Adult Psychological Assessments and Testing

Have you ever felt something is holding you back from reaching your full potential, but you can’t quite figure out what it is? If so, an adult psychological assessment and testing could be for you.

 

Adult assessments can help you better understand your learning style and behaviour. It could potentially pick up on a diagnosis that was missed in childhood. The results of an adult assessment can explain challenges you’ve experienced since you were young, and improve your quality of life.

 

At Dolphin Tribe, our educational psychologists can administer most child psychological assessments or equivalent for adults. This includes cognitive (IQ) tests, testing for dyslexia, educational or behavioural assessment, and vocational testing. However, the two assessments most common in adults are autism and ADHD.

 

Adult autism (ASD) assessment and diagnosis

 

What we know about autism spectrum disorder has exploded in recent years. Because of a limited understanding of the disorder in the past, many people’s diagnoses were missed in childhood, and many adults are struggling with the symptoms of autism more than they should be.

 

Whether or not to pursue assessment and diagnosis is up to you. But it is good to know that seeking a formal adult diagnosis can help you make sense of your past; better understand how you operate in the world; and find techniques to make socialising easier.

 

How we assess adults for autism

 

At Dolphin Tribe, we try to follow the same comprehensive approach to autism assessment as in child autism diagnosis. But sometimes, this isn’t possible. For instance, we might not be able to contact a parent or carer from your childhood. In these cases, we will replace steps with a different set of clinical questionnaires and tools.

 

As with children, we use the gold standard of autism assessment, including:

 

• Autism Diagnostic Observation Assessment (ADOS-2)

• Autism diagnostic interviews with parents or carers (ADI-R) and, when appropriate and possible, 

• Adaptive behaviour assessments and cognitive (IQ) assessments.

 

Adult ADHD Assessment and diagnosis  

 

If you have ADHD, your brain is wired differently making concentration, attention, and impulse control difficult. While your brain has always functioned like this, something in your adult life might suddenly make the symptoms more obvious or harder to live with. Because our understanding of ADHD has evolved dramatically in recent years, many adults with ADHD are only now discovering they have the disorder.

 

Seeking out an adult ADHD diagnosis is a personal choice, but it can be hugely beneficial. It can explain a lot of persistent challenges and can lead to treatment that makes it easier to thrive in your career, relationships, and life in general.

 

How we assess ADHD in adults

 

For children and adults alike, ADHD assessment is a comprehensive process that must be carried out by a trained psychiatrist and/or psychologist with expertise in ADHD. Our approach to adult ADHD assessment is similar to how we assess it in children.

 

To diagnose the disorder, we gather evidence across multiple settings and, when possible and relevant, seek out input from parents or carers, work colleagues, partners, and health professionals. For an adult ADHD diagnosis, we need to find evidence that symptoms have been present since before the age of 12 years.

 

ADHD medication is strictly controlled under regulations; as such, our comprehensive assessment is always carried out by an expert psychologist or psychiatrist.

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Contact Dolphin Tribe for your adult psychological assessment and testing

 

Do you feel a diagnosis has been missed and want to pursue an adult psychological assessment? If so, request an appointment with our educational psychologist or psychiatrist at Dolphin Tribe’s clinic in Sydney, NSW. Many of our Adult assessment and testing services are available via Telehealth.