We offer Combined Autism & ADHD Discoveries (assessments) by collaboratively working with your child and you.
If you have ever wondered whether your child may be both Autistic and ADHD, the answer may be yes!
There are many children and young people who are both Autistic and ADHD* - a neurotype that is often called ‘AuDHD’. We offer a discovery process (assessment) that explores both ways of being with your child.
We draw from best-practice clinical guidelines that incorporate a Neuro-affirmative informed approach to Combined assessment, where we place your child and you at the heart of the process.
Whilst we continue to use the term ‘assessment’, we also intersperse this with the neuro-affirmative terms ‘ADHD and Autistic Discovery’ as this more faithfully describes what we do:
We support your child and you to discover their neurotype.
Please note that our discoveries are psychologist and multi-disciplinary but we do not have medical practitioners on our team and so we do not prescribe ADHD medication.
*Rong Y, Yang C-J, Jin Y, Wang Y. Prevalence of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in individuals with autism spectrum disorder: a meta-analysis. Res Autism Spectr Disord. (2021) 83:101759. 10.1016/j.rasd.2021.101759 [CrossRef] [Google Scholar]
There are 5 parts to this discovery process
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Online Forms called the Conners-4 to be completed by Parents, Teacher and your child (if applicable). The Butterfly Practice Intake forms to be completed by Parents, Teacher and your child (if applicable).
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A play based session with younger children OR a conversation about experiences relating to the Autistic way of being with older children/young people (both informed by the ADOS-2).
This part of the assessment is delivered by a Chartered Psychologist (Clinical or Educational) and a Speech and Language Therapist or Occupational Therapist.
In our Sligo Clinic.
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A session with your child where they complete a computerised assessment of their attentional profile called the Qb Check (25 minutes). This usually happens on the same day as their Play/Conversation session.
In our Sligo Clinic.
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Parent Interview (based on the DSM V criteria for Autism and ADHD).
We get a holistic sense of your child’s developmental pathway, their strengths, challenges and needs.
In person or online.
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An Outcome session to explore the outcome of the assessment with parents (and your child if they would like to come along). In person or online.
We will issue you a PDF report describing your child’s profile of strengths and needs in terms of how they meet the DSM 5 criteria for ADHD and Autism (if indicated) and detailed recommendations. This is issued approx. 6-8 weeks following the Outcome Session.
This report is accepted by HSE Services* and the Department of Education.
Cost: € 2,900
*Please note that HSE CAMHS teams may carry out their own ADHD review, if you wish for your child to be referred to this particular HSE service in the future.
“Throughout the process we felt very cared for and listened to”
— ParentCognitive Assessment
If you would like your child to have a cognitive assessment as part of their overall assessment, there is an additional fee of €600. We will discuss this with you during the initial stage of the assessment process.
Step by Step by Step Guide to the Combined ADHD & Autism Discovery Process
There are five main stages to the Combined assessment process. It can be really helpful for you and your child to know about all the steps from start to finish:
Step 1:
Book online – go to Book an Assessment and fill in the contact form. You will be asked to sign a GDPR form so that we can legally hold your family’s information.
Step 2:
We will contact you via email and you will be invited to fill out consent forms and a form about your child’s strengths, needs and development. Your name will go on a waiting list.
Step 3:
When your name is near the top of the waiting list, we will email you with dates for the assessment that suit you and you will be asked to pay a €580 deposit to secure the assessment dates.
Step 4:
We send you out online forms, The Conners 4 and our own intake forms for you, your child and school staff to complete. These usually take 20 - 50 minutes to complete for parents and teachers. There is no pressure at all for your child to fill out the forms.
Step 5:
The Discovery Sessions - 4 appointments:
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We meet you for a parent interview, 90 minutes.
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The first session is the play/conversation based session with a clinical psychologist and another team member (Speech and Language Therapist or Occupational Therapist). This takes 60 minutes, you are welcome to attend this session with your child.
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The second session we carry out the Qb Check computerised measure of attention and they meet with an assistant psychologist, chatting, playing (if appropriate) to explore your child’s way of being in more detail (especially related to ADHD traits).
This appointment can take up to 60 minutes.
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We invite you to an outcome exploration meeting (your child can attend if they feel comfortable). 60 minutes.
Step 6:
Following our outcome exploration meeting with you, we send you a draft PDF copy of the report (whether your child is confirmed as ADHD and/or Autistic or not) and we invite revisions. We then send you a PDF of the final report which is accepted by HSE and Dept. of Education.
We typically issue the report approximately 6-8 weeks following the Outcome Session.
Payment for Combined ADHD and Autism Discoveries
We realise that this assessment in particular can be difficult to meet for parents, so we have spread the payments out over 5 time points as follows:
€580 deposit to secure an assessment
€580 due on the day of your child’s play-based/conversation based assessment
€580 due on the day of your child’s Qb check
€580 on the day of the Outcome Exploration session
€580 four weeks after the Outcome Exploration session (or at the issuing of the MDT Report, whichever comes first).
Please contact us if you wish to spread the payment out over a longer period of time.
Important Notes
Due to high demand for our services, a cancellation fee for individual sessions will be applied if less than 48 hours notice is given. For a MDT session (Psychologist and SLT or OT), if you cancel within 48 hours of your appointment or fail to attend without notifying the psychologist, a fee of €300 will be charged. For a psychologist only session, a fee of €150 will be chraged.
Preparing additional documentation, outside our standard suite, will attract an additional fee (fee details available as and when such documents are requested).
If you are applying for Domiciliary Care Allowance and require a supporting letter, there is an additional fee of €200. Preparing a rich and detailed letter requires additional time and administration to gather and present relevant information in support of your application.
Post-Assessment Support
When we have finished the assessment process with you and your child, we really want you and your family to be well-supported afterwards. If we have confirmed that your child is Autistic, you will be invited to a small group workshop facilitated by our colleagues at Thriving Autistic and funded by us here at The Butterfly Practice.
Thriving Autistic is a non-profit multidisciplinary team of Autistic and neurodivergent psychologists, therapists and coaches who provide a strengths-based support service for the neuro-divergent community.
The workshop provides a welcoming and safe space to explore what a confirmation of autism means for your child and your family. Areas range from: supporting your child in building a positive identity, working collaboratively with their school/educational setting, sensory needs, understanding and respecting communication differences, friendships with neurodivergent peers and supporting the development of your child’s strengths.
Further support beyond the workshop in navigating life post-assessment is available from the team at Thriving Autistic if you would like to explore more.
Contact hello@thrivingautistic.org