I'm Awaiting Assessment

“We’re on a waiting list — but we need help now.”

Waiting for an autism or ADHD assessment can be incredibly difficult.

You may already have spent months, or sometimes years, wondering why you or your child experiences the world differently. You may finally have reached the point of asking for an assessment, only to find yourself facing another long wait.

And meanwhile, life hasn't stopped while you're waiting.

Your child may still be struggling to get into school. Emotions may still feel overwhelming. There may be anxiety, meltdowns, shutdowns, sensory difficulties, friendship problems, difficulties with learning or increasing distress at home.

As an adult, you may be trying to manage work, relationships, parenting, education or simply the demands of everyday life while carrying the unanswered question:

“Why am I finding this so difficult?”

You might feel as though everything has been put on hold until somebody can tell you whether this is autism or ADHD.

It doesn't have to be.

You don't have to wait for a diagnosis to start understanding

A psychology-led assessment can help you begin making sense of what is happening now, while you remain on an autism or ADHD pathway.

Rather than trying to replace your diagnostic assessment, we can take a broader look at the whole person.

We can explore development, learning and cognition, attention and executive functioning, emotions and behaviour, anxiety, sensory experiences, relationships, trauma and attachment, medical history and the different environments in which difficulties occur.

Most importantly, we can ask:

• What is difficult right now?
• Why might it be difficult?
• What does this person need?
• And what could we start doing differently now?

You don't necessarily need to wait for a diagnostic label before making helpful changes at home, school, university or work.

“We’ve been waiting so long that I’m questioning whether we’re even on the right pathway.”

Sometimes the wait itself creates uncertainty.

Perhaps your child has changed considerably since the original referral. New difficulties may have emerged, while others have become less noticeable.

You may have started wondering whether autism or ADHD really explains the whole picture — or whether there could be something else that hasn't yet been considered.

You might even be thinking:

“Do we still need this assessment?”

A broader psychological assessment can help you explore those questions.

We can consider the evidence for neurodevelopmental differences alongside other possible explanations and contributing factors. Where appropriate, we can help you think about whether continuing with an autism or ADHD assessment still seems important, while recognising that a formal diagnostic decision would need to be made through an appropriately constituted diagnostic assessment.

Sometimes our work may strengthen the reasons for continuing on that pathway.

Sometimes it may highlight additional areas that need understanding too.

And sometimes it may help you realise that the question you originally started with isn't actually the only question that needs answering.

“I can’t just keep waiting while my child is struggling.”

For many parents, this is the hardest part.

You can see that your child needs something.

You may be attending school meetings, managing difficult mornings, trying different strategies, searching the internet late at night and constantly wondering whether you are doing the right thing.

You may feel that everyone is waiting for an assessment before deciding what happens next.

Meanwhile, you're watching your child struggle.

You shouldn't have to understand all of this alone.

Our psychology-led approach can help bring together the information you already have, identify what may be missing and develop a clearer understanding of your child's strengths and needs.

That understanding can lead to practical recommendations and next steps for home, school, further education or EHCP planning — without everything having to wait for the final diagnostic appointment.

Support while you wait. Understanding for what comes next.

Coming to Total Psychology doesn't mean giving up your place on an NHS or other assessment pathway.

It doesn't mean that we will assume that you or your child does — or doesn't — have autism or ADHD.

It means that while you're waiting, we can start trying to understand the person rather than simply waiting for the diagnosis.

Through our PINN psychology-led approach, we can look at the different pieces of the picture, explore what might be contributing to current difficulties and identify where further assessment or support could be helpful.

Because sometimes the question starts as:

“Is this autism or ADHD?”

But underneath it are much bigger questions:

• “Why is this so hard?”
• “What does my child need?”
• “What do I need?”
• “How can we make things better?”
• “What do we do next?”

Those questions matter now — not just when you finally reach the top of a waiting list.

You don't have to wait for a diagnosis to start understanding. And you don't have to wait to start finding a way forward.