ADHD & AuDHD Assessment:
What to Expect
The Deficit Model of “Neurodivergence” Misses the Mark
The term “neurodivergent” was meant to move away from pathologizing language, but it still quietly centers an assumed norm. Even when used respectfully, it can imply that some minds are standard and others are deviations from that standard. I don’t find that framework particularly useful. ADHD, autism, and AuDHD can involve real struggle, but they are poorly understood when reduced to deficit alone. I use these familiar labels because they help people find care and make sense of their experience, but I human minds are far more varied and far less neatly categorized than our current language suggests.
Managed well (and especially when positioned in the right environment), ADHD, AuDHD, and autism spectrum can be assets.
People with ADHD often have wide-ranging interests, paving the way for multipotentiality. We tend to be creative, intuitive, ingenious, and energetic. The ADHD brain can track multiple conversations at once while hyperfocusing intensely on topics of deep interest. Living with ADHD requires creative problem-solving and resilience to navigate obstacles and setbacks. These traits—curiosity, adaptability, ingenuity, and multipotentiality—foster exploration, innovation, and entrepreneurial thinking. You can learn how to manage attentional weaknesses, hyperactivity, impulsivity, and executive functioning challenges; however, ADHD traits like creativity, resilience, and ingenuity are often inherent gifts.
Autism is not simply a diagnosis to be managed — it is a neurodevelopmental difference that can come with strengths. Many autistic individuals demonstrate deep focus, exceptional pattern recognition, intellectual rigor, and a strong internal moral compass. We may experience the world with heightened sensory awareness and emotional depth, bringing richness and intensity to our interests, relationships, and creative pursuits. While challenges do arise in a world designed for neurotypical norms, autism also reflects authenticity, integrity, and the capacity for deep expertise and meaningful connection. My approach honors both the struggles and the gifts, helping individuals understand and leverage their strengths while building supportive strategies for areas of difficulty.
I bring a psychologist’s diagnostic training, a scientist-practitioner framework, and a whole-person lens to this work. That means I look beyond checklists to understand masking, giftedness, life stage, health factors, trauma history, and the many reasons “neurodivergence” can be missed or misunderstood in adults - especially women.
ADHD and AuDHD Assessments
I bring both clinical training and lived experience—including 15 years parenting “neurodivergent” kids—to provide a thorough, insightful evaluation that captures the full picture of who you are, not just your symptoms. My approach is strengths-based and designed to provide real clarity, even for those who have been misdiagnosed or overlooked in the past.
My evaluations are designed for adults with complex, subtle, or high-masking presentations—including people who have long felt “different” but were missed because they did well enough in school, built successful careers, or developed strong compensatory strategies. Assessments typically include clinical interview, developmental history, standardized measures, review of relevant records, and collateral input when helpful. The goal is a careful differential understanding of how your mind works and what support would actually help you.
I offer comprehensive ADHD and AuDHD evaluations for adults, using a multi-method, evidence-based approach to ensure accuracy and reliability. My assessment process includes:
A thorough clinical interview
Developmental history
Scientifically validated assessments
Input from someone close to you
A medical review to rule out conditions that may mimic or contribute to ADHD symptoms
My goal is for your evaluation to be affirming, insightful, and a positive experience. I will help you understand and leverage your strengths while building supportive strategies for areas of difficulty. My evaluations are typically completed in 3–4 sessions and include a differential diagnostic evaluation (i.e., evaluating you for a range of other psychological conditions).
We may be a good fit for assessment if:
you suspect ADHD, autism, or AuDHD was missed earlier in life
you are bright, capable, or outwardly successful but privately struggling
you relate to both ADHD and autism traits and want a careful differential assessment
you have been told your anxiety, depression, or burnout explains everything, but that has never fully captured the picture
you’re consistently inconsistent and love both routine and adventures
you want an assessment that is both rigorous and humane
you’re willing and able to answer a lot of questions about yourself
My AuDHD Experience
I have ADHD, autism traits, and dyscalculia, but I wasn’t diagnosed with ADHD until my late 40s and AuDHD in my 50s. As I entered middle age, I started to think something was seriously wrong with my brain. I couldn’t focus and struggled to manage the routine demands of life. A neuropsychologist evaluated me, misdiagnosed me, and I resigned myself to living with my broken brain. It wasn’t until I revisited my own history, through the lens of my children’s diagnoses, that I recognized the signs I’d missed in myself. I loved school and had no “behavioral issues,” but I was a known motor-mouther and fervent hand-raiser. Adults chastised me for inattention, distracting others, being “too creative,” and not living up to my potential. I was told:
"Your problem with math isn’t your capacity, it’s that you don’t like it."
"You do nothing and get A’s and B’s. Imagine if you tried…"
Standardized tests were my kryptonite and one of the biggest barriers to my success. My high school guidance counselor told me I wouldn’t get into a top school. Spoiler alert: I got in to Johns Hopkins! Plot twist: I became a bartender after graduation. While my peers pursued med school and diplomatic careers, I worked full-time as a bartender—an experience that taught me more about the human condition than any psychology textbook ever could. I volunteered at the med school on the side, answering phones and transcribing physician notes in Drs. Kay Redfield Jamison and Ray DePaulo’s office. My path to becoming a psychologist has been non-linear. I’m a late bloomer, two-time geriatric mother, and one of the oldest graduates of a fully funded applied psychology PhD program. I’m a unicorn in higher ed, and I have no regrets.
I had to get a PhD in psychology to diagnose myself. Like many high-achieving girls with ADHD, I fell through the cracks. I (mostly) did well academically while internally struggling with focus, organization, moodiness, anxiety, and self-esteem. Getting an accurate diagnosis, redefining how I saw myself, and starting medication changed my life for the better. Once I treated my ADHD and (finally) stopped masking, my autism traits became more apparent - namely social and sensory sensitivities plus extreme camouflaging. Navigating the push/pull between the two conditions has been a complex but worthy journey.
As a clinician, mother, and human, I understand the complexity of ADHD and autism spectrum and how they evolve across the lifespan. If you’ve ever wondered whether you might have ADHD, autism, or both, I get it. My goal is to see the whole of you and work together on a non-pathologizing, strengths-based approach to treatment.