Adult assessments

Adult Assessment Services 

Personalised clarity, neurodiversity insights, and clinical evaluation for adults and higher education students.

While SPOT is widely recognised for paediatric development, developmental, cognitive, and emotional differences continue throughout adulthood. Many adults navigate university, demanding careers, and daily life without understanding why certain tasks, environments, or interactions feel uniquely challenging.

Does an adult assessment apply to you?

Recognising neurodivergent traits or psychological differences in adulthood often looks different than in childhood. You may benefit from an assessment if you experience:

• Executive Functioning & Attention: Persistent difficulties with organisation, time management, task initiation, or maintaining focus at work or university.

• Social Communication & Sensory Processing: Feeling exhausted from “masking” in social settings, navigating social communication nuances, or experiencing strong sensitivities to noise, lighting, or surroundings.

• Learning & Academic Performance: Unexplained struggles with reading, written expression, or processing information during high-stakes exams or tertiary study.

• Complex Emotional & Identity Patterns: Seeking clarity around lifelong patterns of behaviour, mood, or identity to better understand yourself and rule out overlapping psychological factors.

Assessment Types

• Adult Autism Spectrum Assessment: Utilises the Monteiro Interview for Diagnosing the Autism Spectrum (MIGDAS-2) as our primary, neurodiversity-affirming diagnostic tool, with the ADOS-2 integrated selectively when clinically appropriate. Conducted by our Clinical Psychologists, this evaluation offers deep insights into your social communication style, sensory processing profile, and personal strengths.

• Adult ADHD & Executive Functioning Assessment: Combines full cognitive profiling using the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) with structured diagnostic interviews (such as the DIVA-5). This assessment evaluates focus regulation, working memory, and executive control to guide career, study, and daily life strategies.

• Psychoeducational & Cognitive Assessment: Features full cognitive testing (WAIS) paired with standardised academic achievement measures to identify intellectual strengths and specific learning profiles (including Dyslexia or Dysgraphia). Reports provide formal documentation accepted worldwide for university exam accommodations and professional credentialing.

Key Components of Our Adult Assessment Battery

To capture a complete, multi-dimensional picture of your functioning, our standard adult assessment batteries incorporate a comprehensive, multi-informant approach:

• Gold-Standard Diagnostic Interviews: In-depth direct clinical sessions using structured tools (e.g., MIGDAS-2 or DIVA-5) to thoroughly explore your developmental history and lived experience.

• Informant & Family Input: An interview with a partner, family member, or close friend is included (whenever available and suitable) to provide valuable contextual and observational insights across different settings.

• Comprehensive Questionnaire Batteries: We utilise leading self-report and informant rating scales to assess daily functional impacts across home, social, and professional life.

• Objective Psychological Evaluation: Given the complexity of adult psychopathology, our core batteries routinely integrate comprehensive personality inventories (e.g., MMPI-3) in our assessments. These gold-standard objective tools evaluate personality structure, emotional wellbeing, and co-occurring mental health factors to ensure precise differential diagnosis (also available as an optional standalone assessment when appropriate).

Assessment Process

Why Seek a Diagnosis in Adulthood?

Receiving an adult assessment provides a clearer picture of your cognitive, developmental, and emotional profile, helping you understand why you experience certain difficulties or behaviours.

• Academic & Workplace Accommodations: Secure official documentation required for university exam accommodations (such as extra time or quiet rooms), professional body boards, or workplace adjustments.

• Self-Validation & Mental Health Clarity: Gain a clear, accurate understanding of your experiences, helping differentiate neurodiversity from co-occurring mood or personality factors while preventing burnout.

• Targeted Support: Obtain tailored recommendations for executive functioning coaching, individual therapy, or medical consultation referrals.

Frequently Asked Questions