ADHD Assessments for Children

We recognise that a young person’s needs can be overlooked, especially as some children attempt to ‘mask’ their difficulties. To ensure every child receives a thorough and sensitive evaluation, we have developed a careful, ‘staged’ assessment approach. These NICE-compliant assessments are delivered by our expert team, which includes highly qualified Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrists, a Paediatrician, Psychologists, and specialist Nurse Practitioners.

Help for Psychology works with many highly qualified and experienced Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrists, a Paediatrician, Psychologists and specialist Nurse Practitioners, who can offer NICE-compliant assessments for ADHD.

The NICE guidelines recommend that assessment only takes place after the following:

• There has been a period of ‘watchful waiting’ of up to ten weeks
• The behaviour/attention problems are causing moderate to severe impairment.

The NICE guidelines recommend that a diagnosis of ADHD should not be based solely on standardised questionnaires such as the Conners 4. We do, however, use the Conners 4, which is completed by both parents and someone who has observed the child in a different setting (usually school), to support our assessment process.

Our clinicians, like those working within NHS clinical settings, follow the DSM-5 or ICD-11 criteria for diagnosis, which stipulate that the difficulties reported for the child or young person must:

• Cause at least moderate psychological, social and/or educational impairment
• Be observed either during a clinical appointment and/or direct observation in multiple settings.

We understand that some young children (particularly girls) may attempt to ‘mask’ their difficulties in school, and those with attention deficit disorder may be harder to identify in the school setting. We do not want a young person’s needs to be overlooked because their presentation is too subtle for a screening tool.

However, we are aware that unless the difficulties are observed across multiple contexts or the child is out of school and a school report/observation is not possible, it can be difficult to get a diagnosis accepted by an NHS team that follows the DSM/ICD criteria without exceptions.

Therefore, we have developed a staged process for our child ADHD assessments.

1. Parents and school (or alternative third party) complete the Conners 4 screen for ADHD.
2. One of our clinicians meets with the child’s parents or carers to take a full developmental, medical and psychosocial history of the child. As the lead clinician, he or she will also spend some time with the child, in person or online. Please note that the clinician will need to ask questions about the mental health of the child’s parents and their family situation as part of the interview.  Wherever possible, we also like to include the views of the child or young person.
3. The child attends one of our clinics to complete a WISC-V cognitive Assessment
4. If this has not already been completed as part of a pre-assessment consultation, the child also completes a Qb check during this appointment. (The Qb check is a standardised, computer-based task that measures a child’s ability to concentrate, as well as their movement and impulsivity.)
5. The clinician completing the Qb check will then spend some time with the child completing a self-report questionnaire.
6. The evidence from all the assessments is considered, and a diagnosis (if appropriate) is fed back to the family
7. A full report with recommendations is issued

Our comprehensive report provides you with a clear and actionable private ADHD diagnosis, recognised by schools and other professionals across the UK.