2

    • SRS - 2 Social Responsiveness Scale

    • Sensory Profile

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