Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Assessments

Note: At the Social Learning Studio, we offer a comprehensive assessment for ADHD. This means we will use best-practice tools and methods to identify, interpret, and summarise your child’s behaviours in relation to what we see in young people with ADHD. 

In the case of behaviours consistent with a diagnosis of ADHD, final confirmation and ongoing support by a Paediatrician/Psychiatrist is strongly recommended. 

Sometimes, medication is a treatment option that can be explored.  Please note: Psychologists cannot prescribe medication, only paediatricians and psychiatrists can.

What is ADHD?

To understand an ADHD assessment, it’s helpful to start with a good understanding of ADHD itself. Dr Edward Hallowell - a US-based ADHD expert - describes ADHD as like having a turbo-charged Ferrari engine for a brain but only having bicycle brakes - very powerful, but hard to control.

This analogy helps us understand the three different presentations of ADHD that children can show, based on the behaviours we see the most in them.

Presentations

  • Predominantly Inattentive
    Children who show these behaviours tend to struggle with regulating or controlling their attention but don’t necessarily have difficulty controlling their behaviours.
    Using Dr Hallowell’s race-car analogy, we can see children who turn every time they see a new road (i.e., inattention) or those who miss the turn because they are so focused on driving (i.e., hyperfocus). Some children do both, at different times and in different situations.

  • Predominantly Hyperactive/Impulsive
    Children who show these behaviours tend to have trouble stopping (or ‘inhibiting’) a behaviour when it comes to them but can usually control their focus and attention.
    Our Ferrari-brain children with ADHD might push the accelerator when they should actually be pushing the breaks (or vice versa).

  • Combined
    Children who show enough of the behaviours related to both of the presentations of ADHD.

ADHD and Executive Functioning

Executive Functioning is the use of a set of mental skills for controlling our behaviour, emotion, and thoughts. This helps us reach goals and solve problems. Some influential researchers (like Russell Barkley) argue that ADHD behaviours are directly related to Executive Functioning challenges. 

Assessment of Executive Functioning challenges is not necessary for a diagnosis of ADHD and these skills can be assessed on their own (see our Executive Functioning assessment page). However, understanding which skills young people have difficulties with and providing behavioural strategies for these is a key way of supporting a young person with ADHD.

What does the assessment involve?

To explore these aspects of ADHD, our screening assessment will typically involve the following:

  • Interviews with parents to understand exactly what behaviours you are seeing at home and the impact they are having
    Parent interviews are also an important way for us to start to explore if there are other things in your child’s development or your family’s history that might better explain what we are seeing. The focus is on ruling out other experiences (e.g., medical conditions) or challenges (e.g., trauma) that research tells us is linked to ADHD behaviours.

  • Questionnaires to understand how strongly the behaviours you are seeing match with other behavioural or emotional issues (e.g., anxiety, aggression, etc.) and with the different presentations of ADHD
    This helps us decide if there are other areas that need to be explored or supported, before or instead of working with the idea that the behaviours are related to aspects of ADHD.

  • Observations at school and conversations with teachers to understand what the behaviours look like in an environment where self-control and focus are highly valued, encouraged and modelled.
    A child might be working hard to hide their challenges or control their thoughts and behaviours at school or they might really enjoy the activity they are doing during the observation. This means they might not show any of the behaviours related to ADHD during the observation. However, when they do show these behaviours it tells us that what’s required of them in the classroom might be more than what they have the skills to cope with.

What will - and won’t - the assessment tell us?

What this assessment will tell us:

  • Which of the behaviours needed for a diagnosis of ADHD your child is showing
    To receive a diagnosis, your child needs to show a number of specific behaviours. These are listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual 5th Edition (DSM-V Text Revision) and are woven into the interviews we conduct and the questionnaires we use.

  • The impact of your child’s behaviour across different environments (e.g., school and home)
    Regardless of a diagnosis, if there is no impact then your child is most likely coping well with their challenges  and may even have developed amazing strategies for using their strengths to make up for their difficulties

  • Areas of support and need
    As discussed, ADHD can be thought of as differences in how people regulate behaviours, emotions and thoughts. Seeing which of these areas - and the related skills - your child has the most difficulty with means we also know the areas we can support with evidence-based strategies.

What this assessment won’t tell us:

  • A formal diagnosis of ADHD
    As discussed, this is best done in consultation with a Paediatrician. The report we create will summarise the assessment process and findings. It will be a useful tool that you can choose to share with a medical professional to help with their decision making. The report will also provide helpful recommendations to support the young person.

  • What medication might be helpful and how much
    Even though medication is an effective treatment for ADHD symptoms, only a professional like a Paediatrician can prescribe appropriate medication.
    This is part of the reason why a referral to a Paediatrician after the assessment is strongly recommended.

  • The relationship between ADHD and any learning difficulties
    Conversations with teachers and looking at school reports may tell us if your child is having difficulty learning in one or more subjects. However, this assessment will not help us untangle whether this difficulty is due to the challenges - and strengths - of having an ADHD brain or because of something like a specific learning disorder.

How much will it cost?

Clinical Assessments with reports and feedback meetings can range from $900 - $2200 including GST.

The specific cost depends on exactly what needs to happen in each specific assessment. For example, the following play a role in how much an assessment costs:

  • The time it takes to complete the ‘typical’ activities and tasks
    E.g., Most observations of young people at school take place over a standard 50-minute session but issues – positive and negative – can come up that mean it takes longer or shorter.

  • Additional testing or tools that need to be used, following the results of earlier assessment

  • How complex the information provided is to pull together and report on.

As noted on our fees page, we will provide an individual fee schedule for each assessment. The costs outlined here are determined by:

  • The clinician’s hourly rate

  • The cost of the certified assessment form/s ($5-25 each)

  • The time required to

    • administer the assessment/s

    • score the assessment/s

    • evaluate the results

    • produce a report

    • meet with the client/parents and/or teacher to discuss the results and recommendations.