What To Expect During my ADHD Evaluation

Curious about an ADHD evaluation but nervous about what it will entail? Read more here…

What to Expect During Your Neurodivergent Affirming Evaluation

So you've decided to get evaluated. Maybe you've spent years wondering why your brain works the way it does, or maybe you've known for a while and just need the paperwork to catch up. Either way, welcome. This process is built around you, and it's probably not what you're expecting.

Let's break it down.

No Tests. No Tasks. Just a Conversation.

First things first: there's no sitting at a desk solving puzzles or clicking buttons on a screen. This evaluation is interview-based, which means we talk. A lot. Across two two-hour sessions, we dig into your life, your history, your patterns, your struggles, and honestly, the stuff you're really good at too. It's a conversation, not a performance. Come as you are.

Sessions can happen in person (get comfortable, seriously, make yourself at home) or from the couch in your own living room. Whatever helps you show up as your most honest self is the right choice.

The Tools We Use

Three main assessments guide this process:

The SNAP (Swanson, Nolan, and Pelham Rating Scale) looks at ADHD-related symptoms. Ideally, someone who knew you as a kid, a parent, an older sibling, a family friend, will complete this one. Childhood patterns matter, and their perspective fills in pieces you might not even remember.

The DIVA (Diagnostic Interview for ADHD in Adults) is exactly what it sounds like: a structured interview that explores how ADHD symptoms have shown up across your lifetime. This is where your own story takes center stage.

The BDEFS (Barkley Deficits in Executive Functioning Scale) you'll fill out at home, on your own time. It looks at how executive functioning challenges, things like time management, emotional regulation, and task initiation, show up in your daily life.

Your Strengths Matter Here

This isn't just a deficit-hunting exercise. We're not just looking for what's hard. We want to know what lights you up, what you're genuinely good at, what keeps you going when things get tough. Neurodivergent brains come with real strengths, creativity, hyperfocus, pattern recognition, empathy, big-picture thinking, and those deserve to be named and documented just as much as the challenges.

What You'll Walk Away With

After our sessions, you'll receive a thorough written summary that includes your diagnostic results, a detailed look at your strengths, an honest breakdown of the executive functioning areas that are giving you the most grief, and personalized referrals and resources to actually help you move forward. Not a generic list, real, relevant next steps.

The Vibe

Look, evaluations can feel clinical and cold. This one isn't. Expect warmth, some laughs, maybe a swear word or two, and zero judgment. You're not here to be fixed, you're here to be understood. There's a big difference.

Your brain has a story. Let's figure out what it's been trying to tell you.