Assessment and accessibility (or, why working with a licensed counselor or therapist might be the better choice).

I'm really proud to be part of the changing landscape around assessment for neurocomplexity - making it more accessible, more relational, and more centered on you and your lived experience.

Neuropsychological evaluations through a PhD-level psychologist can run upwards of $5,000. And if cost isn't the barrier, waitlists often are. They can be six months, a year, sometimes longer just to get a first appointment. For someone who's spent their whole life feeling different and wondering why and has decided on assessment as a way to hopefully finally understand, that's a long time.

Many people find that even after clearing those hurdles, they end up with someone who wasn't trained to recognize Autism or ADHD in adults, in women, nonbinary and trans folks, in people impacted by C-PTSD, in anyone who doesn't fit the narrow, outdated textbook picture of Autism or ADHD. So instead of finally getting answers, they walk away feeling more invalidated than when they arrived. After a lifetime of being told your differences are a you problem, that's can be genuinely harmful and sometimes downright traumatizing, not just disappointing.

Working with a licensed counselor or therapist trained in neurodiversity affirming assessments for your Autism or ADHD assessment is a valid option, and for a lot of adults, it's actually the better fit. The cost is lower, the wait is shorter, and for most real-world needs (self-understanding, workplace accommodations, school letters, housing documentation) an assessment from one of these providers is fully accepted. (Worth noting: if you're applying for state disability benefits, a PhD-level evaluation is required. It's always worth checking that this kind of assessment meets your specific needs before booking.)

Something else I want to name, too - in neurodiversity-affirming care, we tend to move away from the word diagnosis toward identification. It's a small shift in language that carries a lot of meaning. We're not labeling what's wrong with you, instead we're finding words for who you already are. That said, if you need formal diagnostic language for legal or medical reasons, that's completely valid and something we can talk through together. And in neuro-affirming communities, self-identification is also recognized and respected. After all, you are the authority on yourself and your lived experience.

When you come for an assessment with me, you're not just sitting through a battery of standardized tests. There are screenings involved, yes, but they're one part of a much larger conversation. A conversation with someone trained to look beyond the checklist and understand how Autism and ADHD actually show up in people who've spent years masking and adapting. Your lived experience isn't a barely-acknowledged footnote in our work together. It's the whole point, because nobody knows you better than you. You're the only one who's lived in your body all this time. A good assessment honors that - it gives language to what you've already known, and reflects back a version of yourself that finally makes sense.