Adult Assessment

At Brain Spectrum, we conduct comprehensive ASD, psychological, neuropsychological, and learning disorder evaluations of adult clients of all ages. Accurate diagnosis is important because treatment recommendations – whether through medication support, psychotherapy, executive functioning coaching, group therapy, marriage counseling, life coaching, or other forms of treatment – can be more effectively tailored to you. Many adult clients experience a deep sense of relief when they finally achieve clarity on issues that they have lived with for a very long time.

Brain Spectrum offers assessments of adults for the following:

• Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
• ADHD
• Brain Tumor
• Cognitive Impairment
• Dementia & Alzheimer’s Disease
• Epilepsy
• Executive Functioning
• Functional Neurological Disorder
• Learning Disorders
• Movement Disorders (e.g., Parkinson’s Disease)
• Multiple Sclerosis
• Normal vs. Pathological Aging
• Processing Deficits
• Traumatic Brain Injury
• Anxiety, Depression, Mood, & Complex Psychological Presentations
• Behavior
• Personality
• Thought Disorder & Psychosis
• Gender Dysphoria
• Sexual Orientation

Adult clients come to Brain Spectrum Neuropsychology for many reasons. Some have questions about whether they have ADHD or a learning disorder, like Dyslexia. Others have a desire for clarification on a mental health diagnosis, like depression or obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Others are wondering about recent memory or behavior changes, and whether they might be related to dementia or a concussion.

One of the most common questions that brings adults to Brain Spectrum for evaluation is whether or not they have Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). When a person is more severely impacted by ASD symptoms, they typically exhibit obvious signs from early childhood. However, when ASD presents in a milder form, it can often be misdiagnosed or even missed entirely. Misdiagnosis is more common when it comes to autism in women and girls. Autistic females frequently learn to mask their symptoms and can present outwardly as “neurotypical.” However, the inner experience of an autistic person who masks can be a different story. Accurate diagnosis of autism in women and girls is where Brain Spectrum Neuropsychology stands out as a leader in Southern California.

At Brain Spectrum, we have a great respect for neurodiversity, and we use a variety of gold-standard methods, including the ADOS-2, to achieve a high degree of diagnostic accuracy.

Your first appointment is a client interview during which we obtain your developmental history and learn about your personal experience and current challenges. This one-on-one session can be conducted in-person or via our telehealth platform.

​​At the end of this appointment, one of our Neuropsychologists will discuss with you the type of evaluation that is best suited to you. Depending on the nature of the evaluation, you will then be scheduled for up to three testing appointments. These in-person appointments typically last between two and four hours each. During these sessions, one of our Neuropsychologists will observe and interact with you, and administer relevant tests that will lead to a better understanding of the intricacies of your unique processing. Various questionnaires will be sent out by email to you and other respondents as appropriate (with your approval).

Once testing is complete and all relevant information has been received, all the data that has been compiled is then reviewed and interpreted. A custom evaluation report of the results will be provided, which you will receive at the end of a 50-minute feedback session.

Depending on the results of the evaluation, additional recommendations will be made to help you to navigate your unique experience and to best overcome any challenges that you face.