Autism Assessments
Whether you have been searching for months — even years — for an assessment or prompted by others around you to seek better understanding from a new angle, here’s information on how I approach adult autism assessments.
My approach to assessments is to go beyond the “yes/no” answer and move towards helping you build a profile of understanding yourself across domains, including:
social (including a masking profile),
sensorimotor (i.e., stimming, interests, sensory, routine),
executive function,
alexithymia & emotional understanding,
mental health, autistic burnout and
general day-to-day functioning
Virtual Autism Assessments
Have you felt socially different from others for as long as you remember? Does everyone else seem to have “the social rulebook” that you’ve been trying to figure out all these years?
Do body movements/stimming soothe you (e.g., rocking)? Have you always had passionate interests that you deep dive into?
Do you thrive better in routine? Do certain sounds, food textures, clothing textures (SOCKS are evil), lights, smells/scents bother you?
If yes, then an autism assessment may help you better understand yourself better along all of these dimensions.
Here’s what an autism assessment looks like in full:
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Learning more about you and your experiences.
Questions about you, your mental health, physical health.
Questions about your social experiences, childhood and adulthood
Questions about stimming behaviours/phrases, passionate interests, routine, sensory sensitivities in childhood and adulthood
Questions about school and work
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You will be sent a questionnaire battery after the appointment to complete by the following week.
You are welcome to take additional notes as you complete the questionnaires.
If an informant is available, we may additionally ask them to complete questionnaires about your social experiences and organization/prioritization skills.
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If an informant is available, this will be with an informant. You are welcome to join this segment as well.
If an informant is unavailable, we will complete an in-session interactive assessment.
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We discuss:
The results
The profile & how I reached the results
e.g., scores
Recommendations
You are welcome to join alone, or with the support of a loved one.
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You will receive your report up to 1 week after, downloadable in pdf form.
You may opt-in and provide consent for us to support you in faxing the documentation to your healthcare team (e.g., family doctor, psychiatrist, etc.) — because who owns a fax machine these days? (We do.)
You can choose either a letter or a full report.
Letter: (billed at 1 hour)
Contains a summary of background, summary of scores, conclusions and recommendations.
Suitable for work accommodations. Perfect for people like things short or are on a budget.
Full Report: (5 hours)
Contains full background history, detailed description of scores and subscale scores, conclusions and recommendations.
Cost Breakdown
Letter Option
A letter is a 1-4 page document that includes: brief summary of background, brief summary of scores, conclusions, full list of recommendations.
This option is often sufficient for workplace accommodations.
Clients who choose this option often prefer a short summary or are staying within a budget.
TOTAL: $1590 roughly breaks down into:
Initial appointment — 3 hours
Follow-up appointment — 1 hour
Letter + Scoring — 1 hour
Feedback — 1 hour
Full Report Option
A full report is a 15-25 page document that includes: detailed background history, detailed breakdown of scores and subscale scores, conclusions, full list of recommendations.
This option is sometimes sufficient for specific college or university accommodations (although some schools have specific requirements to access testing and extension accommodations). This is sufficient for workplace accommodations; a separate appendix letter will be provided so that your workplace does not have access to your full extended history and assessment information.
Total: $2650 roughly breaks down into
Initial appointment — 3 hours
Follow-up appointment — 1 hour
Report + Scoring — 5 hours
Feedback — 1 hour
Add-Ons
See chart below regarding add-on options relating to:
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
Social Anxiety Disorder
Major Depressive Disorder (MDD)
Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
Add-On options
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You may consider an assessment for OCD if you experience:
Obsessions: intrusive thoughts that you don’t truly believe in but are uncomfortable or scary in nature
aggression (e.g., fear of harming self or others)
contamination (e.g., germs, cleanliness)
sexual
hoarding/saving
religious (e.g., concerned about being blasphemous)
obsession with symmetry
Compulsions: these are behaviours used to decrease your intrusive thoughts but don’t necessarily make sense:
e.g., cleaning/washing compulsions
e.g., checking compulsions (e.g., locks, that you did not insult someone, etc.)
e.g., repeating rituals (redoing or rewriting something until perfect)
counting
ordering/rearranging
hoarding/collecting
What the assessment involves:
+1h to the follow-up appointment
+1h of scoring and writing
Total additional cost: +$530
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Social Anxiety Disorder
You may seek an assessment for social anxiety disorder if you:
experience significant anxiety in most social situations
experience significant anxiety in presentation-specific contexts
the focus is surrounding how others perceive you
Major Depressive Disorder
You may seek an assessment for Major Depressive Disorder if you:
Experience recurring periods of low mood/depression
Experience recurring periods of “feeling bleh” i.e., not wanting to engage in your hobbies anymore, or not finding fun in them
Generalized Anxiety Disorder
You may seek an assessment for Generalized Anxiety Disorder if:
You feel overwhelmed by uncontrollably worry.
You constantly feel tense with no physical cause.
What does an assessment look like?
Additional components of interview
Additional questionnaires
Cost for assessment of each of these:
+0.5h follow-up appointment
+0.5 scoring and writing
total: $265
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You may consider an assessment for ADHD if you resonate with:
Having a lifelong difficulty with staying focussed
Lifelong difficulty with organizing and prioritizing tasks
Lifelong need for movement or sense of restlessness
Lifelong difficulty with waiting/impulsivity
What does the assessment involve?
2h appt (added to follow-up appointment, including interview and psychometric testing)
1h scoring + writing
+$795
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My goal is that your assessment results are helpful for you in moving forward through different phases of life! Although you will leave with a list of recommendations, your life will evolve and those may change.
I’m happy to support free-of-charge for tasks that take less than 15 mins:
Updating letters or paperwork for work and school based on new environments
Providing more specific recommendations based on emerging needs and concerns
For tasks that take longer than 15 mins, I charge by increments of 15 mins at $265/hour.
If you are unsure how long a task may take, please feel free to ask! Most things are fairly quick.
Finally, there are a limited number of sliding scale and pro-bono spots for post-assessment paperwork support — please ask if this might be helpful to you!
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I provide optional follow-up appointments at 3-month, 6-month, or at other intervals (e.g., if something changes in your life) for updated recommendations.
Cost:
15 mins: free
50 mins: $265
A limited number of sliding scale or pro-bono options for follow-up available each month — please ask if there is a need!
Referral form
This can be completed by:
Person seeking assessment
Go-to contact person (e.g., partner, parent, friend helping with communication and admin)
Clinician