Autism Assessment

Neurodiversity-Affirming Autism Assessment for Adults & Older Adolescents

Why adult autism assessment? Adult autism therapeutic assessment is designed to meet the needs of people who seem to be functioning - living independently, holding jobs, participating in some relationships - but struggle significantly internally with social and sensory overwhelm. They are typically completely drained by the end of the week, or often the end of the day. Sometimes they experience shame at wanting solitude more than social connection.

For many adults, understanding their brain style can lead to great relief and permission to accommodate their needs through firmer boundaries. The assessment process itself is designed to be neurodiversity-affirming, as opposed to the ADOS, and to highlight the strengths of this brain style..

Autism Therapeutic Assessments for Verbally Fluent* Adolescents & Adults

  • Screening tools have been selected to be neurodiversity-affirming

  • Identifies missed earlier diagnosis, often due to co-occurring issues (giftedness, ADHD, etc)

  • Focus is on your internal experience of the world, not how you are perceived by others

  • Provides more balanced evaluation that considers the socialized experiences of women and those assigned female at birth (AFAB)

  • Considers gender and intelligence influence on masking

  • Adolescents 16 yo & older; can discuss appropriateness for 14/15 yo if identified as academically gifted

    *By “verbally fluent” we mean that the person is able to hold a fluid conversation in one or more social realms

Individual Sessions:

  • Typically 4-5 sessions (55 min)

  • Includes validated scales: MIGDAS-2, SRS-2, CAT-Q, and others

  • Further assessment of potential co-occurring ADHD, if indicated, utilizing DIVA-5 and/or BEDFS

  • A full report of findings from our interview and the completed assessments is available at an additional cost ($350)


* Please note! Most entitlement programs, including Social Security Disability, do not accept therapeutic autism assessment as criteria for inclusion. To ensure qualification by state and federal programs, a full neuropsychological evaluation is recommended.

Parenting with Autism and/or ADHD

Sensory and emotional overwhelm often becomes much more noticeable during parenting for multiple reasons, including lack of previous self-accommodations (seen as self-care/hobbies), increased sensory input, and likelihood of having neurodivergent children with intense emotional needs.

After working for more than a decade with parents who struggle with this overwhelm, and shame themselves for being “lazy” and “too sensitive,” I began to pursue a greater understanding of the way that neurodivergence shapes our choices and relationships. 

Our children are more influenced by our relationships with them than anything we tell them. Investing in your own emotional peace is an investment in your family’s future.