Autism and ADHD Assessments for Children, Teens and Adults
We assess for autism and ADHD, separately or together, for children, teenagers and adults. An autism assessment is $2,500. An ADHD assessment is $1,800. A combined assessment covering both is $3,500. There is no current waitlist and a first appointment is usually available within one to two weeks, and your written report follows about four weeks after that. You don't need a referral to get started.
Not sure which assessment you need?
Being unsure the most common place people start, and it's completely fine. You are not expected to arrive with a theory.
Autism and ADHD share a lot of surface features - difficulty with focus, with social situations, with regulating emotions, with the demands of a school or work day. They also frequently occur together. Working out which questions are worth asking is part of what an assessment is for, not something you need to have settled beforehand.
If you're not sure, get in touch and tell us what you're noticing. We'll talk it through and recommend what actually fits, including telling you if we think an assessment isn't the right next step.
What we assess
Autism assessment
$2,500
A comprehensive assessment of social communication, interaction, sensory experience and developmental history, using the ADOS-2 and the ADI-R. It runs across several appointments and draws on information from home and from school or work. You receive a detailed written report and a feedback session to go through what it means and what to do next.
ADHD assessment
$1,800
A structured assessment of capability, attention, focus, activity and impulsivity across the settings a person actually lives in - home, and school or work - using standardised measures alongside information from the people who see them every day. You receive a full written report and a feedback session. We don't prescribe medication; the report gives a paediatrician or psychiatrist what they need if that becomes the next question.
Combined autism and ADHD assessment
$3,500
Assessments typically take place in our consulting rooms. Where there is a clinical reason to assess someone in their own environment, we can arrange to come to you - at home, at daycare or at school. The instruments and the report are the same; only the setting changes. Charged at a premium to the clinic fee, quoted when you enquire.
Mobile assessment
By Arrangement
Where both are in question, we assess for both in one process rather than putting someone through two separate assessments. One set of appointments, one clinician, and one report that answers both questions - including how the two presentations interact, which is the part two separate reports can miss. For a child who finds new people and new rooms hard, going through it once instead of twice matters.
Comparing the three
TABLE
What every assessment here includes
One clinician throughout. Dr Halaina Winter conducts every assessment, writes every report and delivers every feedback session. You will not be handed between people.
A comprehensive written report setting out what was assessed, what was found, the reasoning behind it, strengths as well as difficulties, and specific recommendations.
A feedback session to go through the report property - what is says, what it means, what to do first, and what to tell the school.
Practical next steps, including referrals to occupational therapy, speech pathology or paediatric care where they would help.
How long it takes
There is no current waitlist. A first appointment is usually available within one to two weeks of getting in touch. Your written report follows about four weeks after that first appointment, and the feedback session is booked once the report is ready.
Many Sydney practices currently quote six to twelve months just to begin. It's worth asking any practice you contact about both - the wait to start, and the wait for the report after that.
Where assessments happen
Assessments are conducted in our consulting rooms on the Northern Beaches and the Lower North Shore. We can schedule your in-person appointments for a location that works for you.
Where there is a clinical reason to assess someone in their own environment, mobile assessment is available by arrangement, at a premium to the clinic fee. Read about mobile assessment.
Fees and funding
Autism assessment: $2,500. ADHD assessment: $1,800. Combined autism and ADHD assessment: $3,500. Each fee covers the whole process - appointments, assessment materials, scoring, the written report and the feedback session.
Assessments are private pay. NDIS funding cannot be used for a diagnostic assessment, whether you are seeking access to the NDIS or already have a plan, diagnostic assessment is not capacity building. If you are applying for the NDIS, this assessment that evidences your application is paid for privately.
A Medicare rebate may be available for an autism assessment where the person being assessed is under 25 and has a referral from a paediatrician or consultant psychiatrist under the Complex Neurodevelopmental Disorder pathway. There are no Medicare rebates for an ADHD assessment. We'll tell you what applies to your situation before you book.
Dr Halaina Winter is a Clinical Psychologist. Her doctorate is a PhD in Psychology; she is not a medical practitioner and does not prescribe medication.
FAQs about Assessments
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No. You can contact us directly. A referral only becomes relevant if you're seeking a Medicare rebate for an autism assessment, which requires a referral from a paediatrician or consultant psychiatrist for a person under 25.
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You don't have to know. Tell us what you're noticing and we'll work it out together before anything is booked - including telling you if we think an assessment isn't the right next step.
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No. Diagnostic assessment isn't capacity building, so it can't be funded through an NDIS plan unless you have a specific budget for assessments. Assessments are usually always private pay. NDIS funding can be used for psychological therapy.
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A first appointment is usually available within one to two weeks. Your written report follows about four weeks after that.
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No. Dr Halaina Winter is a Clinical Psychologist, not a medical practitioner, and does not prescribe. Where medication is a question, the assessment report gives a paediatrician or psychiatrist what they need to consider it.
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Yes. We assess adults for autism, for ADHD, or for both together.
Enquire about an Assessment
Tell us where you are and what you’re noticing, and we’ll be in touch within two business days. You don’t need a referral, and there is no obligation to proceed.