Understanding Your Child’s Needs
Deciding whether to pursue a child and adolescent ADHD assessment can feel overwhelming. For many families, it starts with everyday struggles, a child who seems bright yet finds school or routines exhausting, who works hard but still falls behind, or who experiences frustration and emotional overwhelm that doesn’t seem to match their effort.
A comprehensive ADHD assessment does more than look for diagnostic criteria. It helps families understand patterns of behaviour and learning across settings, supports conversations with schools and services, and clarifies whether difficulties may relate to ADHD, co-occurring conditions or both. This understanding often provides much-needed clarity and direction, whether for targeted support strategies at home and school or access to appropriate professional recommendations.
Our Child and Adolescent ADHD Assessment Process
We provide a comprehensive private ADHD assessment for children and adolescents in Kent, following current NICE guidance and DSM-5 diagnostic criteria. Our structured ADHD assessment process follows NICE guidance and includes the following stages.
1. Free Initial Discovery Call
We begin with a complimentary discovery call to understand your concerns and answer questions about the ADHD assessment process. This allows us to gather preliminary information and consider whether a full ADHD assessment is the most appropriate next step for your child.
2. Initial Clinical Consultation (90 Minutes)
We recommend beginning with an initial consultation before proceeding to a full ADHD assessment. This appointment allows us to explore your child’s developmental history and current presentation in depth. ADHD can sometimes overlap with, or resemble, other conditions such as anxiety, autistic differences or learning difficulties. Taking this step helps ensure that the most appropriate and clinically sound pathway is recommended for your child.
3. Comprehensive ADHD Assessment
If we proceed, the full ADHD assessment follows current NICE guidelines for ADHD diagnosis in children and adolescents and some of the steps included are:
- A detailed developmental history and structured diagnostic interview exploring both past and current ADHD presentation
- Standardised questionnaires
- Executive functioning assessment
- QbCheck computer-based attention assessment
- Exploration of strengths, skills and protective factors
4. Diagnostic Report with Personalised Recommendations
You will receive a detailed written ADHD assessment report to share with schools, NHS, GP. Our reports are written to professional standards and are widely recognised by schools, local authorities and medical professionals. This ensures clarity if further support or consultation is required.
5. Feedback Session
We provide a collaborative feedback session to discuss findings and recommendations with you and your child. Practical strategies are tailored to your child’s strengths, learning profile and emotional wellbeing.
6. Follow-Up Appointment
A follow-up appointment is offered a few weeks later to answer questions, review implementation of recommendations and consider any next steps.
7. Ongoing Support
An ADHD assessment is often the beginning of understanding, not the end of the journey. We offer ongoing support tailored to your child and family’s needs. Our aim is to ensure that the clarity gained through assessment translates into meaningful and sustainable support.
Looking Beyond Diagnosis
Recognising ADHD in Girls
ADHD in girls often looks different from the stereotypical picture.
Many girls do not present as disruptive or visibly hyperactive. Instead, their ADHD may be more internalised. They may appear quiet, compliant, or socially capable, while privately struggling with inattention, overwhelm, racing thoughts, and emotional intensity. In school, girls with ADHD frequently work exceptionally hard to meet expectations. They may mask confusion, copy peers to stay on track, or overprepare to compensate for difficulties with organisation and working memory. Teachers may describe them as “chatty but bright,” “easily distracted,” or “daydreamy,” yet academically capable. Because they are not disrupting the classroom, their difficulties can be overlooked.
Socially, many girls learn to observe and imitate. They may fit in well on the surface but feel exhausted by the effort of navigating friendships, managing rejection sensitivity, or keeping up with social dynamics. Emotional dysregulation often turns inward, presenting as anxiety, perfectionism, low self-esteem, or tearfulness rather than outward behavioural difficulties.
A comprehensive ADHD assessment in Kent takes these gender differences seriously. We look beyond surface behaviour and explore patterns of masking, emotional regulation, executive functioning, and lived experience across settings. Early recognition allows support to be tailored to the girl’s actual needs, not just what is visible in the classroom.
What Happens After an ADHD Diagnosis?
Oasis Psychological Services is a Clinical Psychology-led service. We are qualified to assess and diagnose ADHD in line with current NICE guidelines; however, we do not prescribe medication.
Following an assessment, we offer a comprehensive support pathway tailored to your child and family. This may include parent guidance, ADHD coaching for young people, therapeutic support for co-occurring emotional or behavioural difficulties, and practical recommendations for school.
For some children and adolescents, ADHD medication can be an effective part of treatment. Where appropriate, we can support you in seeking a medication consultation, either through your local NHS CAMHS or paediatric team, or via referral to a trusted private Consultant Psychiatrist with whom we work closely.
Our assessments are thorough and detailed, and our reports clearly outline how diagnostic criteria have been met in accordance with NICE guidance. They are widely recognised by schools, local authorities and medical professionals. However, we always advise families to check with their local NHS team or relevant service regarding their specific referral requirements for medication following a private assessment.
Our aim is to ensure that families feel informed, supported and confident in navigating the next steps.
Why Choose Us for Child and Adolescent ADHD Assessments
Our clinicians bring extensive experience from both NHS and private practice, specialising in adolescent and child ADHD and related neurodevelopmental profiles. A private ADHD assessment offers timely, thoughtful support for families across the region. We follow evidence-based guidance and work within a neuroaffirming framework that respects each child’s individuality, strengths, and learning style.
Contact Us for Child and Adolescent ADHD Assessments in Kent
If you are concerned your child may have ADHD, a private assessment can provide clarity and practical guidance. Contact us today to arrange a consultation and start your child on the path to understanding and support.