Adult ADHD Assessment
Key Points:
Who: Mintleaf Clinic’s adult ADHD assessments are offered by Katherine Wilson. Feel free to learn more about her by reviewing her profile on our website.
What: Assessments are roughly 6-7 hours and involve various forms of testing; this often includes a client’s family members/friends and school/medical reports.
Where: Assessments can be completed virtually, or in a hybrid manner if located in Ottawa, Ontario.
When: Katherine is accepting new clients (18+) for ADHD assessment for mid/late February or early March 2025.
What is ADHD?
You may have noticed that there is more discussion about adult ADHD these days. Of course, while more awareness is a great thing, it can also lead to some confusion and misinformation. So let’s start with the basics: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental condition that affects a number of important aspects of brain functionality. And while it does affect people across the lifespan, ADHD has historically been thought of as a childhood disorder. In fact, up until 2013, the authors of the DSM (or Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, North America’s diagnosis handbook) acknowledged that ADHD technically could show up in adulthood, but they did not provide any examples of how it might present in adults; not so helpful for accurate diagnosis!
There has been a shift In recent years however, and experts in the field estimate that roughly 2.6% of those diagnosed with ADHD in childhood continue to meet criteria into adulthood. And, very importantly, that roughly 6.8% of adults meet criteria for ADHD whether or not they were previously diagnosed in childhood (you can read more about that here).
What does Adult ADHD look like?
How ADHD manifests will depend on someone’s particular context and lived experience, but will always affect their general functioning in some way across different areas of their lives. When considering whether ADHD might be present, it’s important to consider an individual’s experience with:
regulating focus and attention (e.g., difficulty initiating/persisting through tasks that are not interesting and/or require sustained mental effort);
planning tasks and sequencing steps appropriately (e.g. trouble with time management, following instructions, etc.);
modulating and pacing decisions appropriately (e.g. quick/impulsive decision-making, difficulty delaying gratification, interrupting others’ speech or activities, etc.);
seeking novelty and tasking risks (e.g. easily bored in relationships, jobs, living situations, etc., and a tendency towards risky or reckless decisions);
regulating internal (i.e. mental) AND external (i.e. physical) restlessness (e.g. daydreaming, mind wandering; fidgeting, playing with hair, doodling, difficulty sitting still); and
managing intense emotions and associated behaviours (e.g. low frustration tolerance, prone to mood swings, quick to anger/impatience, sensitivity to actual or perceived rejection).
Despite the widespread impact of ADHD on behaviour, functionality, and emotional well-being, the current diagnostic process differentiates between two domains: inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity. Based on this, there are three presentations of ADHD in the most recent version of the DSM (and any of these can be classified as mild, moderate, or severe):
1) ADHD with primarily inattentive presentation (sometimes called ADD);
2) ADHD with primarily hyperactive/impulsive presentation; and
3) ADHD with a combined presentation, meaning that a sufficient number of criteria in both the inattentive AND hyperactive/impulsive domains have been met.
Due to important research in the field over the last several years, there is a better understanding of how ADHD can show up across ages, genders, and contexts, and the significant impacts it can have on someone’s life. Fortunately, this means clinicians are better able to recognize ADHD through appropriate assessment.
Assessment Process
An ADHD assessment through our clinic is a thorough process and typically involves:
the client’s self-reporting of symptoms, behaviours, and personality features (both current and historic);
a friend or family member’s reporting of the client’s symptoms and behaviours (both current and historic);
objective measure(s) of relevant neuropsychological/cognitive functions; and
lifespan development documentation (e.g. childhood report cards, medical reports, etc.).
How long does it take?
It is difficult to gauge the exact time required to complete a particular assessment, as this will depend on the complexity of the presenting situation. However, the minimum time required from clients for a typical ADHD assessment would be roughly 6-7 hours:
3-4 hours for a diagnostic interview and comprehensive self-report measures;
1-2 hours for objective neuropsychological/psychological testing; and
1 hour for a final feedback session.
In addition to this time spent with the client, there is significant behind the scenes work for the clinician; this includes scoring and interpretation of completed measures; integration of information from collateral sources; exploration of differential diagnoses; and report-writing and/or compiling documentation of assessment findings.
How much does it cost?
At this time, our assessments are offered by clinical psychologist Katherine Wilson, either fully online or with some in-person components if preferred. Katherine’s assessment services are billed at $235/hour. It’s typical for a full ADHD assessment to require 9 to 10 hours of a clinician’s time, and therefore a final total of between $2,115 and $2,350 is expected. Please keep in mind that depending on the complexity of the assessment and the client’s desired level of detail included in the summary report, more time may be required and the total assessment fee may increase; clients will be informed as soon as is reasonably possible as to the total fee required for the assessment.
Will I definitely get a diagnosis of ADHD?
This is a common and understandable question. Remember that the goal of the assessment process is not necessarily to come away with a diagnosis, but instead to determine if the reporting/observation of your symptoms and behaviours align with the criteria for any of the ADHD presentations as set out by the DSM-5; sometimes the answer is yes, and sometimes the answer is no. So it is very important to be aware that completing a diagnostic assessment will not necessarily result in a diagnosis of any particular disorder, including ADHD.
Please also keep in mind that this does not mean that your symptoms are “made up” or unimportant. Someone can be experiencing a lot of distress, but only meet some of the necessary criteria for an ADHD diagnosis. Or, perhaps the difficulties you’re experiencing look similar to an ADHD presentation, but are a result of something else entirely. So not getting a diagnosis certainly doesn’t mean that your suffering isn’t “real”; it just means that a clinician doesn’t have the evidence required to attribute it to an ADHD presentation. No matter what, clarity is a good thing!
Regardless of whether a disorder is assessed to be present, the assessment process will be completed in full and you will be provided with in-depth treatment and/or next step recommendations.
What happens after the assessment?
As just mentioned, in your final feedback session your clinician will go over your results with you and discuss their suggestions for your next steps; you will also receive a written summary report (of varying level of detail depending on your preference).
Please be aware that the ADHD assessment through our clinic is a standalone process and we do not offer specialized ADHD coaching/therapy at this time.
However, if at the end of your assessment you are interested in pursuing individual therapy with one of our associate therapists for ADHD-informed therapy (OR for any other areas of difficulty!), that is certainly a possibility; please mention this during or after your assessment to either your clinician or to our admin team to begin the process.