ADHD Assessments
Clear answers and practical strategies for attention, focus and everyday life.
If you or someone you care about has long struggled with focus, restlessness, impulsivity or organisation, an ADHD assessment can help you understand why, and what will help.
Our psychologists provide comprehensive ADHD assessments that look at the whole person across home, school, work and community. You’ll receive clear findings, a diagnosis where it applies, and recommendations you can put into practice.
What Is ADHD?
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental condition. It involves ongoing patterns of inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity that affect daily functioning, learning, work and relationships.
ADHD looks different from person to person and across ages. It can affect:
Attention and focus
Getting started, staying on task, finishing what’s begun.
Organisation and time management
Planning, keeping track of things, meeting deadlines.
Impulse control
Acting or speaking without pausing, difficulty waiting.
Restlessness and energy
Feeling constantly on the go, or inner restlessness in adults.
Emotional regulation
Big reactions, frustration, feeling easily overwhelmed.
Many people, especially adults and girls, go undiagnosed for years because ADHD can look like anxiety, low mood or “just being disorganised”.
Who Is an ADHD Assessment For?
An assessment may be worth considering if you or your child:
- Have long-standing difficulty with attention, organisation or impulsivity
- Are struggling at school, in study or at work despite real effort
- Find relationships, routines or emotions hard to manage
- Have been told ADHD might be part of the picture
- Need clear documentation for school adjustments, workplace supports or NDIS planning
We assess children, adolescents and adults. We’ll talk through your situation when you get in touch.
What the Assessment Involves
There is no single test for ADHD. A reliable assessment brings together several sources of information.
Clinical Interview
A detailed conversation with the person and, where relevant, parents or caregivers, about developmental history, current symptoms and how they affect daily life. Because ADHD begins in childhood, early history matters.
Rating Scales and Questionnaires
Standardised questionnaires completed by the person and others who know them, such as parents, teachers or partners. These show the presence and severity of symptoms across different settings.
Behavioural Observation
We observe behaviour and interactions to understand difficulties first-hand.
Psychological Testing (Where Needed)
In some cases we use additional testing of cognitive abilities, learning, emotional wellbeing and related areas. This helps rule out other conditions that can look like ADHD, or exist alongside it, such as anxiety, learning difficulties or trauma.
Information From Others
With your consent, we may seek input from teachers, employers, GPs or other professionals to see how symptoms show up in different environments.
How It Works
Get in touch.
Make a referral or call our team. We’ll talk through your concerns and confirm the right assessment.
Intake and information gathering.
We collect background details and send questionnaires for you and others to complete.
Assessment appointments.
Your psychologist completes the interview, observation and any testing needed.
Feedback session.
We go through the findings with you in plain language and answer your questions.
Written report.
You receive a comprehensive report with findings, diagnosis (if applicable) and tailored recommendations.
Your Report
Your report brings together everything gathered during the assessment and compares it with the diagnostic criteria in the DSM-5. It includes:
- A clear conclusion on whether the criteria for ADHD are met
- How ADHD affects daily life, learning, work and relationships
- Practical recommendations for therapy, strategies, school or workplace adjustments and other supports
With your consent, it can be shared with your GP, school, employer, NDIS planner or support team.
Good to Know
An assessment doesn’t guarantee an ADHD diagnosis.
Our role is to give you an accurate, honest answer. Sometimes that’s a diagnosis, and sometimes it points to a different explanation and different supports.
Medication.
Psychologists can assess for and diagnose ADHD but can’t prescribe medication. If medication is something you’d like to explore, your report can support a conversation with your GP, paediatrician or psychiatrist.
ADHD and the NDIS.
NDIS support isn’t based on diagnosis alone. It depends on how significantly a condition affects everyday functioning. A thorough assessment and report can provide useful evidence for access requests and plan reviews, and we can talk through what the NDIS may or may not cover in your situation.
Cost and Funding
Contact us for current fees. If you’re an NDIS participant, assessments are typically funded through Capacity Building supports. Not sure what your plan covers? Contact us and we’ll help you check before you commit.
Where We Work
We provide in-person NDIS assessments in Queensland and South Australia, including Brisbane and Adelaide. Ask us about availability in your area and which parts of the process may be possible by telehealth.
Why Positive Moods?
Specialists, not generalists.
We focus only on behaviour support and mental health therapeutic supports, so our assessments are informed by everyday experience of what helps people.
Over six years of experience.
We were one of the first behaviour support companies in the sector, and we know what NDIS reports need to include.
Assessment that leads somewhere.
We also provide Improved Daily Living and Positive Behaviour Support services, so we can help you turn recommendations into everyday strategies.
Clear, respectful communication.
We explain each step and give results in plain language.
Ready to Get Started?
Phone: 1300 001 470
Email: ndis@positivemoods.com.au
Looking for something different? See our other Psychological Assessments, including Autism Assessments and Cognitive Assessments.