ADHD Assessments for Children & Young People (5-17 years old)

There’s no single, definitive diagnostic test for ADHD — no blood analysis, no brain scan, no genetic screening — so the diagnosis of ADHD is not a quick or simple task. ADHD assessments for Children and Young People at The Edinburgh Practice are carried out by our Consultant Child & Adolescent Psychiatrists and Specialty Doctors.  The clinical evaluation of ADHD is comprehensive and multidimensional and captures its impact on home, school and social functioning. Our ADHD assessments are in line with best practice guidelines from NICE.  View our clinical team profiles.

PLEASE NOTE WE HAVE A WAITING LIST OF APPROXIMATELY 6 MONTHS FOR CHILD ADHD ASSESSMENTS.

A screening consultation with one of our Clinical Psychologists can be helpful if you feel unsure whether your child might need a full neurodevelopmental assessment, or if you feel unsure which assessment may be best suited. Our screening consultation is one hour long and can be offered in person or remotely. During the appointment our Clinical Psychologist will carry out a structured clinical interview, in line with best practice guidelines, to assess mental health and neurodiversity. Alongside the clinical interview, our clinicians incorporate relevant validated clinical tools which are suited to individual clinical needs, for example to screen for autism, ADHD and mental health difficulties. At the end of the appointment, our clinician will then make personalised recommendations, including the next best steps for your child.

All recommendations will be based on clinical needs and may include:

• Recommending a neurodevelopmental assessment i.e. an autism, ADHD or combined assessment
• Recommending psychological therapy to address mental health difficulties
• Recommending a psychiatry consultation to address mental health difficulties

If you are happy to proceed with our clinician’s recommendations, the relevant internal referral can be arranged.  Our clinician will summarise the consultation in a letter which can be sent to your child’s GP.

Stage 1: Initial Consultation Appointment

At the initial appointment, you and your child or young person will meet with one of our Consultant Psychiatrists or Specialty Doctors for a Comprehensive Clinical Assessment. From here, you, your child and the doctor will all become acquainted with one another and discuss what you should expect from the assessment and what the assessment process entails. The doctor will start the clinical assessment and ask questions to gather background information. You will be provided with the SNAP-IV Comprehensive Behaviour Rating Scales and a Developmental History questionnaire to complete. Our team will contact your child’s school to gather detailed educational information and ask that staff who know your child well also complete the SNAP-IV.

Stage 2: Developmental History Appointment

The second part of the assessment includes a thorough developmental history interview with parents alone, without your child or young person present. You will have time to discuss the details of the developmental history you provide and the current difficulties that your child is experiencing both at home and in school, and to investigate any co-existing conditions that may be present.

Stage 3: Feedback Appointment

The feedback appointment will be arranged once the standardised questionnaires, information from the clinical assessment including developmental history and information from school have been gathered and reviewed by the doctor to determine whether your child meets the DSM-V diagnostic criteria for ADHD. You and your child will attend a feedback session where the results of the assessment will be shared with you. If a formal diagnosis is given and medication is indicated, you will be provided with detailed post-diagnostic information and resources and have time to consider whether you wish to proceed. Recommendations will also be made for psychosocial and behavioural interventions where appropriate. A comprehensive report will be sent out to you and your child’s GP and school (with your permission) approximately 6 – 8 weeks after your feedback appointment.

Please note that if further appointments are required out with the full ADHD assessment there will be additional fees for these appointments.

We do at times have a waiting list for our assessments and as such require a £200 deposit to secure a place on the waiting list.  The £200 is non-refundable and will be deducted from the assessment cost once the assessment is booked.