Simon is a clinical psychologist offering thorough and affordable ADHD assessment for adults and adolescents. These assessments are available in Bundoora, Melbourne, or through secure online consultations.
Understanding your ADHD profile is the first step towards managing challenges and leveraging the unique strengths of ADHD.
What is ADHD?
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is characterised by difficulties with executive functioning (part of the mind that regulates attention, behaviours, and emotions). Unfortunately, executive functioning difficulties can significantly impact work, study, and relationships.
As a neurodevelopmental condition, symptoms will first appear during childhood and are often noticeable by parents and teachers. All individuals with ADHD will exhibit at least some inattentive and hyperactive traits. However, there are three distinct ADHD subtypes.
Inattentive Type: Inattentive ADHD is characterised by difficulty regulating attention.
- Inattentive ADHDers will often struggle to focus on tasks they don’t find stimulating.
- This can lead to their focus shifting to distractions like sights and sounds, and excessive mind-wandering or daydreaming (maladaptive daydreaming).
- It can also lead to broader difficulty with working memory. This can includes forgetfulness, difficulty initiating unstimulating tasks, and switching away from tasks once they have started focussing.
- Working memory challenges may also include difficulty staying organised and managing time without external aids, systems, and reminders.
- Inattentive ADHDers may have strengths in enhanced imagination, curiosity, multitasking abilities, and hyperfocus on tasks they find stimulating.
Hyperactive/Impulsive Type: Hyperactive/Impulsive ADHD is characterised by difficulty regulating behaviours and emotions.
- Hyperactive ADHDers will experience restlessness with a discomfort in staying still or quiet such as when sitting or waiting in queues/traffic.
- This can lead to excessive fidgeting, stimulating behaviours (stimming), and impulsive actions/reactions before considering the consequences.
- Hyperactive ADHDers may also struggle with difficulty regulating emotions. They may feel bored easily and have a strong need for excitement. This can lead to seeking novelty or engaging in risky activities including substance use or gambling.
- Emotional regulation challenges may also include heightened sensitivity to rejection (rejection sensitivity dysphoria). Also, emotional dysregulation can also occur, where negative feelings persist as prolonged moods.
- Hyperactive ADHDers may have strengths in heightened adventurousness, sociability, empathy and sensitivity to praise/rewards, and a strong self-discipline in achieving their goals.
Combined Type: Combined ADHD is characterised by significant difficulties with both attentional regulation and hyperactivity/impulsivity and may have a range of strengths from both subtypes.
ADHD severity is classified as mild, moderate, or severe based on its impact on daily life. Partial remission may occur when symptoms lessen and no longer cause significant issues.
Why Seek an ADHD Assessment?
An ADHD assessment provides clarity and actionable steps:
- Clarity and Understanding: Receive a clear, evidence-based explanation of your symptoms, enabling you to better understand your experiences and life story.
- Validation and Insight: Reduce blame and gain confidence by helping yourself and others in your life understand your differences through a clinical psychology lens.
- Recognising Your Strengths: Recognise that ADHDers may have enhanced imagination, curiosity, multitasking ability, hyperfocus, adventurousness, sociability, emotional sensitivity, and strong determination.
- Leverage Your Strengths: Learning to use strengths associated with ADHD as an asset and learn to turn ADHD into a superpower.
- Tailored Interventions: Simon can provide effective cognitive behavioural techniques for managing your individual ADHD profile.
- Access to Resources: Gain eligibility for workplace or academic accommodations or referral for pharmacological intervention.
The ADHD Assessment Process
Simon follows a structured process to ensure a thorough understanding:
- Validated Psychological Instruments: Simon uses evidence-based questionnaires to assess cognitive, behavioural, and emotional patterns. These tools provide objective data for the assessment.
- Clinical Interview: A comprehensive interview on your developmental history, personality, and psychological symptoms is conducted. This is important to distinguish ADHD symptoms from those associated with other psychological conditions.
- Formulation: The findings are used to build a holistic understanding of how ADHD and other psychological difficulties affect areas such as work, study, and relationships.
- Reporting: The findings of the assessment along with recommendations are provided with time for discussion and reflection. Assessment findings can also be summarised in a letter or they can be provided in a formal report for an additional fee.
This process builds a solid foundation for creating personalised support strategies.
Start Your ADHD Journey
Simon combines evidence-based expertise with genuine compassion to deliver a comprehensive ADHD evaluation. With his guidance, you can better understand your challenges and strengths, reach your full potential in your work, studies, and relationships, and live with greater confidence and fulfilment.
Get in contact to arrange an assessment