The one most clinics send you around twice for
Autism and ADHD, assessed together.
They overlap constantly, and each one can hide the other. Doing both in a single process costs less, takes less out of you, and is far more likely to get the answer right.
Why together
Estimates of the overlap vary a lot — Australian autism organisations put it anywhere from one in five to more than half — and nobody has a settled number. What every estimate agrees on is that it is common. Common enough that assessing for one while ignoring the other is a design flaw, not a nuance. The community's word for the combination is AuDHD.
The two also mask each other. ADHD restlessness can look like autistic dysregulation. Autistic routine can look like the compensating structure of someone with ADHD. Assessed separately, by different people, months apart, the second clinician often has to start again.
What you avoid
- Paying twice, telling your whole history twice
- Two waitlists instead of one
- A report that answers half the question
- The common outcome where one diagnosis is given and the other is missed for another decade
Combined assessment
$1,950Both conditions, one process, one report.
Booked separately these are $3,300. The saving is real because the history only has to be taken once.
Current wait: [CURRENT WAIT]
Report turnaround: [TURNAROUND]
Where each answer takes you
An AuDHD result is not one outcome. It usually opens two separate paths, and they run at the same time.
The ADHD side
Goes to a doctor who can prescribe, if medication is something you want to explore. In Queensland that is a GP within our group. Elsewhere, a psychiatrist. Either way we make the introduction rather than handing you a report and wishing you luck.
The autism side
If it sits at level 2 or 3 with real functional impact, that is the part which can support an NDIS application. Level 1 usually will not, and we would rather tell you that before you apply than after.
The NDIS does not fund medication and does not fund diagnostic assessment. Those belong to the health system.
Questions
Is it one appointment or two?
One assessment process. In practice most people split the clinical session across two sittings, because three hours straight is a lot for anyone and particularly for the people we see.
What if only one of them fits?
Then the report says that, and says why we ruled the other one out. You are not charged more for an answer you did not expect.
Can I add cognitive testing?
Yes, where there is a reason to — usually an NDIS or Centrelink requirement. It is a separate piece of work with its own fee. See cognitive assessment.
Not sure where to start?
The free screener takes about three minutes and tells you which assessment fits — or whether you need one at all.