Autism and ADHD Assessments and Neurodiversity Support

Autism is a neurodevelopmental condition that affects how a person communicates, relates to others, and interprets the world around them. It is recognized as a ‘spectrum’ condition, highlighting the diverse range of experiences that autistic individuals may have. Each person possesses a unique combination of traits and features, varying in intensity. The differences displayed by autistic people can influence their language use, social interactions, emotional regulation, interests, and responses to sensory input. Co-occurring conditions may include sensory processing difficulties, mental health challenges, attentional deficits, hyperactive traits, demand-avoidant behaviors, and learning difficulties. Our assessments will identify any attentional and hyperactive traits, including those relevant to ADHD assessments and Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA).  

The diagnostic criteria for ADHD conceptualize this as an attentional deficit. However individuals with ADHD are perhaps better described as having a form of hyper-attention. ADHDers  experience all stimuli at once and these stimuli all fight for attention, making it difficult to attend to any one thing. The exception is when the ADHDer is absorbed in something interesting which indicates that they experience hyperfocus in much the same way that autistics do.  Autism and ADHD commonly co-occur and recent research is uncovering the many  ways that individuals experience Autism and ADHD (AuDHD)and how this differs from ADHD and autism alone. The website Embrace-Autism.com has a wealth of useful information about this.  ADHD medication needs to be prescribed and monitored by a specialist ADHD service (NHS or private).  GP's will take on prescribing once the individual is stable on their medication, this may take up to three months.

 We are currently not able to offer a medication prescription and monitoring service however we can recommend services that do.  

Our assessments are compliant with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), guidelines and can be used when applying for a local authority, education or employment adjustments and support. We combine information from a number or sources and include the use of standardised diagnostic tools, recommended by the NICE guidelines and considered to be the ‘gold standard’ measures in the evaluation of autism and ADHD. Our assessments provide insights into you or your child's differences, identifying specific needs and recommendations to ensure appropriate adjustments can be made in home, educational, training, and employment settings. For children and young people, a diagnostic assessment can contribute to an Education Health Care Plan (EHCP), supporting their overall neurodiversity support.

Adult autism assessments for individuals over sixteen, are undertaken by Deborah Cullinan, BA Hons, Psychotherapist, in collaboration with Dr. Eleanor Akaho, Psychiatrist, MBChB, MRCPsych. 

Adult ADHD assessments are undertaken by Deborah Cullinan in collaboration with either Dr. Catherine Fava Chartered Clinical Psychologist or Dr. Eleanor Akaho.

Child and adolescent autism and ADHD assessments are conducted jointly by Deborah Cullinan and Dr. Catherine Fava.