The privilege of a lifetime is to become who you truly are.
Carl Jung
Assessment Services
What is an assessment?
Assessment is the process of collecting data (information) from you through self-report, clinical interviews, and performance measures. We will use that data to provide a comprehensive analysis of your unique brain function, reflecting your individual and dynamic pattern of strengths and vulnerabilities.
What does “neuro-affirming assessment” mean?
Psychological assessment has historically been used to identify psychological disorder. When an individual exhibits behaviors that are considered socially unacceptable, or faced challenges with emotional regulation, cognitive processing, and daily functioning, they are often referred for assessment. This process assists clinicians in identifying what is “wrong” with a person via diagnosis or diagnoses, as outlined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (the DSM, which is a compendium of mental health diagnoses). This is still the approach of most psychological assessment, and while it is certainly helpful for many, it tends to over-pathologize neurological differences that aren’t inherently disordered.
The foundation of a neuro-affirming assessment is the understanding that natural variation in the way people are wired is beneficial to the world. While having Autistic and ADHD neurotypes can result in distress and impairment, the cause is often heavily influenced by living in a culture that does not value or support people who experience the world in a different way. As a neuro-affirming practitioner I aim to provide feedback that most accurately and appropriately reflects your experience without pathologizing differences that are not pathological.
Who are these assessments for?
I provide assessments to adults (18 +) and welcome clients of all genders, sexual orientations, ethnicities, and religious affiliations. My objective as an evaluator is to provide comprehensive, curious, intelligent, and accurate assessment services that are sensitive to the presentation of high-achieving, high-masking, and/or gifted individuals who do not fit the old traditional stereotype of autism and/or ADHD.
I serve folks who may have been missed by standard testing, or who were not identified as neurodivergent in childhood or through the school system. This happens for lots of different reasons; commonly I see the combination of a strong desire for social relationships paired with robust cognitive ability, which creates a heightened ability to mask their traits. This combination can make identifying neurodivergence challenging, even for the individuals themselves.
We will work together in three phases: discovery and intake, interviews and assessments, and results and recommendations.
How It Works (the Process)
Autism and ADHD testing generally involves three phases.
- Phase 1
- Discovery Session (30 min)
- Intake Interview (60 min)
- Phase 2
- Direct Evaluation Sessions (2-3 hours)
- Questionnaires and Ratings Scales completed on your own time (2-3 hours)
- Refinement Measures (if applicable)
- Phase 3
- Results Exploration Session* (60 min)
- Comprehensive Written Report (Resources & Diagnostics)
- Optional Final Review Session (60 min)
- Total length of assessment varies but generally requires 8 – 10 weeks.
Assessment Inclusions & Ethics
Clients have agency and choice with me in choosing to seek a diagnosis or to simply receive more information about themselves and how their brain works. Autism, ADHD, and giftedness are the primary areas that we evaluate. Our comprehensive (Autism) and ADHD-targeted evaluations incorporate relevant areas of language and communication, social-emotional characteristics, motor skills, and sensory processing. Relevant clinical explanations will be provided during the results phase of the assessment process. Support resources specific to any additional areas of neurodivergence will also be provided.
Benefits & Outcomes of Assessment
If you are neurodivergent and have grown up in contemporary Western culture, it’s likely that your distinct needs may not have been adequately addressed in your daily experiences. Undergoing an assessment can provide valuable insights into your cognitive functioning (including sensory and emotional patterns), enabling you to enhance your life in alignment with needs that may have previously gone unrecognized.
After this assessment, you will:
- Obtain clinical diagnoses (if requested and applicable)
- Better understand your brain type, unique patterns of strengths and vulnerabilities
- Learn how to leverage your communication style and patterns
- Develop a sense of what conditions support and optimize your best work
- Gain perspective on struggles, challenges and vulnerabilities over the course of your life
- Identify areas of challenge where you may benefit from greater support
Professional Disclaimer
My ethical and professional obligation is to provide feedback and diagnosis based on data collected. Sometimes it happens that we may feel a strong identification with a particular diagnosis, but through testing find that while the experience or symptoms are very similar, the underlying cause may be somewhat different. For example, you may experience real difficulty with executive functioning, but depression may be the cause, rather than ADHD. Therefore testing with medoes not guarantee an outcome. You are paying for my time and professional expertise, not to be given a specific diagnosis without the data to support it.
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