Starting an ADHD evaluation can feel like a big step, so we make the process as clear, comfortable, and supportive as possible. Before your first appointment, you will complete administrative forms, such as consent documents, along with symptom screeners and a developmental intake so we can begin understanding your concerns and history.

During the first appointment, you will have time to explain what you have been experiencing and how it affects your daily life. Dr. Calderon will ask about your current functioning, childhood patterns, strengths, challenges, and other factors that may affect attention. Between appointments, you will complete gold-standard ADHD measures. Information from someone who knows you well may be requested when helpful and available.

During the second appointment, we will explain the findings in plain language, answer your questions, and review your diagnosis and personalized recommendations. You will also receive written documentation summarizing the results. Our goal is for you to leave with greater clarity, a better understanding of yourself, and practical next steps.

Throughout the evaluation, we will also remain attentive to traits that may be associated with autism. If these patterns emerge, we will discuss whether co-occurring ADHD and autism, often informally called “AuDHD,” may warrant further evaluation.

Yes. This is a diagnostic evaluation conducted by a licensed psychologist, not simply an ADHD screening or online questionnaire.

Depending on your needs, standardized instruments may include the Diagnostic Interview for ADHD in Adults, Fifth Edition (DIVA-5); Brown Executive Function/Attention Scales; Barkley Adult ADHD Rating Scale–Fourth Edition (BAARS-IV); Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS v1.1); Conners; and Weiss Functional Impairment Rating Scale–Self-Report (WFIRS-S). Additional standardized screeners may be used when clinically relevant.

No single test score determines the diagnosis. Results are considered together with your clinical interview, developmental history, daily functioning, and information from someone who knows you well when available.

Yes. Child and adolescent ADHD evaluations are available on a case-by-case basis. We begin with a consultation with the parent or guardian to understand the concerns, review the child’s developmental and educational history, and determine whether a virtual diagnostic evaluation is the right fit.

The evaluation may include parent and youth interviews, teacher input, review of school functioning, and standardized measures selected according to the child’s age and the diagnostic question. These may include the Young DIVA-5 Diagnostic Interview for ADHD, NICHQ Vanderbilt Assessment Scales, Revised Child Anxiety and Depression Scale–47 (RCADS-47), Autism Spectrum Quotient–10, Child or Adolescent Version (AQ-10), and Weiss Functional Impairment Rating Scale–Parent Report (WFIRS-P).

The Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function, Second Edition (BRIEF2) may also be added upon request when a more detailed executive-function profile would be helpful.

These are diagnostic evaluations rather than full psychoeducational evaluations. They do not include comprehensive academic-achievement or learning-disability testing. When a broader school-focused evaluation is needed, we will explain why and help identify the appropriate next step.

Child and adolescent evaluations involve additional time, materials, and coordination to ensure a careful, high-quality assessment. For this reason, the fee is usually higher than the standard adult evaluation fee. The total cost will reflect the scope of the evaluation, including any additional questionnaires, record review, or coordination with schools or outside providers, and will be clearly explained and agreed upon in advance.

Standard ADHD criteria help determine whether symptoms are present. CDI’s Four Pillars help explain how those symptoms actually operate in daily life:

• Compensation: The strategies you use to hide, manage, or work around difficulties.

• Motivation Architecture: The conditions your brain may need to begin and sustain effort, such as interest, urgency, novelty, or accountability.

• Attention Breakdowns: When, where, and why your attention becomes inconsistent or difficult to control.

• Neurocognitive Cost: The stress, exhaustion, recovery time, or burnout required to keep functioning.

Used alongside standardized measures and diagnostic criteria, the Four Pillars help us understand not only whether ADHD is present, but how it affects your life.

Many conditions can affect attention, memory, motivation, organization, and emotional regulation. We look at when the difficulties began, whether they were present during childhood, where they occur, what makes them better or worse, and how they have changed over time.

We also use the clinical interview, developmental history, standardized measures, symptom screeners, and information from someone who knows you well when available. ADHD can occur alongside anxiety, depression, trauma, sleep problems, and other conditions, so the goal is not always to choose one explanation. The goal is to understand how the different factors may fit together.

Not necessarily. Because ADHD begins in childhood, we will ask about your early experiences and patterns. Old report cards, previous evaluations, or input from a parent, relative, partner, or someone else who knows you well can be helpful when available.

Please don’t worry if you no longer have childhood records or someone who can describe your early years. Many adults seeking an ADHD evaluation are in the same situation. We can still develop a thoughtful understanding through your developmental history and the information available to us. If additional information would be helpful, we will explain what is needed and work through the options with you.