What to expect at your assessment appointment

Summary: After completing your pre-assessment forms, you'll have a 60-minute online appointment with a clinician – usually via Microsoft Teams. They'll ask about different areas of your life (e.g. lifestyle, childhood, family history and health) to assess you for a potential ADHD or autism diagnosis. 

On this page: 

• Your assessment appointment

• What to expect on the day

• What you’ll be asked about

• Watch a real-life assessment FAQs 

Once you’ve completed your pre-assessment forms, we’ll phone or email you to invite you to an appointment with a member of our team. 

During the appointment, your clinician will review the information you shared on your pre-assessment forms and discuss your symptoms, experiences and medical history with you. They’ll ask you a range of questions to see whether your symptoms meet the criteria for an ADHD or autism diagnosis. 

For some people, the idea of an “assessment” can be daunting. If that’s how you’re feeling, please don’t worry – there are no right or wrong answers. This is simply an opportunity for a specialist to gather the information needed for a potential diagnosis. 

• Your appointment will take place via a secure video call on Microsoft Teams. You won’t need to travel anywhere and you can join from home, work, or wherever you feel most comfortable. The appointment should last around 60 minutes. Throughout, your clinician will lead you through the conversation in a structured way and at a comfortable pace. To help things run smoothly, we recommend checking your internet connection and making sure you’re set up on Microsoft Teams before your appointment.

• While we're usually able to tell patients the outcome of their ADHD assessment within their appointment, we can't guarantee this. Our clinicians sometimes need more information to make a decision – if this applies to you, we'll let you know your outcome as soon as we can when we share your outcome report.

• For an autism diagnosis, the outcome must be agreed by a second clinician prior to a diagnosis being given. This will then be confirmed with you as soon as possible after the assessment. 

During your appointment, your clinician will ask you about various areas of your life such as:  

• Your day-to-day experiences - how any ADHD- or autism- related traits show up and the impact they have on your work, relationships, and well-being.

• Your childhood and development – your early years, school experiences, and developmental history.

• Family background – any history of ADHD or autism running in the family.

• Your physical health – past diagnoses, treatments, sleep, diet, lifestyle, and substance use.

• Your mental health – a clinical observation covering things like your mood, thought patterns, speech, perception and cognition.

• Your social and occupational history – a background of your education, work, and relationships. 

We know it's a lot to share about yourself – this detail helps your clinician build a full picture and reach an accurate diagnosis. The more open you’re able to be, the easier it'll be for your clinician to help. 

We only share a shortened summary with your GP so if there’s something you’re worried about sharing, please discuss this with your clinician. There may be times we will have to share the information to keep you or others safe but also be times when this can be recorded in your assessment summary only. 

To see what an assessment appointment looks like in practice, you can watch the video below, which was kindly recorded and shared by one of our patients. 

Can I bring a family member to my appointment? 

Yes, of course. You’re welcome to bring a family member or close friend to join during your appointment. They can often help inform the assessment. 

What happens if I miss my appointment? 

• NHS patients – If you can't make your appointment, please submit an NHS Patients Contact Form as soon as possible so we can find you another slot. If you miss your appointment without letting us know, you'll need to rejoin the waiting list. This could delay your assessment by 6–12 months, so we'd really encourage you to get in touch ahead of time.

• Private patients – Please give us at least two working days' notice if you need to cancel. Missed appointments with less than two working days' notice result in a £150 fee, which helps to cover the cost of the assessor's time. Please rebook here. You can find the full details in our Terms and Conditions.