Questionnaires and screenings are individualized based on presenting concerns:

Attention-related issues are a common experience for many individuals, not just individuals with ADHD. One of our goals is to make sure you aren’t experiencing concerns that affect attention and behavior that aren’t better explained by another issue, such as depression, anxiety, or a stressful experience.

We use many valid and reliable screening tools as well as standardized questionnaires and continuous processing tests of attention to assist in this process. With permission from you, we also send these questionnaires to other sources of information, such as teachers, parents, partners or roommates, to get a well-rounded view of how you or your child function in daily life.

Whether you are being evaluated through our program or received an evaluation through a different program, we have many treatment options available:

-Affirming individual therapy

-Parent Education

-School accommodations recommendations

-Payment is made at the time of service, as each step progresses; no lump sums. Please inquire through email for fees and Good Faith Estimate. We work hard to be efficient and respect your financial constraints, however a thorough evaluation involves hours of work outside of the direct meetings with clients. We spend countless hours and finances on trainings to stay up on the latest information about ADHD and co-occurring conditions, gathering and reviewing your history and making careful interpretations of all the data. We’ve got you!

-We can stop or pause the evaluation process at different points, if appropriate. If there are significant concerns that require a referral to another provider or treatment modality, we will alert you as soon as possible. Pricing is then locked in for 3 months following the most recent appointment so you can return to the evaluation process at a later date.

We are Out-Of-Network with all insurance companies. A payment outline will be provided to you prior to beginning the evaluation with information and insurance codes so you can check your benefits.

We cannot guarantee reimbursement, however, we will work with you as best we can to help you get any reimbursement you can from insurance companies.

1) Why can’t my doctor or my child’s pediatrician diagnose ADHD? Answer: They might be able and willing to do so! Many doctors/NPs, PAs are an excellent place to start for concerns around ADHD and anxiety. Sometimes the clinical care provider might want a more detailed assessment or might have questions around possible co-occurring diagnoses or rule-outs, such as anxiety or depression, so they refer their patients for an outside evaluation. Additionally, some clinical care providers may not have the training to feel comfortable with this diagnosis, which can sometimes be complex in some individuals. Out of caution, they will refer out for more testing or a more thorough evaluation. It’s a great idea to get your provider in on the discussion no matter what; they are a valuable member of your care team!

2) We suspect Autism Spectrum Disorder and ADHD, would your practice still be able to provide an evaluation? Answer: If you have concerns regarding ASD, we can still provide you with an ADHD evaluation and also provide a thorough Autism screening. As diagnosing clinicians in NYS, we are qualified to diagnose ASD, however some presentations and age groups may be complicated by other factors that would be better suited for social cognition testing, learning disorder testing, etc. in order to be confident in the diagnosis (and for children, to qualify for OPWDD Front Door Services, you will need a multidisciplinary approach or at the very least a psychological evaluation). If that is the case, you’ll want to look for a licensed psychologist (PhD) or sometimes, neuropsychologist (PhD or MD) to perform the appropriate testing. For children, sometimes the school district can also provide an Autism screening. We will help you as soon as we have concerns, if this is the case, and have trusted sources to refer you or your child to.

3) We are concerned that our child has a learning disability, can you help us with that? Answer: While we can (and do!) screen for some intellectual and learning disabilities, your child’s pediatrician and school are the best places to start a discussion regarding possible learning disabilities. If, during the course of our evaluation, we suspect there might be the presence of a learning disability, we will communicate that to you ASAP and guide you in the right direction, however we are not able to diagnose specific learning disabilities.

4) I am an adult and think I might have ADHD, is it too late to seek a diagnosis? Answer: No! It is never too late to seek the proper medical care. 15.5 million adults have ADHD in the US alone. If you are over the age of 65, we may recommend a memory or neurological consultation first, to rule out any normal age-related brain changes or non-age related brain changes. Check out Upstate Geriatric Care for a memory evaluation if you have concerns.

5) I am scared that if we receive an ADHD diagnosis, someone will force me or my child to take medication. Answer: A diagnosis is a set of criteria that explains what is happening in your or your child’s life at that time, and can guide treatment. Treatment for ADHD includes education, awareness, accommodation and modification of the environment and sometimes medication. ADHD medications have been researched for a long time, are safe and highly effective, but some people opt to not take them or some people cannot tolerate the side effects.

No one should force ADHD medication upon you or your child, but please, get educated first-there are a lot of myths out there about ADHD medications. Just like anything else in life- there can sometimes be risks to taking medication, but there can also be risks to not taking medication. Among them: accidents, lower academic success, financial mistakes, poor socialization, low-self esteem, anxiety, etc. Learn more here.

Learn about all your treatment options so you can make an informed choice in your care or your child’s care.

6) I am scared to have the label of ADHD for me or my child. Won’t people have negative judgements or will my child think there is something wrong with them? Answer: People may have judgments and we cannot control what others think. ADHD is a different neurotype, but it is not inherently bad. Our job is to help you or your child to understand current strengths and needs and learn how to be a good advocate for what needs are present. Often times if we do not give the proper “label”, like ADHD, individuals can end up “labeling” themselves as “bad, lazy, stupid, annoying, weird”, or worse. Sometimes the proper terminology actually frees the individual to be themselves without shame and find a supportive community! Once the evaluation is complete, you have your report with any diagnosis listed and YOU can show it to whomever you want, or don’t want. We can help you through this process of who and how to share this information if you choose.

Our hope is that individuals come away from this process with more understanding, patience, compassion and acceptance for themselves and their loved ones. 

Our evaluations can bring you piece of mind

If you have a more complex presentation, are a female (of any age), an adult, or are a parent who wants more than just a 5 minute questionnaire completed by you and the teacher, then you’ve come to the right place! We work with your established team of caregivers (teachers, doctors, therapists, coaches, family members, etc.) to complete our detailed evaluations which explore medical, legal, social, developmental, family, educational and symptom history alongside your current presenting problems to identify your strengths and needs. We provide treatment recommendations and executive functioning recommendations based on this evaluation that are geared toward each specific area of need.

Most people have been very satisfied with our reports, even when they do not meet diagnostic criteria for ADHD. I have had many grateful clients who finally felt like they had clear treatment guidance and they could take that to their providers to get the proper treatment, or find the proper support.

Additionally, we are not afraid to delay a diagnosis for a child if that is our only option. If we have concerns, but the child is young and does not meet the full criteria at this time, you can rest assured that all these concerns are documented for future purposes. Remember, part of the ADHD diagnosis is that several symptoms are present prior to age 12. A lot of times we meet adults who experienced problems as children/teens (especially women) but they went unnoticed, maybe because they did well in school, they didn’t get “in trouble”, or because their parents provided a lot of accommodations, so no one thought it was a big concern. Now, these individuals do not have any “documentation” that there were any problems. We hope to prevent this from becoming a future barrier. Sometimes people can “get by” until they go to college or until they have children and now they are overwhelmed, overstimulated, and under-functioning. Their skills deficits are really showing up and managing their own schedule and the schedules of their family members has proven to “tip the scale”.

We can solve that for you! Not only will you have piece of mind that symptoms were addressed and documented, but we will give you guidance around what to do in the meantime to support your child and strengthen executive functioning skills. In other situations, we have seen that the child struggles significantly in school and sometimes this is just a “poor fit” for that year or they just need a little bit more maturity, and they do much better in the next school year! Hooray! We avoided an unnecessary diagnostic label and treatment AND helped your child get back on target and feel heard and understood.

Our evaluations are the sweet spot between too little time and investigation that might miss things, and too much/too expensive/too long of a wait! We can get you scheduled quickly and usually are done with evaluations in 2 months.