Adult ADHD Evaluations in North Carolina and South Carolina

Can adults be diagnosed with ADHD?

ADHD is often missed in adults, especially for those who weren't diagnosed as children. An adult ADHD evaluation can help provide clarity on why things are so hard sometimes. Image of a person holding their hands to their temples and looking confused

You’ve been struggling for a while now. Forgetting things, having trouble starting on chores and other “busy work.” It’s hard to concentrate at work. You feel constantly overwhelmed, even when you don’t think you should. You’ve started reading more about ADHD in adults and think it sounds a lot like you.

Or maybe, like some people, you were diagnosed with ADHD as a child. You remember all the struggles in school- how hard it was to get things done. Maybe you even had a prescription for medication but you stopped taking it as you got older because you’ve heard “adults can’t have ADHD.” But now you know that’s not true, but there’s still that doubt that you could have ADHD still.

You could also be someone who has read all the information online about ADHD in adults. You’ve taken the self-tests and check most, if not all, of the boxes. And now you need an official diagnosis for accommodations at work or school, or to bring to a physician to discuss medication, but you don’t want to spend thousands of dollars for a full neuropsychological evaluation. Especially because you know there are evaluators out there who think as long as you did well in school, you can’t have ADHD.

This is where affirming assessments come in.

Living with undiagnosed ADHD can be hard

How adult ADHD evaluations work

There are often a lot of questions about how adult ADHD evaluations work, especially when you don’t want or need a full psychological evaluation. You just need an answer to the question “do I have ADHD?” You may worry that there will be hours upon hours of testing, or that you’ll have to make sure to remember to disclose everything during the evaluation, or that you won’t have the chance to explain your answers. Or that the evaluator will require you to bring in old report cards from elementary school that you don’t have.

Affirming evaluations are different

Assessments through an affirming lens are different. You can send as much information as you want ahead of time, and if there’s anything that you need to add after the evaluation session itself, you can do that too. While there is a lot of talking during the evaluation, you are free to have whatever fidgets you need, to stim, to be off camera, to use the chat instead of speaking, really do whatever you need to feel the most safe and comfortable. In fact, I encourage folks to do what they need during the assessment.

You also have the chance to discuss your answers on the assessments. While I carefully choose the assessments to be as affirming as possible, there are difficulties with any assessment measure, especially those that don’t allow for explanations of answers. That’s why we talk about your answers, so you can be fully heard and understood. This also helps account for masking- sometimes what is seen by others does not reflect your internal experience.

And while you are always welcome to bring in any old information (like from grade school) or have your parents, partners, or loved ones fill out rating scales, I do not require that. For many adults, especially those who have been undiagnosed our whole lives, others don’t always see our struggles. Especially when we have made accommodations for ourselves.

What does the process look like?

Soon after you fill out the scheduling form at the bottom of the page, you will get an email or text from me with scheduling information, a link to fill out paperwork in my client portal, and a link to some online assessment forms. You’ll have a few weeks to fill all of that out before our appointment. While you are taking the time to complete all of the information, you can also send me any other information you have. That could be previous evaluations or notes that you’ve written that you want me to know. I will review all of the information before the evaluation appointment.

During the evaluation appointment, we will discuss your experiences with the paperwork and I may administer some additional assessments (always telling you about it first). We will talk about things you’ve seen that make you question if you have ADHD and accommodations that you have put in place for yourself. We will dig in to those areas that may not appear as struggles on the outside, but cause a great deal of suffering and discomfort in your life.

After the evaluation, I may or may not have additional assessments for you to complete. We will have the results appointment a week or two later. Between the evaluation and the results, you are free to send me anything additional that you want me to know. In fact, I encourage it! During the results appointment, we will talk about not only results, but also any recommendations and next steps for you.

Affirming ADHD Evaluations are different

  • Accounts for structures and supports you have in place that often “hide” ADHD symptoms.

  • Personalized to you and your internal experience. You don’t need to pull up old report cards or get input from parents or others (unless of course you want that!)

  • Looks beyond the typical “did you get in trouble in school” to identify what was really going on.

  • Considers how successes and struggles change over time when faced with new life stages, such as being out of school, parenthood, etc.

Autism evaluations for adults can be affirming! Image of neon purple brains against a black background

Frequently asked questions about adult ADHD evaluations

  • Some of that will depend, but here is a basic breakdown of how my assessments work:

    1. Fill out the scheduling form here. Within 1-3 business days, I will contact you by your preferred method to schedule the assessment (about 3-4 weeks out) and send you a paperwork packet.

    2. You fill out the consent forms and self-assessments and upload any past evaluations at least a week prior to the evaluation session so I have time to review.

    3. We have our evaluation appointment over Zoom. This typically takes 1-2 hours for ADHD only. For autism and ADHD combined, this can take about 3 hours. I will ask follow-up questions about everything you have filled out. There may be some assessments we do together during this time. This also is when you have the time you need to tell your story, to let me know about you and your life experience. At the end of this session, we will schedule our feedback session in about 2 weeks.

    4. Between the evaluation and feedback session, I may have additional assessments for you to fill out. You can also send me any additional thoughts or information that you want incorporated. For example, there may have been things that came up during the evaluation that you needed more time to process to explain fully; you can send those to me during this time.

    5. The feedback session is a time for us to discuss the findings and results. If you want a brief report, it will likely be ready for you at this session. If you are looking for a full, in-depth report, that may take longer but we can verbally discuss findings at this appointment so you don’t have to wait a long time for results. We will also talk about any recommendations during this time. You can also give me feedback on the assessment process at this appointment (or any time during the process!)

    Click here if you are ready to schedule!

  • In short, no. The evaluations I offer only look at ADHD (and autism, if requested); they are not a full psychological evaluation. My evaluations do not negate or replace any previous diagnosis that you may have. The report may be taken to other providers to give them information though, and I am always happy to speak with anyone you want me to (with your written consent, of course).

  • A diagnostic evaluation for ADHD only, including a full write-up is $800.

    For a combined ADHD and autism evaluation, the cost is $900 for the evaluation with a brief report, and $1075 if you require a full, in-depth written report.

    Payment plans are available if needed.

    Click here when you are ready to schedule.

  • There’s two easy ways to get started.

    If you know you’re ready to schedule your assessment, click here and fill out the scheduling form.

    If you have more questions, or want to meet ahead of time to make sure we feel like a good fit, you can schedule a free consultation by clicking here.

    I'm looking forward to meeting you!

Fill out the form below to schedule your ADHD Evaluation

Please allow for additional time in responding to requests as I have reduced working hours and time off the weeks of December 23-January 4