We currently offer ADHD assessments for children and teens aged 13 and older. Our practice is focused on adolescents and adults, so we do not assess younger kids at this time. If your child is under 13, we recommend speaking with your pediatrician or a specialized child psychologist about next steps. (In general, ADHD can be diagnosed in younger children, but assessments often become more reliable as kids get older. By age 13, a teen can participate more in the process and there is more school history to draw on, which helps in making an accurate diagnosis.) If you’re unsure whether your 12- or 13-year-old is ready for an assessment, feel free to contact us and we can help guide you.

This is a great question. The teenage years do come with new challenges – many teens can be forgetful, moody, or easily distracted at times due to hormones, stress, and growing independence. The key difference with ADHD is degree and consistency. ADHD symptoms are more frequent, more intense, and more persistent than ordinary teen. For example, it’s normal for a teen to occasionally procrastinate on homework; but a teen with ADHD might struggle to finish almost every assignment, even with lots of effort and reminders. Or, most teens will get bored during a 3-hour lecture, but a teen with ADHD might find it nearly impossible to stay focused even during a short class or a movie they want to watch. Another hallmark of ADHD is that these difficulties have been present since childhood (even if they were overlooked) and occur in multiple settings. If your teen’s distractibility or impulsivity shows up at home and at school, and has been an ongoing pattern for many years, it’s more likely to be ADHD than a passing. Our assessment is designed to tease apart what’s related to ADHD versus what might be typical developmental behavior or another issue. We’ll help you figure it out with confidence.

Our ADHD assessment process involves several parts, but we strive to keep it comfortable and even engaging for your teen. The core components are an interview (conversation) and some questionnaires, as described above. The interview is like a guided talk where we ask about various aspects of your child’s life. The questionnaires are forms that you and your teen (and maybe a teacher) fill out about their symptoms. These pieces give us qualitative and quantitative insights.

In some cases, yes, we might do some interactive tests – for example, puzzles or memory tasks – especially if we need more information about how your teen learns and concentrates. But don’t worry: there’s no studying required and it’s not an exam that your child can “fail”. We explain each activity beforehand so your teen knows what to do. Many teens actually find parts of the cognitive testing interesting, as it can feel like brain games. The purpose of any testing is to paint a fuller picture of your child’s cognitive strengths and weaknesses. And remember, the assessment isn’t just a quick quiz – it’s a multi-faceted process to really understand your child, not just check some boxes. If at any point your teen needs a break (or you do), we can pause. We prioritize everyone’s comfort. By the end, families often tell us that the process wasn’t as intimidating as they expected – and some teens even say it was a relief to finally talk about what they’ve been feeling.

The timeline can vary a bit based on each case, but typically from start to finish it takes a few weeks. After your initial free consultation call, the formal assessment session (interview and questionnaires) is usually scheduled within a week or two at a convenient time. If we need to do additional testing, that might be another session. Once all the information is collected, our psychologist needs time to score any tests and write the report. We aim to have the feedback meeting and report ready as soon as possible – often within 3-4 weeks after the assessment begins. We’ll give you an estimated timeline during your first consultation, so you know what to expect. We know you’re eager for answers, and we balance being thorough with not making you wait too long. If there’s any delay (for example, waiting on a teacher’s questionnaire to be returned), we’ll keep you updated. In urgent situations, we can sometimes expedite the process – let us know if there are any deadlines (perhaps school accommodation deadlines or upcoming exams) and we’ll do our best to work with your timeline.

It’s possible that after a thorough evaluation, we determine that your teen’s challenges are not caused by ADHD. If that happens, it doesn’t mean you’re back to square one – in fact, you’ve still gained valuable insight. We will explain what we did find. Perhaps your teen’s symptoms are better explained by anxiety, depression, a learning disability, or even just a personality trait combined with a challenging environment. Whatever the case, our report will detail these findings and we will give clear recommendations on what to do next. For example, if we discovered a reading disorder, we might refer you to a specialist tutor and suggest academic accommodations for that. If it appears that anxiety is causing the focus issues, we might recommend therapy focused on anxiety management. If nothing clinical is identified – sometimes teens are within the “normal range” of attention but just need some skill-building – we’ll reassure you of that and can still offer tips to help with organization or motivation. The bottom line is, you won’t walk away empty-handed. You’ll either have an ADHD diagnosis or an alternative explanation, and in both cases, an action plan for moving. Our goal is for you to finish the process feeling relieved and informed, not confused or helpless. And remember, you can always reach out with questions after – we’re committed to supporting you in helping your teen, diagnosis or not.

Yes! We know that pursuing an assessment is a big decision, and you probably have specific questions about your child’s situation. We offer a free 15-minute consultation with our psychologist, usually by phone or video. This gives you a chance to briefly share what’s going on with your teen, and we can mutually decide if an ADHD assessment here is the right fit. There’s no obligation or pressure to book after the call – it’s truly meant to help you make an informed choice. If you decide to proceed, we can then schedule the intake and assessment sessions. To arrange your free consult, just click the “Book a Free Consultation” button on our site and select a time that works for you, or give us a call. We’re happy to answer any preliminary questions and put your mind at ease.