ADHD is a neurodevelopmental condition affecting 800,000 Australians including 6-8% of children and 3-5% of Australian adults. ADHD has significant impacts on a person’s ability to study, work, manage responsibilities, be effective in
relationships and make the most of their leisure time.
ADHD is characterised by a number ofdifficulties including:
- Impaired response inhibition, impulse control, or the capacity to delay gratification.
- Excessive task-irrelevant activity or activity that is poorly regulated to the demands of a situation.
- Poor sustained attention or persistence of effort to tasks.
- Difficulties remembering to do things or working memory.
- Delayed development of internal language (the mind’s voice) and rule-following.
- Diminished problem-solving ability, ingenuity, and flexibility in pursuing long-term goals.
Mindright provides assessments of ADHD for children, adolescents and adults. You do not need a referral however collaboration with other health professionals is important in formalising the diagnosis and offering treatment interventions
including medication.
To provide a diagnosis of ADHD the Mindright psychologists follow Australian and International guidelines. An assessment at Mindrightincludes
Initial screen of ADHD symptoms
To ensure that an ADHD assessment is appropriate we provide a free screener questionnaire of ADHD. If the responses are suggestive of possible or probable ADHD our admin team will provide you with information regarding the assessment
process, costs and clinician availability.
ADHD testing via questionnaires
Following the screener, you will be provided with a set of questionnaires to complete that assess ADHD and other mental health difficulties. The ADHD questionnaires are not only relating to a list of symptoms but further explore your
executive functioning and how much these difficulties impact on you in areas of your life. Questionnaires will also be mailed out to a significant other such as a partner, teacher, employer, friend, relative to provide information of
their experience and observation of ADHD symptoms for you.
Clinical Interview with the psychologist
Following completion of the questionnaires, you will meet with a psychologist at Mindright to take a deeper dive into your ADHD where you will complete an ADHD specific interview as well as discuss other relevant information about your
concerns, experiences, history and other symptoms. This interview will go for approximately 1.5-2 hours.
Results Analysis and Report Preparation
Your assessing psychologist will next analyse all of your results and reports and consider whether you meet criteria for ADHD. A detailed report summarising the findings of your assessment, the diagnoses and recommendations will be
compiled.
Feedback Session and Psychoeducation
Lastly, you will see the psychologist for a 50min consultation to discuss the assessment findings and recommendations. This session will also include some psycho-education about your diagnosed difficulties including ADHD and
other mental health difficulties (if and where appropriate).
Ongoing Therapy
Mindright psychologists can provide ongoing psychological therapy for ADHD including cognitive behavioural therapy and executive functioning behavioural skill development. Couple and family therapy is also provided at Mindright.
Mindright have some limited availability for ASD assessments. Dr Dean Wright is currently providing assessment services with a prioritisation of clients accessing psychological therapy where the treating clinician wishes to
consider a diagnosis of ASD for their client.
An assessment of ASD with Dr Wright involves:
Session 1: Initial Consult
An initial consultation session may be required to screen the client’s suitability for a full ASD assessment. At the initial consult the client, parents or carers send through any relevant reports or correspondence to help
understand the client’s background.
Session 2: ADI-R
The ADI-R is a standardised, structured clinical interview, which takes up to 2.5 hours to complete, followed by 30 minutes of coding and analysis. It is completed with one parent/carer, ideally the parent who
undertook most of the parenting duties throughout the child’s development. The ADI-R assesses the emergence of Autism symptoms across different stages of development. To ascertain a diagnosis of ASD and dismiss potential
alternate diagnoses, a comprehensive developmental timeline of the core symptoms of ASD is required.
Session 3: ADOS-2
The ADOS-2 is a standardised observation tool, used to assess the current symptomology through comparison of the client’s current presentation against standardised norms for people of similar age. This involves administering a
variety of tasks, which looks as though we are playing or having a conversation.
Step 4: Diagnosis and Report Preparation
After completing the ASD assessment sessions with the client, Dr Wright analyses the assessment data, corroborative information/reports and prepares a detailed report. This report will provide a detailed explanation of the
assessment outcomes, diagnosis (or differential diagnosis), and provide a list of recommendations on what to do next.
In addition to providing assessments of ADHD and ASD, Mindright offer psychometric services with a particular focus on learning difficulties and intellectual functioning. Significant numbers of people experiencing ADHD and ASD
have comorbid learning difficulties. These measures can be applied to ADHD and ASD assessments for a deeper understanding of difficulties’ in the school and work environment.
Currently offered assessments include:
- 1. Assessment of intellectual functioning (WISC-V and WAIS-IV)
- 2. Assessment of specific learning disorders/difficulties (WIAT-III)