Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) can significantly impact a child’s academic learning, social interactions, and task completion at home or within recreational activities. It is connected with underdeveloped Executive Functioning. It can also negatively impact emotional reactions with some students, referred to as Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria. Untreated ADHD can also put a student at risk for mood and anxiety disorders. An early diagnosis and proper supports are pivotal to improving their wellbeing and standard of living. Our assessments can provide you with answers and supports to help them thrive, and also help to differentiate between other disorders which have overlapping behavioural symptoms.

ADHD assessments do not include formal testing of intellectual or academic abilities. If you would like your child to be tested for ADHD symptoms, but don’t need a full Psycho-educational assessment, this may be the best option for your family.

What is Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)?

ADHD is a neurodevelopmental disorder which impacts a child’s ability to regulate their attention, impulses, and their energy level relative to their environment (in the classroom or library compared to the playground). This is now an umbrella term that encompasses 3 different types of ADHD: primarily hyperactive & impulse presentation, a primarily inattentive presentation (previously called ADD), and a combination of both presentations. ADHD presents on a spectrum, with different features being prominent for different students and can presently differently by gender. Overall, the following features may be present:

ADHD Inattentive

• Difficulty paying close attention to details causing careless mistakes

• Having difficult sustaining their attention, especially to non-preferred tasks

• Trouble initiating or completing tasks

• Often being forgetful

• Being easily distracted

• Trouble following through on all instructions

• Losing items

• Not seeming to listen when spoken to

• Avoiding or disliking tasks that require sustained mental effort

• Being disorganized with tasks or activities

ADHD Hyperactive-Impulsive

• Fidgets or squirms

• Leaves their seat at inappropriate times (in the classroom or dinner table)

• Runs or climbs when it’s inappropriate

• Difficulty engaging in play or tasks quietly, that would typically be quieter tasks

• Often “on the go” or described as “driven by a motor”

• Talks excessively

• May blurt out answers

• Difficulty waiting their turn

• Interrupts or intrudes on others (in class or with parents or siblings)

ADHD Combined

• Includes all previously described symptoms

Fees & Process

Child ADHD Assessment: $1800

Step 1: 1 hour interview with Parents/ Guardians (Choose an intake meeting in-person OR online)

Step 2: Clinical interview with your child & observation

Step 3: Send out & Collect information from rating scales (home, school/community, child - if 12 years or older)

Step 4: Feedback meeting with family to discuss results (Choose an feedback meeting in-person OR online)

What Happens If My Child Gets An ADHD Diagnosis?

Our belief at Embark Psychology is that knowledge is power. If your child receives an ADHD diagnosis, it is simply a way to describe what’s happening in their brain to them and to others; sometimes, a diagnosis is required in order to receive formal supports at school. We can help you understand how to best support your child and how to explain this to others to advocate for them and have them receive their accommodations. By providing greater understanding, we can remove any remaining stigma from society.

What might change in the school environment: With an ADHD report, schools may “code” a child which makes them eligible for increased support and accommodation through an Individual Program Plan (IPP). This might change the resources available to them both in the classroom and in the school overall. Teachers will have a better understanding of how your child’s brain is functioning and what approaches might work best to aid in their learning.

What might change in the home environment: This is a chance for parents to understand how their child is functioning compared to same age peers. We can help you with recommendations for implementing and scaffolding home routines, schedules, and building in independence while keeping your child on track.