Assessments
ADHD assessments are comprehensive and time intensive. They involve a clinical interview (3-4 hours), completion of psychometrics (questionnaires), gathering information from a parent/caregiver or partner, and reviewing school reports.
Due to the time involved in completing ADHD assessments they are priced accordingly at between $1600 to $1800 (GST inclusive).
After the assessment, if the criteria for ADHD is met the next step is for the GP to place a referral (with the assessment report) via the approved Canterbury Health Pathway to access medication treatment. Psychological support is also an option which would be outlined in the assessment report.
Sometimes, a person’s history can make it too complicated to assign a diagnosis. A referral for a second opinion by a psychiatrist may be recommended in such circumstances.
If you would like an ADHD assessment, please see your GP for a referral to TPH. Your GP needs to have ruled out any medical explanations for symptoms and confirm that medication to treat ADHD is not contraindicated. You would then need to collect school reports and prior psychological or learning assessments prior to the assessment. Contact details for family, friends and/or partners who can provide additional information would also be required.
Please note, we would not assess someone for ADHD if they were also struggling concurrently with substance abuse issues. In such circumstances, people can ask their GP to refer them to the public health system for an assessment.
Adult ASD assessments
Some of our clinicians can assess for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in adults with average (or above) intellectual functioning.
Assessments typically take 2 to 3 hours of face to face assessment, review of information from childhood, including any school reports or assessment reports that are available and a conversation with a parent or someone who knew you well in childhood. You are required to complete questionnaires and we may ask that you have someone close to you attend a session and/or complete questionnaires.
Sometimes it is difficult to make a diagnosis due to other problems that may contribute to the symptoms you are noticing and sometimes people have autistic traits but do not meet full criteria for an Autistic Spectrum Disorder.
Please note, without clear information regarding childhood development from a reliable source (ideally a parent) a definitive diagnosis of ASD is unlikely to be made by any of our clinicians.
These assessments are priced within the range of $1000-1600 (GST inclusive) depending on the individual clinician’s process. Some clinician’s offer an optional report (which is charged separately if wanted) and some only offer an assessment with a comprehensive report (which is included in their upfront fee).
If you need an assessment for both ASD and ADHD, the cost will be higher than an assessment exploring only one of these conditions.
NB: We do not provide ASD assessments for people with learning difficulties. These assessments often require different expertise and a cognitive assessment.
