Services for Assessment of Adult Autism

Services for Assessment of Child & Adolescent Autism

EVALUATE
helps parents understand their children

Have you started asking the question: 'Is my child Autistic?' Do you want an assessment of Autism that will help you answer this question so that you can better understand your child's experiences , and help you identify how to best support and advocate for your child in the future? We can help.

Why Pay for An Autism Assessment with Evaluate?

At Evaluate, we believe that we offer more than many other psychology clinics when it comes to providing Autism assessments. Here's what is different about EVALUATE:

We offer strengths-based, neurodiversity affirmative assessments. What this means is that assessments are conducted in a kind, safe, and accepting space where strengths and differences are celebrated, and this is reflected in neurodiversity affirmative feedback and reports.
We view Autism as a natural form of human variation. Brains come in varieties. No two brains are alike. There is no better or worse. Autism from our perspective is part of human biodiversity and on an individual level is an inherent part of a person’s identity. We believe that disability typically results from a poor fit between a person and their environment, and thus we offer individual recommendations that are aimed at helping Autistic children and adolescents to be their authentic self in a way that is functional in their life.
We are known for assessing both ‘frank’ and ‘hard to spot’ presentations of Autism.
When you come for an Autism assessment at Evaluate, you and your child will be seen by a fully registered psychologist with postgraduate training and extensive experience in the assessment of Autism and other neurodevelopmental differences.
At some clinics, psychological and other forms of assistants are employed to take histories and administer testing, which a psychologist later reviews in order to inform their diagnosis. At Evaluate, you and your child won't be passed around from person to person. An administrative assistant will schedule your child's assessment, administer intake paperwork, request records from you, and handle payment. All other aspects of the assessment will be conducted by your psychologist.
Autism assessments can vary widely. Many Autism assessments in British Columbia involve only the ADI-R (structured parent interview) and ADOS-2 (semi-structured observation system conducted with child). Our assessments are comprehensive. They not only include the ADI-R and ADOS-2, but also:

Collection of a developmental and family history;

Record review, including report cards, previous psychoeducational assessment reports, other assessment reports (e.g., occupational therapy reports, speech-language therapy reports), home videos, and / or other relevant records (e.g., medical records from your child's pediatrician).

Unstructured parent interview;

Standardized parent measures;

Autism-specific testing with your child (Option 1 & Option 2 Autism Assessments) and neurocognitive testing with your child (Option 2 Autism assessments only).

Unstructured observation of your child and unstructured interaction with your child;

Semi-structured and / or unstructured interview with your child;
If needed, teacher interview and teacher measures.

We take time and care to distinguish between different diagnoses (as well as to identify contributory factors that may not be ‘diagnosable’) that present with similar experiences and behaviours. Our families tell us that they are grateful for the time and care put into their child’s assessment.
We value a fast turnaround time on written reports, and as such we will have your child’s report ready on the same day as your parent feedback appointment.
You'll receive a focused, well written report that is designed for practical purposes and written for the lay person to understand. It won't contain pages upon pages of unnecessary detail.
You'll receive recommendations that are personalized and specific.

FAQs about Insurance

We are often asked if Autism assessments are covered under private insurance plans, but we do not have access to this information. Services may be covered in full or in part by your health insurance. Please check with your insurance provider to see if you have coverage.

Please note that we do not bill directly to insurance providers. Clients pay fees directly to us, receive a receipt, and they may submit that receipt for reimbursement to their insurance provider, should it be a covered service.

Child & Adolescent Autism Assessments

We offer two types of Autism assessments to children and adolescents aged 2.5 to 19.

Both of the following options are focused on assessing Autism and involve Autism specific interview and testing techniques. They differ in the extent to which they also include additional neurocognitive testing. Dr. Heiner requires information about your child's neurocognitive functioning when she conducts an Autism assessment so that she can consider and rule out alternative explanations for your child's differences, consider additional diagnoses / issues that may be impacting upon your child's functioning, and so forth. However, if neurocognitive testing has recently been conducted by someone else, then she recognizes that she may not need to repeat this testing and in order to reduce costs for families she is willing to rely on the previous neurocognitive testing conducted by someone else. In these situations she offers the Option One Diagnostic Assessment. In all other situations, the Option Two - Comprehensive Autism Assessment is the assessment that Dr. Heiner conducts.

The first type is the Child and Adolescent Autism Diagnostic Assessment (Option 1). If your child has undergone a comprehensive psychoeducational assessment in the recent past (e.g., in the last 6 months to 1 year for younger children or the last 1 to 2 years for older children) and you can produce a copy of that psycho-educational assessment report, then this option may be for you. This assessment option is designed only to assess whether a child meets diagnostic criteria for Autism when information is already available about the child's neurocognitive functioning.

For an Option 1 Autism Assessment there are three sessions required in total:

Initial consultation for parents (3.5 hours).
This appointment is conducted virtually, usually via Zoom.
Assessment session for your child / adolescent (up to 4 hours). This takes place in-person at our office in North Vancouver, British Columbia (B.C.).
Feedback session for parents (60 to 90 mins).
This appointment is conducted virtually, usually via Zoom.

Outside of the above appointments, your registered psychologist will spend another 10 - 12 hours of professional time on your child's assessment, reviewing records and background history, collecting information from teachers and other professionals, scoring and analyzing test results, and / or writing your child's report.

The second type is the Comprehensive Child and Adolescent Autism Assessment (Option 2). This is the primary Autism assessment conducted at Evaluate. This option includes testing of your child's cognitive, academic, learning and memory, executive, adaptive functions, as well as a diagnostic assessment of Autism, so you can think of it as being similar to an Autism Assessment + Psychoeducational Assessment.

For an Option 2 Autism Assessment there are four sessions required in total:

Initial consultation for parents (3.5 hours).
This appointment is conducted virtually, usually via Zoom.
Assessment session for your child / adolescent (up to 5 hours). This takes place in-person at our office in North Vancouver, British Columbia (B.C.).
Assessment session for your child / adolescent (up to 4 hours). This takes place in-person at our office in North Vancouver, British Columbia (B.C.).
Feedback session for parents (60 to 90 mins).
This appointment is conducted virtually, usually via Zoom.

How to Get Started