Private ADHD Assessment for Children, Young People & Adults

ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) is an overarching term for attentional difficulties. People with attentional difficulties can have difficulties in several areas, not just their ability to ‘focus.’

Many children with ADHD also have difficulties in the area ‘Executive Function.’ This refers to the ability of the brain to co-ordinate working memory, organisation, and planning. We sometimes liken this to an orchestral conductor; bringing together all aspects of a brain’s function and helping them work together in a co-ordinated way.

There are currently three main classifications to attentional difficulties, all of which fall under the category of ADHD:

1) Hyperactive and impulsive type
2) Inattentive type (formerly known as ADD)
3) Combined type

People with ADHD often have a number of strengths, but difficulties with attention can lead them to become overwhelmed, which makes it hard for them to sustain attention or to prioritise where to focus their attention.

It is common for children with neurodevelopmental conditions such as Autism Spectrum Disorder to also experience difficulties with attention. The current

In response to demand, we have now established our regular ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) clinic here in Warrington. This means that your child can be seen and assessed in person by two members of our team, which will always include a clinical psychologist. Another therapist is involved in many of our ADHD assessments – often a speech and language therapist or occupational therapist. This means that we can comment upon how difficulties with attention may also be impacting upon your child’s communication and language or day to day functioning.

It is important to know that anyone carrying out such assessments is suitably qualified to use the tools and are registered with the appropriate clinical bodies.

For all ADHD assessments, at least one clinical psychologist will be directly involved, and will not delegate this work to other, less suitably qualified people. We cannot stress enough the importance of checking the clinical qualification and experience of your chosen assessment team, especially if you are considering taking the assessment back to the NHS. The likelihood of your assessment being recognised as valid will depend upon the quality of the assessment process, including whether the professionals carrying out the assessment are felt to be qualified to do so.

We have always believed in using the best possible combination of assessments tools available. We will never assess your child via video link or based on extensive use of questionnaires. We will also never delegate any part of the assessment to somebody without the necessary clinical training and registration with either HCPC or the GMC. It will be clear to you from the outset that all of the clinicians involved in your care are qualified and experienced clinical psychologists in combination with speech and language therapists or occupational therapists.

Our ADHD assessment involves use of a full QB Test in our clinic – this is distinct from, and more detailed than a QB Check, which is mainly used as a less detailed screening tool. The QB Test gives us a comprehensive and objective measurement of your child’s attention skills, activity levels and impulsivity.

The QB test is computer-based assessment, measuring the three core symptoms of ADHD: activity, attention, and impulsivity. Information from the test result is compared to data from children of the same age and gender who do not have ADHD – this is referred to as the ‘control group’ data.

The QB test takes up to 45 minutes to complete, depending on the age and needs of the child, and it would normally take place while the parents/carers are completing a developmental history interview in another clinic room.

All our ADHD team are fully trained in the use of the QB test, and alongside this, we are supported by the team at QBTech, who offer us supervision and consultative support in all aspects of the QB assessment as required. This means that in addition to our own clinical team, we have access to the QB clinical staff who have many years of experience of analysing test data.

As well as the QB Test, we take a full and detailed case history face to face with the child’s parents or carers and have a discussion with school/college.

In addition to the QB Test, we use another formal assessment – the Conners Rating Scales – this is a parent/carer and child questionnaire providing scores that can be compared with age peers.

The Conners Rating Scales is a detailed questionnaire that asks questions on topics such as behaviour, schoolwork, and social life. The information gathered indicates where there are potential symptoms of ADHD, and the degree to which the child may be affected by these. This can include indicating any potential effect on school grades, family life and relationships with other people. The responses to the questionnaire enable the assessors to make an objective data-based comparison with diagnostic criteria for ADHD to ascertain whether the difficulties highlighted by the questionnaire would meet criteria for diagnosis.

The Conners questionnaires will be given or sent to you at the time of the appointment, and we then ask that you send them back as soon as possible to enable them to be scored and rated. We ask adults who know the child well to complete the these. They should be completed by either one or two people, which could be teachers, tutors, parents, employers and even therapists who know the child well in different settings.

The reason that we ask somebody outside the family home to complete the Connors rating scales is because it is essential for assessment of ADHD to obtain a clear picture of the child’s presentation in more than one setting.

Where required we may also use additional psychometric assessment using subtests of the WISC V, Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, an IQ test. This would always be carried out by a clinical psychologist.

In the event that the assessment shows that the child does not have attentional difficulties, the therapists involved in your child’s assessment will offer advice about why the child may be having difficulties and whether any further

There is increasing awareness of the challenges of diagnosing girls with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Their tendencies to mask their inattentive traits and internalise their feelings can make their symptoms harder to recognise.

All of our clinicians have in-depth knowledge of the differences in symptomology and presentation that many girls and women may show and are experienced in diagnosing neurodevelopmental conditions in girls and women.

During our assessments and in our reports we provide ideas for therapeutic interventions to support an adult or child with a diagnosis of ADHD.

In the event that you do wish to consider medication via a private route, your care can be transferred to our medical colleagues in the North West area; one is a consultant psychiatrist and the other is a consultant paediatrician. They would carry out any necessary medical checks and discussion regarding options for medication, which would then be titrated during a series of follow up appointments.

On average, this process requires a series of 2-3 follow up appointments, however it is important to note that you may need more appointments, depending on how your child responds to their medication.

It is important to know that, in common with many private providers, this includes the cost of writing a prescription but does not include the cost of obtaining the medication. The cost of a private prescription for ADHD medication can vary depending on a number of factors, including the individual pharmacy.

It is also important to know from the outset that you will continue to pay private prescription charges until such a point that the NHS agrees to accept your child’s private diagnosis. No private provider can give you a cast iron guarantee that the NHS will agree to accept their assessment, and for this reason, again we must stress the importance of using an assessment service with the right clinical approach, correct professional credentials, and the best possible tools available. At the end of this process, the medic may refer your child back to your GP for ‘shared care.’

With this in mind, if your child is already on the neurodevelopmental pathway within the NHS you may decide to go back to this pathway to discuss medication without the need for referral onto the private psychiatrist.

The assessment in clinic would usually take 2 hours with child being assessed in a separate room for part of the time while the other clinician completes a history interview – so the total assessment time is 2-3 hours. The assessment is usually completed within the same two weeks, but in some circumstances where an observation takes place outside of our clinic or a consultation with other professionals is needed, the clinician may conduct the assessment over a longer time period. Of course, the sooner you send back the Conners rating scales and provide the information school (or other informants), the sooner the information can be analysed and scored.