ADHD Assessment
Wondering if an ADHD assessment is right for your child?
Learn more about our assessment process or reach out to discuss your child's unique needs.
ADHD Assessment Process
Understanding the process can make an ADHD assessment feel much less overwhelming. At LittleKind Psychology, we take a thoughtful, neuro-affirming, and individualized approach to assessing Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), considering your child’s unique strengths, experiences, and support needs.
Our goal is not simply to determine whether your child meets diagnostic criteria for ADHD. We want to develop a meaningful understanding of how your child learns, focuses, manages tasks and emotions, and functions across different environments. We also consider the factors that may be contributing to your child's current challenges and provide practical recommendations to support them at home and at school.
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We start by getting to know your child and your concerns.
The assessment often begins with an initial consultation with you as the parent or caregiver. We’ll talk about your reasons for seeking an assessment, your child’s developmental and educational history, current strengths and challenges, and any questions or concerns you have.
This is also an opportunity to discuss whether an ADHD assessment is the right fit for your child and to answer any questions you may have about the process.
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Your perspective is an important part of the assessment.
We’ll gather detailed information about your child’s development, including areas such as:
Early development and milestones
Attention and concentration
Impulsivity and activity level
Executive functioning and organization
Emotional regulation
Behaviour and self-regulation
Learning and academic functioning
Social relationships
Daily routines and independence
Sleep and other factors that may affect self-regulation
Strengths, interests, and areas of enjoyment
Depending on your child's age and circumstances, we will also ask you to complete specific questionnaires about your child's attention, behaviour, executive functioning, and emotional functioning.
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We spend time getting to know how your child thinks, learns, and approaches different tasks through standardized testing and semi-structured activities.
Your child will participate in developmentally appropriate activities designed to explore areas relevant to the assessment. Depending on your child's needs, this may include standardized measures of cognitive functioning, attention, executive functioning, academic skills, and other areas relevant to the referral question.
We will also use questionnaires and semi-structured interviews to better understand your child's everyday functioning. These may be completed by parents, teachers, significant adults, and/or the child themselves.
The specific assessment activities are selected based on your child's age, developmental level, presenting concerns, and individual needs.
We aim to make the assessment experience as comfortable and engaging as possible. Children are not expected to perform perfectly. We are interested in understanding how they naturally approach tasks, manage challenges, sustain effort, and respond to different demands.
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ADHD diagnosis is based on the whole picture.
Following the assessment, we carefully integrate information from multiple sources, which may include:
Parent interview and developmental history
Teacher or school information
Questionnaires
Standardized assessment measures
Direct clinical observations
Existing records and reports
Your child's current functioning across different environments
ADHD is not diagnosed based on the results of a single test. We consider your child's overall pattern of strengths and challenges, how their difficulties affect everyday functioning, and whether their presentation is consistent with diagnostic criteria.
We also consider other factors that may contribute to attention, learning, behavioural, or emotional difficulties, as well as co-occurring concerns when appropriate.
You'll receive a detailed report that summarizes the assessment findings and provides individualized recommendations based on your child's needs.
Our goal is to provide practical recommendations that can help your child function and thrive at home, at school, and in their community.
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You won't be left wondering what the results mean.
Once the assessment is complete, we meet with you to review the findings and answer your questions.
We'll discuss:
The assessment results
Your child's strengths
Areas of difficulty or support needs
Whether your child meets diagnostic criteria for ADHD or any other clinical diagnosis.
Any relevant co-occurring or differential considerations
Recommendations and next steps
Our goal is to make the results understandable and meaningful, not simply provide you with a diagnosis.
When appropriate, we may also offer an opportunity to meet with your child to explain the results of their testing in a developmentally appropriate way.
Ready to get started? Reach out now for a complementary 20-minute consultation and take the next step in understanding your child
FAQs
How Long Does an ADHD Assessment Take?
The length of an ADHD assessment varies depending on your child's age, developmental profile, presenting concerns, and the information available.
At your initial consultation, we'll discuss the expected assessment process, number of appointments, and estimated timeline for your child's specific circumstances, but we usually quote between 12-13 hours total, including all appointments and the scoring, interpretation, and reporting of results.
What Should I Bring to the Assessment?
If available, it can be helpful to provide:
Previous assessment reports
School or daycare reports
Speech-language or occupational therapy reports
Relevant medical or developmental information
Any other information you feel would help us understand your child
You don't need to have everything organized before contacting us, that’s okay. We'll let you know what information would be helpful for your child's assessment.
What If My Child Has ADHD and Another Concern?
ADHD can occur alongside other conditions or areas of difficulty, including learning disorders, anxiety, autism, and emotional or behavioural concerns.
As part of the assessment, we consider your child's overall presentation and look for factors that may be contributing to their difficulties. Where appropriate, we can discuss recommendations for additional assessment or support.
How can I contact you?
You can reach us anytime via our contact page or email us at office@littlekindpsychology.ca. We aim to respond quickly- usually within one business day.