You have always been smart. You have always worked hard. And yet, for as long as you can remember, certain things have felt inexplicably harder for you than they seem to be for everyone else, including staying focused, following through, managing your time, keeping your thoughts organized, and sitting through a meeting without your mind drifting somewhere else entirely. Maybe you have been told you are disorganized, forgetful, or not living up to your potential. Maybe you have spent years developing elaborate workarounds just to function at the level you know you are capable of. If this resonates, you may be one of the millions of adults living with undiagnosed ADHD.
At Old Town Psychology, we provide comprehensive adult ADHD assessments in-person in Alexandria, VA, with immediate openings.
What Is an Adult ADHD Assessment?
An adult ADHD assessment is a comprehensive, multi-method psychological evaluation designed to determine whether an adult meets the diagnostic criteria for Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and to distinguish ADHD from other conditions that can produce similar symptoms. Anxiety, depression, sleep disorders, thyroid conditions, and a range of other issues can all mimic or overlap with ADHD. A thorough evaluation separates these possibilities so that you receive an accurate diagnosis, not a best guess.
Adult ADHD is significantly underdiagnosed, in part because it looks different in adults than in children. The hyperactivity that is easy to spot in a seven-year-old often becomes internalized in adulthood, showing up as mental restlessness, a racing mind, difficulty relaxing, or the chronic feeling of being perpetually behind. Adults with ADHD have typically developed years of compensatory strategies that can mask the condition during casual observation, making a structured, objective evaluation all the more important.
At Old Town Psychology, our adult ADHD assessments are conducted by licensed psychologists who specialize in adult assessment and who understand the nuanced ways ADHD presents across the lifespan. We gather information from multiple sources, settings, and methods, accounting for developmental history, cultural context, and the specific ways ADHD is showing up in your life to ensure the results are both accurate and meaningful.
Signs You Need an Adult ADHD Assessment
Adult ADHD is a condition that many people carry for decades without a name for it. The signs are real, consistent, and often deeply frustrating, but because they can be subtle or because adults have learned to manage around them, they frequently go unrecognized. You may benefit from an adult ADHD assessment if you recognize yourself in any of the following:
Attention and focus:
- Persistent difficulty sustaining attention on tasks that require mental effort, particularly those that are routine, detailed, or not inherently stimulating
- A tendency to hyperfocus intensely on topics or tasks that interest you, while struggling dramatically with those that do not
- Frequently losing your train of thought mid-sentence or mid-task
- Starting projects with energy and intention but consistently failing to follow them through to completion
- Difficulty listening attentively in conversations, meetings, or lectures, even when you genuinely want to pay attention
Organization and executive functioning:
- Chronic disorganization at home, at work, or in managing time and scheduling
- Difficulty prioritizing tasks or knowing where to start when multiple demands compete for attention
- Persistent problems with time management, including underestimating how long things take, running late, or losing track of time entirely
- Frequently forgetting appointments, deadlines, obligations, or things you intended to do
- A desk, inbox, or living space that quickly becomes chaotic despite your best efforts
Impulsivity and emotional regulation:
- Interrupting others in conversation or saying things impulsively that you later wish you had held back
- Making quick decisions without fully thinking through the consequences
- Difficulty tolerating frustration, boredom, or waiting in lines, in traffic, or in conversations
- Emotional reactivity that feels disproportionate and hard to regulate
- A pattern of job changes, relationship difficulties, or lifestyle disruptions driven by impulsivity or restlessness
Work, academic, and life impact:
- A significant and persistent gap between your intelligence or ability and your actual performance at work or in school
- A history of underachievement that has been attributed to lack of effort or motivation, despite genuinely trying
- Difficulty reading lengthy documents, responding to emails, or completing administrative tasks without significant procrastination
- Frequent feedback from managers, colleagues, or partners about disorganization, forgetfulness, or follow-through
Many adults seeking an ADHD assessment come in with a long history of being told they were not working hard enough when in fact they had been working harder than most people around them just to keep up. If that is your experience, a formal evaluation can provide both answers and validation.
What Does an Adult ADHD Assessment Help With?
For adults who have spent years struggling without understanding why, an accurate ADHD assessment can be genuinely life-changing. Here is what a comprehensive evaluation at Old Town Psychology provides:
A clear diagnosis. A formal ADHD diagnosis from a licensed psychologist, documented in a comprehensive psychological report, provides the clinical foundation for everything that follows, from treatment decisions to formal accommodations.
Ruling out other explanations. ADHD frequently co-occurs with anxiety, depression, and learning disabilities, and these conditions can also present as ADHD in the absence of the condition itself. A thorough evaluation clarifies what is actually driving your symptoms, which is essential for receiving the right treatment.
Workplace and academic accommodations. A formal adult ADHD diagnosis, supported by a comprehensive psychological report, is the documentation required to request accommodations at work, in graduate or professional school, or on licensure and professional examinations, including extended time, a reduced-distraction environment, and other formal supports.
A detailed cognitive profile. Beyond the diagnostic conclusion, you will receive a nuanced picture of your cognitive strengths and challenges, including how your working memory, processing speed, executive functioning, and academic skills compare to others your age. This information is directly useful for building strategies that work with your specific profile.
A personalized roadmap forward. Whether the assessment confirms ADHD, identifies a different explanation, or reveals a combination of conditions, you will leave with specific, practical recommendations tailored to your life for therapy, coaching, medication consultation, workplace strategies, or any combination of next steps that make sense for you.
What Does an Adult ADHD Assessment Look Like?
Our adult ADHD assessment is a structured, four-step process designed to be rigorous, accurate, and as convenient as possible. Here is what to expect:
Clinical Interview
Your assessment begins with a comprehensive clinical interview conducted by one of our licensed psychologists. This conversation covers your developmental and educational history, current symptoms and how they are affecting your daily life, prior diagnoses or evaluations, family history, and the specific concerns that led you to seek an assessment. Input from a partner, family member, or close colleague who knows you well can also be incorporated, as l information that adds valuable context.
Standardized Rating Scales
You will complete standardized self-report rating scales that measure the frequency and severity of ADHD symptoms across multiple domains of life. Where relevant, a partner or family member may also complete a collateral rating scale to capture how your behavior appears to others across different settings. These scales can be completed online at your convenience prior to your testing appointment.
Psychological Testing
We administer a comprehensive array of objective, gold-standard cognitive assessments specifically selected for adult ADHD evaluation. The testing at Old Town Psychology may include:
- WAIS-5 (Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, Fifth Edition): The most widely used and respected measure of adult intelligence, assessing cognitive abilities across verbal comprehension, perceptual reasoning, working memory, and processing speed, providing a detailed profile of cognitive strengths and vulnerabilities.
- WIAT (Wechsler Individual Achievement Test): An assessment of academic skills in reading, writing, and mathematics that identifies how current achievement compares to cognitive ability and to same-age peers. This is important for identifying learning disabilities that may co-occur with or mimic ADHD.
- WJ (Woodcock-Johnson Tests): A broad-based assessment of cognitive abilities and academic achievement that supplements the WAIS-5 with additional depth across areas relevant to attention and learning.
- D-KEFS Advanced (Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System — Advanced): A comprehensive battery of tasks specifically designed to assess the executive functioning processes most directly affected by ADHD in adults, including cognitive flexibility, planning, inhibitory control, verbal fluency, and complex problem-solving. The advanced version is tailored for adult cognitive demands and provides a detailed picture of real-world executive functioning.
Comprehensive Report and Feedback Session
Once all data has been gathered and analyzed, we prepare a detailed written report that integrates findings across all sources of information, provides a clear diagnostic conclusion, and outlines specific, actionable recommendations. We then schedule a dedicated feedback appointment to walk through the report with you in full, answering your questions, explaining what the findings mean in practical terms, and ensuring you leave with a clear understanding of the results and a concrete sense of how to move forward. This is true regardless of whether the assessment results in a diagnosis of ADHD.
"We brought our daughter in for testing and the OTP team was amazing. They were so kind, caring and great with children. My daughter is shy and takes a little time to warm up when first meeting someone new. The Doctor was patient and encouraging and my daughter had a wonderful time. They also provide fast results and meet with you to explain everything in the report. I would definitely recommend them."
"Very prompt response to our inquiry. Welcoming environment and very professional, thorough communication. The staff genuinely seems to care that your needs are met."
"Excellent service, knowledgeable staff, incredible responsiveness, diligence and follow through -- we feel lucky we found such a great therapy practice. We cannot recommend them highly enough!"
“My daughter took WISC-V test there and we are very pleased with our experience. They are professional, patient and wonderful throughout the entire process. My daughter had such a great time that she hardly felt that was a test - she even asked when she could take it again. I would highly recommend them to whoever needs child IQ testing services.”
“I took my children here for TAG testing. Both of my kids actually enjoyed their assessments. I was very pleased with the time and care taken to assess my children, the thoroughness of the report, and the fact that there was a follow-up session to discuss any questions that I had relative to the assessment included. Also-- the tea selection in the waiting room is top tier :)”
“Very prompt response to our inquiry. Welcoming environment and very professional, thorough communication. The staff genuinely seems to care that your needs are met.”
Take the Next Step
You have been working around this long enough. An accurate assessment is not just a piece of paper; it is the foundation for understanding yourself more clearly, accessing the supports you deserve, and building strategies that actually work. At Old Town Psychology, we maintain immediate availability for new assessment clients. While many practices in the area have waitlists of six months or longer, we are ready to schedule your evaluation now.
To schedule an adult ADHD assessment or to ask any questions, contact us today.
