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ADHD Assessment

Assessment Process for ADHD
 

When a formal diagnosis is requested, the assessment steps include a review of:

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  • DSM Review:

  • Formal assessments:

    • ​CAARS & Brown assessments (see next section on this page).
       

  • Background review:

    • history of past educational experiences,
       

    • history of childhood development,
       

    • recent occupational success and struggles,
       

    • relationship history and functioning,
       

  • Medical review:

    • ​Information about medical conditions from a medical professional,
       

  • Psychological Review:

    • Review of other disorders frequently occur with ADHD (such as Autism Spectrum Disorder), or can mimic the symptoms of adult ADHD, and
       

  • Additional Information:

    • Input from other family members such as a spouse. This is completely optional.

Clinical Assessment Tools for ADHD
 

We use the following formal assessment tools can be administered electronically including:
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  • Conners’ Adult ADHD Rating Scales (CAARS-Long version) 

    • The Conners' Adult ADHD Rating Scales (CAARS™) scales measure the presence and severity of ADHD symptoms so that you can determine whether or not ADHD is a contributing factor to a client's difficulties.
       

    • Validated for adults.
       

    •  No specific cut-off score is recommended for this index, but individuals with T-values above 70–75 likely meet the diagnostic criteria of ADHD.
       

    • On-line administration via MHS Assessments.
       

    • More info on Conners' scales
       

  • Brown Executive Function/Attention Scales - (Brown EF/A Scales)​​

    • Brown Executive Function/Attention Scales helps screen and assess a wider range of impairments of executive functioning. Brown EF/A Scales™ measures DSM-5 symptoms of ADHD along with less apparent impairments of executive functioning.
       

    • Testing provided by Pearson Assessments
       

    • Video explaining this assessment 
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  • ASD Screening Tools

    • Based on your clinician's judgment, you may be asked to complete one or more ASD screening tools.
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  • ​Continuous Performance Test (CPT)

    • At this time, we are not offer Continuous Performance Testing (such as the TOVA, MOXO, QbTest or IVA) even though it has become a popular neuropsychological test for assessing the severity of ADHD as studies have found them to be an unreliable symptom gauge for adults.

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