What are Adult ADHD and Adult Autism Services?
At Forward Thinking Psychological Services® we offer assessment services for adults who are wondering whether they might meet the criteria for adult ADHD or adult autism. We also offer online ADHD treatment and work with autistic adults in order to provide services that are helpful during online therapy for autism. These types of therapy services are evidence-based and often incorporate essential modifications, using a neurodivergent lens, to enhance the therapeutic modality and intervention.
Understanding symptoms that are a part of these neurodivergent profiles is important as it can open the door to diagnostic clarity as well as recommendations for online ADHD treatment or online therapy for autism.
These assessments are often helpful for individuals who have reflected on their childhood years and questioned their progress in certain areas of their lives. They might also indicate that they felt “different” from other people but could never fully understand these feelings. Read on to learn more about these services, and the types of symptoms you might be experiencing that would warrant a further look into these types of assessments.
Here are Forward Thinking Psychological Services®, we conduct adult ADHD and autism assessments online. We also provide treatment for individuals presenting with these concerns through online therapy services.
We will review different symptoms that individuals might be experiencing when they are considering undergoing an assessment for a neurodevelopmental disorder. In order for a diagnosis to be determined, it must be done under the supervision of a regulated healthcare professional with diagnostic authority. This would include psychologists and psychiatrists from Ontario and BC.
Do Adults Have Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorders
Although many people might believe that Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a “childhood illness”. However, we know that symptoms often continue into adulthood. Further, you might be an adult and have experienced symptoms consistent with ADHD but were never diagnosed as a child. It is never too late to fully understand your symptoms and make changes that will enhance the rest of your life. Embarking on an adult ADHD assessment will provide you with an understanding of yourself and your options. You might receive knowledge about an ADHD diagnosis and treatment online. This can allow you to speak to healthcare providers about online ADHD treatment and other resources that might be available to you.
How Do I Know If I Need an Adult ADHD Assessment?
Although there are a number of symptoms that you might be experiencing that fit within our understanding of an ADHD diagnosis, you will only receive confirmation following a comprehensive assessment conducted by a well-trained healthcare professional.
According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5TR), ADHD is a neurodevelopmental disorder. This means that the disorder must have first appeared during childhood (specifically before age 12) and it results in developmental differences in brain processes that result in impairment within a range of domains, including personal, social, emotional, academic and occupational functioning. It is recognized as having a range of severity across individuals. Furthermore, an individual must report a certain symptom profile as well as functional impairment due to such symptoms.
Symptoms are also known to present differently for males and females and can also vary throughout one’s lifetime.
Symptoms generally fall into three categories of ADHD:
Predominantly Inattentive Presentation
Individuals experience challenges when paying attention to details, following instructions that someone provides or having conversations. They will have difficulty organizing tasks and activities. They will often find they are easily distracted and will forget their daily routines and misplace common items. They often avoid or dislike engaging in tasks that require them to use sustained mental attention and effort.
Predominantly Hyperactive/Impulsive Presentation
Individuals experience difficulty with feelings of restlessness, feeling fidgety, talking excessively, blurting out answers or ideas before others have finished talking and interrupting others; waiting one’s turn often feels difficult.
Combined Presentation
Both types of symptoms (inattentive and hyperactive/impulsivity) are present.
Although not part of the official criteria for ADHD, individuals with ADHD will also cite impacts on their emotion regulation skills. This is an important area to discuss with us when we conduct the assessment together. You will also be asked about this from various measures. Emotion regulation can also be an identified skill to work on within the context of online ADHD treatment.
Should you be experiencing the above types of symptoms, and have done so since childhood, it might be work looking into an adult ADHD assessment with a properly trained healthcare professional. Here at Forward Thinking Psychological Services® we have psychologists and associates under the supervision of a psychologist who are able to conduct these assessments, make an accurate diagnosis and provide you with feedback and a report. The report will provide extensive information about supports, including ones for online ADHD treatment.
What Happens During an Adult ADHD Assessment?
If you undergo an assessment at Forward Thinking Psychological Services®, you will first be sent a background questionnaire. This will allow you to provide a lot of information that will then be reviewed with your clinician in the first sessions.
Components of your assessment will include:
What Happens After My Adult ADHD Assessment?
Following your assessment, you will be able to meet with the clinician who completed the assessment as well as their supervisor (if they have one) who would be a psychologist.
They will provide you with important information during what is called a feedback session.
During this session, you will be provided with the following:
Do Adults Have Autism Spectrum Disorder?
Although Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is often diagnosed in childhood, we know that it can be diagnosed later in life as well. As with ADHD, ASD can pose many challenges to individuals, especially if that diagnosis has not been properly made earlier in one’s development. Seeking the diagnosis as an adult can be very powerful. Knowing what our symptoms mean provides us with the opportunity to seek out appropriate and essential resources and accommodations.
Although there is no specific online autism therapy, therapy interventions can and should be modified appropriately for autistic adults. Given that, you always want to work with someone who has training and focus within this area. At Forward Thinking Psychological Services®, we work with autistic individuals. We also work with individuals with OCD and autism as well as other co-occurring presentations.
How Do I Know If I Need an Adult ASD Assessment?
Similar to ADHD, you might be experiencing a number of symptoms that seem to fit within the possibility of an ASD diagnosis. However, that can only truly be confirmed following a comprehensive assessment conducted by a well-trained healthcare professional. Some symptoms might share similarities with ADHD as well. Therefore, you always want to ensure you are working with someone who uses an evidence-based assessment approach.
According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5TR), ASD is a neurodevelopmental disorder and symptoms must have been present since early childhood in order for a diagnosis to be made.
It is characterized by the following:
It is also known that ASD symptoms do change with development and can also be masked (i.e., well hidden) through the learning of compensatory strategies (i.e., skills we can learn to make up for other skills that we might not have). Often by the time an autistic individual is assessed in adulthood, they have learned how to mask certain behaviours in order to interact with neurotypical individuals who do not have ASD. Therefore, historical information is very important to obtain during the assessment (as is the case with ADHD). In addition, your clinician will focus on current levels of impairment.
Should you be experiencing the above types of symptoms, and have done so since childhood, it might be work looking into an adult AASD assessment with a properly trained healthcare professional. Here at Forward Thinking Psychological Services®, we have psychologists and associates under the supervision of a psychologist who is able to conduct these assessments, make an accurate diagnosis and provide you with feedback and a report. The report will provide extensive information about support, including ones for online therapy for autism.
What Happens During an Adult ASD Assessment?
If you undergo an assessment at Forward Thinking Psychological Services®, you will first be sent a background questionnaire. This will allow you to provide a lot of information that will then be reviewed with your clinician in the first sessions. It will also ask about developmental history which you can also share with a trusted loved one who might be able to help you fill out the historical context.
Other components of your assessment will include:
What Happens After My Adult ASD Assessment?
Following your assessment, you will be able to meet with the clinician who completed the assessment as well as their supervisor (if they have one) who would be a psychologist.
They will provide you with important information during what is called a feedback session.
During this session, you will be provided with the following:
How Can I Find Adult ADHD Assessments and Adult Autism Assessments Online?
Does FTPS provide adult ADHD Assessments and adult Autism Assessments near me? We provide these assessments throughout Canada, with an ability to assess and treat people within Ontario, Nova Scotia, British Columbia and New Brunswick.
Please contact us to learn more and get started!