Neurodiversity affirming adult autism assessment
Neurodiversity affirming adult autism assessment
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What does Neurodiversity affirming mean?
What does Neurodiversity affirming mean?
Autism has historcially been discussed using a defecits framework. However, there is a movement towards appreciating Autism as a difference in how a person's brain works, rather than it being something that is wrong with a person. There are a great many strenghts and skills associated with Autism, and the appreciation for this is growing in the commiunity. At the same time, there are differences seen in Autism which do make navigating the world (which tends to be set up to expect people to be neurotypical) difficult and this can certainly cause a range of challenges for autistic people.
In the context of an Autism assessment, working from a neurodiversity affirming perspective means that I will strive to appreciate both the strengths and differences associated with your autistic traits and to understand you as a unique person. I hope that the process of an Autism assessment will be a positive and rewarding experience for you.
I regularly engage in supervision and professional development led by neuordivergent psychologists to inform my practice.
My office in Kingston
What does the assessment involve?
What does the assessment involve?
An assessment interview with you, lasting up to three hours. This will be conducted either on one occasion with a break or over two seperate appointments, depending on your preference. The clinical interview is based on the DSM-V TR and the MIGDAS-2 and is designed to have a conversational feel to it. This includes an exploration of your Autistic traits past and present, including discussion of your interests, skills and sensory preferences. You are welcome to bring a partner, parent or other support person to this interview if you wish. This interview can take place either face to face in my office in Kingston ACT or via telehealth.
Developmental history, from either a parent, sibling, family member or other person who knew you as a child. With your permission, I will make contact with someone who can answer some specific questions about you as a child. This is important because the diagnosis of autism requires that there is evidence of it being present in childhood. If there is not a person available to provide this information we can discuss using school reports or your own recollection to gain some information on your childhood.
Self report measures. I will ask you to complete a series of questionnaires which also contribute to the overall picture of Autism. I will take time to reflect on the results of these in the context of the information from the interviews.
A feedback session (1 hour) and report provided to you. This will take place approximately three to four weeks after your last interview to allow me time to reflect on the information and to write the report.
Report options
Kathleen provides the following options for the assessment:
Letter only - $1350: a three to four page letter summarising the assessment outcomes and recommendations. Suitable for those who "just want to know" and would like evidence to assist in asking for workplace or study adjustments.
Comprehensive report - $1900: Eighteen or greater pages providing in detail information about the results of the assessment, including psychometrics (questionnaire results), how each DSM-V criteria was/was not met and recommendations. Suitable for those who like a lot of information or would like a detailed report to share with other health professionals.
Functional Impact report -$600: Includes additional interview time as needed, questionnaires and 2-3 page report covering the areas of day to day functioning that are relevant to NDIS applications. This can be completed at the same time as the Autism assessment and added to the comprehensive report (for a total fee of $2500) or can be completed at a later date and provided as a separate report.
Enquire via email
Please send me an email to enquire about booking in for an Adult Autism assessment. I will get back to you within a couple of days with some available dates and times and two forms for you to complete to finalize the booking.
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