ADHD & Autism Assessments
Who Might Consider an Assessment?
People seek assessment for many different reasons. You may be wondering about ADHD or autism for the first time, or perhaps the possibility has been on your mind for years.
You might consider an assessment if you have noticed patterns involving:
-Attention, concentration, or distractibility
-Organization, planning, or time management
-Starting or completing tasks
-Impulsivity or restlessness
-Sensory sensitivities or feeling easily overwhelmed
-Social communication or interpreting social situations
-A strong preference for predictability or routine
-Masking or working hard to appear comfortable in situations that feel difficult
-Feeling different from others without fully understanding why
-Challenges that have been present across different stages of your life
You do not need to identify with every experience on this list, and these experiences do not automatically mean that someone has ADHD or autism. Assessment helps us look at the broader picture.
What Can an Assessment Help Clarify?
An assessment is not simply about receiving a label. For many people, it is an opportunity to better understand patterns that may have affected school, work, relationships, daily responsibilities, or the way they experience themselves.
Assessment may help explore:
Looking more closely at experiences that may have been present throughout your life and how they affect you today.
Considering whether your experiences are consistent with ADHD, autism, another concern, or a combination of factors.
Understanding areas of ability, resilience, adaptation, and the strategies you may already use effectively.
Using what you learn to have more informed conversations about treatment, support, accommodations, or other resources that may be appropriate for you.
An assessment does not guarantee a particular diagnosis, recommendation, accommodation, or outcome.
1. Initial Conversation
2. Assessment
Your clinician may use interviews, standardized assessment measures, questionnaires, and other sources of information appropriate to the evaluation.
You may also be asked about experiences across different stages of your life so that your clinician can understand patterns over time.
3. Clinical Review
Your clinician considers the information gathered throughout the assessment and looks at the overall picture rather than relying on one score, questionnaire, or experience.
4. Feedback
You will have an opportunity to discuss the findings, ask questions, and talk about what the results may mean for you.
5. Next Steps
When appropriate, your clinician may discuss recommendations or resources that can help you decide what you would like to do with the information you have gained.
What Does the Assessment Process Look Like?
What will I receive?
Your clinician will explain what is included in your specific assessment before you begin.
Depending on the service provided, this may include feedback about the assessment findings and written documentation summarizing relevant information, conclusions, and recommendations.
If you are seeking an evaluation for a particular outside purpose, such as workplace or academic accommodations, disability documentation, legal proceedings, or another organization’s requirements, please tell us before beginning.
Different organizations have their own documentation requirements, and we cannot guarantee that an assessment or report will satisfy the requirements of every outside institution.
A Neurodivergent-Affirming Approach
We believe assessment should help you understand yourself more fully, not reduce you to a diagnosis.
Our approach is curious, collaborative, and respectful of neurodiversity. We recognize that people develop different ways of adapting, communicating, managing expectations, and moving through the world.
We want the assessment process to make room for both challenges and strengths, and for your own understanding of your experiences.
You are welcome to ask questions throughout the process.
Assessment Details
Age: Adults
Assessment offered: ADHD and autism evaluations
Location: Manassas Office
Assessment clinician: Alexa Haines, M.A., NCC
We do not bill insurance companies for assessments.
Assessment services, availability, and scheduling may vary. Our team can help answer questions about the current process before you decide whether to move forward.
Wondering Whether an Assessment Is Right for You?
You do not need to know the answer before reaching out.
Tell us a little about what you have been wondering about and what you hope to better understand. We can help you learn more about the assessment process, current availability, and whether our services may fit what you are looking for.