ADHD Evaluation
ADHD Assessment in New York: What to Expect from a Neuro-Affirming Evaluation
Almost everyone who books an adult ADHD evaluation with me has already suspected it for a while. They read an article, or a friend got diagnosed, or their kid did, and something clicked. The question is not usually whether something is going on. It is whether this particular explanation is the right one, and what changes if it is.
Why adults get evaluated
Most adults with ADHD were never picked up as children. Screening historically missed girls, missed high-achieving students, and missed anyone who built good enough workarounds — masking, in the current language. Those workarounds hold up fine until the load increases. A promotion, a baby, a move, a parent getting sick, and suddenly the system that was barely holding stops holding.
The reasons people give me are fairly consistent:
- Focus, time, and follow-through at work have become a real problem
- Tasks that other people appear to find trivial cost you an enormous amount
- Emotions run hot — sharp reactions, rejection sensitivity, irritability that surprises you
- You start things with genuine enthusiasm and do not finish them
- You have been treated for anxiety or depression and it only partly helped
- Someone in your family was diagnosed and you recognized yourself in the description
What a neuro-affirming evaluation actually means
It is not a softer evaluation. It is a more useful one. Instead of stopping at a list of deficits, the point is to describe how your particular brain allocates attention — what reliably engages it, what it cannot get started on, and why those two things have almost nothing to do with how much you care.
The process usually runs two to three sessions:
- A long clinical interview. Your history, how your days actually go, and what brought you in.
- Standardized questionnaires. Validated ADHD measures you complete between sessions.
- Sorting out what else is in play. Anxiety, depression, OCD, Autism, and poor sleep can all imitate or accompany ADHD. Getting this part right determines whether the recommendations will work.
- A feedback session. We go through the findings together, and you leave with recommendations specific enough to act on.
Virtual ADHD testing across New York
I do all of my testing by secure video for adults anywhere in New York State — the five boroughs, Long Island, Westchester, the Hudson Valley, Albany, Buffalo, Rochester. Nobody has to take a day off to sit in a waiting room in Manhattan.
Adult ADHD assessment relies on a clinical interview and standardized questionnaires, and neither requires a shared room. Research on telehealth evaluation supports this. My own observation is that people describe their lives more honestly from their own kitchen table.
Who should consider it
An evaluation is worth your time if any of this sounds familiar:
- You have always felt out of step and never had a good explanation for it
- You are clearly capable and you consistently produce less than you are capable of
- Nothing gets done until it becomes an emergency
- Boring tasks are nearly impossible, and interesting ones can absorb you for six hours
- You have been treated for anxiety or depression and something is still unaccounted for
- You are worn out from the sheer effort of keeping an ordinary life running
What happens after a diagnosis
The diagnosis is where the useful part starts. With a clear answer you can:
- Have an informed conversation about medication with a psychiatrist, if you want to
- Start therapy aimed at ADHD specifically rather than at general stress
- Build structure around executive function and emotional regulation that fits your actual brain
- Pursue workplace accommodations if they would help
- Stop reading a lifetime of evidence as proof that you are lazy
I also work with people on ADHD after the evaluation. I am CBT-trained and pull from DBT and ACT depending on where you are getting stuck.
Why work with me
- Narrow focus. ADHD, Autism, OCD, and parent coaching, rather than general therapy.
- Lived experience. I have ADHD and I am raising neurodivergent kids.
- Neuro-affirming. The evaluation describes how you work, not what is wrong with you.
- Training. B.A. from Stanford, Ph.D. from Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology at Yeshiva University.
- Two licenses. I practice in New York and Connecticut, which helps if you live in one and work in the other.
- All virtual. The entire assessment happens from home.
Frequently asked questions about ADHD assessments in New York
How much does an ADHD assessment cost in New York?
It varies by provider, and in my practice it depends on the scope of what you need, so we go through the number on the free 15-minute call before you commit to anything. I am private pay, and I provide a superbill you can submit for possible out-of-network reimbursement.
Can I get an ADHD assessment online in New York?
Yes. I do all of my adult ADHD assessments by secure video for clients anywhere in New York State, so the whole evaluation happens from wherever you are. No commute into Manhattan, no waiting room.
How long does an adult ADHD evaluation take?
Usually two to three sessions. That covers a long clinical interview, standardized questionnaires you fill out in between, and a feedback session where we go through what the results mean and what to do about them.
What is a neuro-affirming ADHD assessment?
It treats ADHD as a difference in how attention and motivation are wired rather than as a character problem. The goal is to explain how your brain actually operates, including what it does well, and to land on strategies that work with that instead of against it.
Want to talk it through?
If you have been going back and forth on this for a while, a short conversation is a low-cost way to settle it. Email me and we will set up a free 15-minute call. You can also read more about working with me in New York.