How it Works

The first stage is an Initial Clinical Assessment. This appointment usually lasts approximately 90 minutes to 2 hours.

Before the appointment, you will complete screening and background forms. These usually take around 15 to 20 minutes to complete and help make the appointment focused and clinically useful. The Initial Clinical Assessment explores:

• Current concerns, difficulties, and day-to-day functioning
• Developmental history and previous diagnoses or assessments
• Mental health history and overlapping factors affecting diagnosis
•  Determining whether an ADHD or autism assessment is clinically appropriate

A brief screener alone is not enough to decide whether a full ADHD, autism, or combined AuDHD assessment is the right next step. ADHD and autism can overlap with each other and with anxiety, trauma, depression, OCD, substance use, sleep difficulties, cognitive concerns, personality-related difficulties, and previous mental health diagnoses. After the Initial Clinical Assessment, you will receive a clear recommendation about the most appropriate next step. This may include:

• Proceeding to a full ADHD assessment
• Proceeding to a full autism assessment
• Considering both ADHD and autism assessment pathways
• Recommending a face-to-face or extended assessment
• Suggesting another service or referral route if this is more appropriate

Booking and Payment
The Initial Clinical Assessment fee is €195. Once your Initial Clinical Assessment is booked and the €195 fee has been paid, the screening and background forms are sent to you before your appointment. The €195 Initial Clinical Assessment fee is included within the total assessment fee if you proceed to a full ADHD, autism, or combined AuDHD assessment. It is not added on top. If you have already completed and paid for an ADHD or autism assessment with OpenMind and later proceed to the other assessment pathway, a second Initial Clinical Assessment will not be required. In that situation, the Initial Clinical Assessment fee is not charged again and is deducted from the cost of the second assessment.

If a full assessment is recommended, the next stage is the clinical assessment interview. This is where the main ADHD, autism, or combined AuDHD assessment takes place.

The interview focuses on your current presentation and developmental history in relation to DSM-5-TR diagnostic criteria. The assessment is completed in line with recognised assessment methods and Psychological Society of Ireland professional practice standards, drawing on clinical interview, developmental history, relevant psychometric information, rating scales, collateral information where available, and recognised assessment tools.

For autism assessment, this will include autism-specific rating scales, developmental history, collateral information where available, sensory measures, executive functioning measures, direct clinical observation, and adapted use of ADOS-2 and ADI-R as part of the assessment process.

For ADHD assessment, this will include a structured clinical interview, DIVA-5, ADHD rating scales, executive functioning measures, functional impairment review, collateral information where available, and QbCheck where clinically indicated.

For the combined AuDHD assessment, the pathway includes both autism and ADHD assessment components as part of one integrated assessment process.

Assessment pathways are tailored to the individual clinical presentation, with the assessment approach determined by the nature and complexity of the concerns being explored.

After the assessment, you receive a feedback session and a written diagnostic report. The feedback session explains the outcome of the assessment, the diagnostic reasoning, and any recommendations.

The written diagnostic report is completed in line with Psychological Society of Ireland professional practice standards and summarises:

The written diagnostic report summarises:

• Information gathered during the assessment
• Relevant developmental, clinical, educational, and occupational history
• Psychometric, questionnaire, and collateral information
• Functional impact across daily life
• Diagnostic reasoning mapped against DSM-5-TR criteria
• Diagnostic outcome and clinical formulation
• recommendations and suggested next steps