Autism Assessment for Adults

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  • Adult ASD diagnosis—neuropsych recs?

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    Mar 26, 2021

    Can anyone recommend a neuropsychologist who can test adults for ASD? Our daughter is having a comprehensive screening in the fall and my partner wants to be assessed (comprehensively) also, but the adult doc our daughter’s doc recommended to us, David O’Grady, notably omits ASD from the list on his site of adult concerns he screens for (and ASD is one of the things both of us are wondering might be at play for both our daughter and for him). I’m not sure if this is because it’s hard to screen adults for ASD? It seems a lot of people get diagnosed as adults so I don’t really understand why he seems to test for everything but this. At any rate, can anyone recommend someone who does comprehensive adult neuropsych evaluations that also include screening for ASD? Thanks :)

    Mar 26, 2021

    i don’t have a rec, but wondering why the partner wants one? there aren’t a whole lot of options for adults seeking any treatment, and most of those in turn don't gatekeep based on a formal diagnosis. (insurance may be another matter.)

    there are no criteria for diagnosing someone as an adult, which is why it’s hard to find providers. i was diagnosed as a child, and many adults are self or informally diagnosed. you could instead consider an eval just to rule out other concerns, and then run with it. 

    Mar 31, 2021

    I highly recommend Thomas Zurfluh in San Francisco. He can do most of the assessments and the interview through zoom, though there will probably need to be one in-person session (following stringent Covid safety protocols). My family had a wonderful experience with him. He is definitely able to do a comprehensive screening, including for ASD.

    http://thomaszurfluh.com

    Mar 31, 2021

Archived Q&A and Reviews

 

Affordable Psychological Assessment for 20YO with Asperger's Syndrome

Nov 2012

My son needs to have an updated psychological assessment done for his Asperger's and AdHD diagnoses. The last one was done when he was 8; he is now 20 and are considering applying for SSI based on feedback from his current speech therapist and others. Recommended neuropsychologists have fees of upwards of $5,000, which is too much for me. When it was done for him at age 8, it was by a psychologist with special training and interest in Asperger's (but in the city in OH from which we moved). It seems there should be a similar middle-of-the-road solution here. Other recommendations are for Regional Center or other non-profit to do the assessment, but it seems to me that given the declination of services rate from some of these organizations, that would not be the best solution. Thanks.

I recommend you speak with Dr. Kristin Gross, PhD in Berkeley on Solano Ave. (510)530-1676 East Bay Mom

Here are some resources you could explore.

Teaching Programs-
- UC Psychology Clinic: (510) 642-2055, http://psychology.berkeley.edu/clinic/psychology-clinic. Sliding scale assessments; waits can be long.
- Wright Institute Assessment Center, 510-841-9230, x159, Sumana Kaipa, Co-Director. Sliding scale assessments.

Sliding Scale:
- Clearwater Counseling & Assessment, 510.596.8137, sliding scale available.
- Mary Cunningham at Raskob Learning Institute (510) 436-1275.

A day in Davis:
- Dr. Jennifer Grimes, Davis, CA. Significantly lower cost assessments, as she conducts them in one day in Davis. 530.758.3114, 707.435.01467, jengrimes [at] jennifergrimes.com anon