Understanding Neurodivergence, Neuroaffirminglyce
Screening and assessment that honours identity, experience, and nervous system differences.
If you are seeking clarity, language, or a deeper understanding of your own neurodivergence or that of your child, you are in the right place. Our screening and assessment process is neuroaffirming, trauma-aware, and grounded in the belief that difference is not deficit.
Screening and Assessment
You can gain insight into your unique neurodivergent profile through our in depth, neuroaffirming screening and assessment processes.
Our assessments offer a stable scaffold for understanding yourself more clearly, supporting integration, self trust, and a stronger sense of wholeness.
We work with people who already hold diagnoses such as ADHD, autism, dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia, Tourette’s, sensory sensitivity, and OCD. We also work with individuals who identify with gifted or twice exceptional profiles, and we offer giftedness profiling as part of our work.
We also work with people who are not seeking a diagnosis, but who want to explore and understand their neurodivergent traits from an informed, empowered position.
Choosing the right pathway
If you are seeking a formal neuroaffirming diagnosis, you can read below to learn how our assessment process works and explore our diagnostic pathways for ADHD, autism, OCD, and combined profiles.
If you are not seeking diagnosis, or are unsure whether it is right for you or your child, screening can offer valuable insight and clarity without pressure to proceed further.
If you are looking for assessment relating to trauma, please visit our trauma assessment page here.
Information on giftedness and twice exceptionality is being expanded and will be available shortly.
We also include a detailed Q&A, including pricing, as transparency is central to how we work. And if you are interested in giftedness and twice exceptionality, please note we are adding more information on this very soon.
How our neuroaffirming assessment process works
STEP ONE: Initial contact and consultation
The first step is to get in touch with us to express interest in screening or assessment. We will share our current pricing and an overview of how the process works, so you have clear information from the outset.
If you would like to explore things further, we will invite you to a free 15 minute consultation. This can take place by phone or video call.
We know that speaking on the phone can feel difficult for some people, so we offer flexibility. This conversation is as much about you getting a sense of us as it is about us beginning to understand your needs and whether Divergent Life feels like the right fit.
STEP TWO: Screening and exploratory understanding
The next stage is screening. This involves completing questionnaires and reflective information relating to your, or your child’s, areas of difference, experience, and concern.
This is not a diagnosis. Screening offers an opportunity to explore neurobiology, patterns, and lived experience in a neuroaffirming way. For many people, this stage alone brings clarity and validation.
When we meet, we will discuss the screening findings together and consider what next steps, if any, feel appropriate. There is no obligation to proceed to full assessment.
If full assessment is not the right fit, we may suggest alternative forms of support such as therapy, coaching, or group programmes.
STEP THREE: Full Assessment
If you choose to proceed with a full assessment, we will book this with you and agree a payment plan if needed. The initial payment must be received before the assessment begins.
The assessment involves a comprehensive diagnostic interview alongside questionnaires and additional information gathering where appropriate, such as school, workplace, or family input. This allows us to build a rich, whole person understanding rather than relying on isolated measures.
Assessments can take place in person or via video call. We recognise that this process can feel intense and we will prepare you carefully so you know what to expect.
STEP FOUR: Integration and interpretation
Once all information has been gathered, we carefully integrate and interpret the assessment data and interview material. This includes considering diagnostic criteria alongside developmental history, masking, context, and nervous system factors.
For many people, this stage carries emotional weight. You may be seeking clarity, language, or confirmation of something long felt. Our approach is thoughtful, relational, and grounded in respect for your lived experience.
A draft report is shared with you so you can check accuracy and ensure it reflects you or your child fully.
STEP FIVE: Reflective feedback session
In the reflective session, we talk through the findings together. This includes whether diagnostic criteria are met, what that means, and how the information can be used going forward.
Sometimes diagnostic thresholds are not met, and we will explain why, exploring factors such as masking, burnout, trauma, or overlapping experiences. We will also discuss alternative explanations and next steps where relevant.
This session is a space for questions, integration, and support.
STEP SIX: Report and ongoing support
You will receive a full written report which is yours to share as you choose. This can be used to support access to accommodations, school support, or further services where appropriate.
Our reports are detailed, neuroaffirming, and strengths based. They include practical guidance, resources, and recommendations tailored to you or your child.
We will also outline any further support available through Divergent Life, including therapy, coaching, and group programmes, should you wish to continue working with us.
Receiving a neurodivergent diagnosis does not change who you or your child is. It offers language and understanding for something that already exists.
Being neurodivergent means having a neurobiology that differs from the predominant neurotype. It does not mean something is wrong. Many challenges arise because the world is designed with neurotypical expectations in mind, not because of deficit.
Alongside challenges, neurodivergent people often hold deep strengths, insight, creativity, and originality. Life may unfold differently, and that difference matters. We are here to help you understand, integrate, and support that difference with care.
Ready to take your next step? Email us to book your free 15 minute consultation
The tools and frameworks we use
At Divergent Life, transparency matters. We want you to understand how we work, not just what the outcome might be.
Our screening and assessment processes draw on well established, evidence informed tools alongside clinical interviews and narrative based exploration. These are used within a neuroaffirming, trauma aware framework that centres lived experience, context, and nervous system safety rather than checklist driven conclusions.
We work with both adults and children, and every assessment is tailored to the individual rather than delivered as a standardised package.
What is included in all assessments
Across all our screening and assessment pathways, we build a rich, whole person understanding that includes:
A comprehensive triage process
This explores developmental history, current experiences, family context, education or work demands, and areas of difference or challenge. It helps us understand how neurodivergence shows up across environments and over time.
A strengths and differences exploration
We place equal weight on strengths and differences. This may involve reflective questionnaires, collaborative discussion, or a structured session with a clinician. This approach allows us to understand not just what is hard, but what supports regulation, engagement, and wellbeing.
Contextual information where appropriate
For child and adolescent assessments, we may gather information from school or other caregivers using detailed, neuroaffirming questionnaires. This helps us understand how the child experiences different settings, not simply how they are perceived.
Reports and recommendations
Your report brings all of this information together into an integrated, neuroaffirming narrative. It includes:
a clear explanation of findings
diagnostic conclusions where relevant
interpretation that considers masking, burnout, trauma, and context
practical, thoughtful recommendations
Recommendations may relate to home life, education, work, nervous system support, and relational needs, depending on the individual.
Ongoing support
Assessment does not have to be the end point. Where helpful, we can offer ongoing support for individuals or families, including therapy, coaching, or group programmes. This is always optional and guided by your needs rather than assumed.
ADHD Assessment
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Our ADHD screening process is designed to build a nuanced picture of attention, regulation, and executive functioning across contexts, rather than to confirm or exclude a diagnosis at this stage.
Screening typically includes:
• Age appropriate ADHD questionnaires
For children and adolescents, this includes the Conners 4. For adults, we use the CAARS R. These questionnaires help us understand patterns of attention, impulsivity, and regulation over time and across settings.• A comprehensive sensory profile
We always include a sensory profile as part of ADHD screening. This helps us understand how sensory processing, arousal, and regulation interact with attention and executive functioning for you or your child.• An executive functioning screen
We include an executive functioning screen to explore areas such as planning, organisation, working memory, initiation, and cognitive flexibility, and how these show up in daily life.Screening findings are explored collaboratively and interpreted alongside developmental history, lived experience, context, and masking. They are not used in isolation and do not in themselves determine diagnosis.
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Where a formal ADHD diagnosis is being explored, we use a combination of structured diagnostic interviews and objective measures, interpreted within a wider neuroaffirming and developmental framework.
Diagnostic assessment may include:
• A structured diagnostic interview
For adults, we use the DIVA-5. For children and young people, we use the DIVA-5 Young. These interviews explore ADHD characteristics across childhood and current life, with careful attention to context, coping strategies, masking, and lived experience.• QbCheck
QbCheck is a computer based assessment that measures patterns of attention, activity level, and impulsivity during a structured task. It uses motion tracking via a camera to gather information about movement and focus.
QbCheck does not diagnose ADHD on its own. It provides additional data that supports clinical understanding when considered alongside interview material, developmental history, sensory processing, and executive functioning.All diagnostic information is integrated thoughtfully rather than scored in isolation. We are particularly mindful of how masking, gendered expectations, trauma, burnout, and sensory regulation can influence how ADHD presents, especially in late identified adults and neurodivergent girls.
Autism Assessment
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Our autism screening process focuses on understanding autistic traits, sensory processing, and social experience across contexts and over time. Screening is exploratory and supportive, and does not in itself determine diagnosis.
Screening may include:
• Reflective autism screening questionnaires
For adults, this may include the Ritvo Asperger’s Autism Diagnostic Scale Revised and the Camouflaging Autistic Traits Questionnaire. These tools help us explore internal experience, masking strategies, and patterns that may not be visible externally.• Social responsiveness measures
We may use the Social Responsiveness Scale 2 to understand social communication, reciprocity, and relational experience across different environments.• A comprehensive sensory profile
We include a sensory profile as standard. For adults, this is typically the Adult Sensory Profile. For children and adolescents, we use the Adolescent Sensory Profile or equivalent age appropriate tools. Sensory processing is central to understanding autistic experience and is interpreted alongside all other information.Screening findings are considered in the context of developmental history, identity, culture, trauma, masking, and nervous system regulation. They support understanding rather than serving as diagnostic proof.
For children we also use the Autism Spectrum Rating Scale (ASRS)
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Where a formal autism diagnosis is being explored, we use a developmentally informed, narrative based diagnostic approach that centres lived experience, sensory processing, and relational context.
Diagnostic assessment is typically guided by the MIGDAS. This is a structured, conversational assessment that allows us to understand autistic experience across communication, sensory, emotional, and relational domains, rather than focusing on performance in a single testing environment.
The MIGDAS supports a more naturalistic exploration of autistic traits and is particularly helpful for individuals who mask, camouflage, or have learned to adapt in ways that can make autism less visible in traditional observational assessments.
As with all our diagnostic work, information from the MIGDAS is integrated alongside developmental history, screening measures, contextual information, and clinical judgement. No single tool is used in isolation.
OCD Assessment
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Where an OCD diagnosis is being explored, we use structured, evidence informed tools alongside careful clinical exploration to understand the nature, focus, and impact of obsessive and compulsive experiences.
Diagnostic assessment may include:
• The Yale Brown Obsessive Compulsive Symptoms Checklist (modified)
For children and young people, we use the age appropriate child version. This checklist helps us explore the themes, patterns, and lived experience of obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviours in a structured but collaborative way.• A comprehensive sensory profile
We include a sensory profile as part of OCD assessment to understand how sensory sensitivity, bodily discomfort, and regulation may interact with obsessive or compulsive patterns. Sensory experience is often overlooked in OCD assessments and is an important part of a neuroaffirming formulation.All information is interpreted within a wider understanding of development, neurodivergence, trauma, masking, and context. Tools are used to support understanding rather than to define the person.
Combined Assessment
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Screening for combined autism and ADHD profiles focuses on understanding how autistic and ADHD traits interact, overlap, and shape daily experience. This exploratory stage supports clarity without assuming a diagnostic outcome.
Combined screening may include:
• Reflective autism screening questionnaires
For adults, this may include the Ritvo Asperger’s Autism Diagnostic Scale Revised and the Camouflaging Autistic Traits Questionnaire. These tools help explore internal experience, masking, and identity related aspects of autistic traits.• Social responsiveness measures
We may use the Social Responsiveness Scale 2 to understand social communication, reciprocity, and relational experience across settings.• A comprehensive sensory profile
Sensory processing is always included. For adults, this is typically the Adult Sensory Profile. For children and adolescents, we use the Adolescent Sensory Profile or equivalent age appropriate tools. This helps us understand sensory regulation alongside attention, arousal, and social experience.• An executive functioning screen
We include an executive functioning screen to explore planning, organisation, working memory, initiation, and flexibility, particularly where ADHD and autistic traits interact.Screening findings are interpreted collaboratively and considered alongside developmental history, lived experience, masking, and context. Screening supports understanding and informed choice rather than determining diagnosis.
ADHD screening includes the Connors-4, and we may also ask you to complete a sensory matrix for you or your child. For children, we also use the Comprehensive Executive Function Inventory
For children we also use the Autism Spectrum Rating Scale (ASRS)
There is no screening for OCD
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When exploring a combined autism and ADHD diagnosis, we use an integrated, neuroaffirming approach that recognises how these neurotypes interact across development, sensory processing, attention, and daily life.
Diagnostic assessment may include:
• A narrative based autism assessment
Autistic experience is explored using the MIGDAS. This structured, conversational assessment supports understanding of communication style, sensory processing, emotional experience, and relational patterns in a way that allows masking and adaptation to be recognised.• A structured ADHD diagnostic interview
For adults, we use the DIVA-5. For children and young people, we use the DIVA-5 Young. These interviews explore ADHD characteristics across childhood and current life, with careful attention to context, coping strategies, and lived experience.• QbCheck
QbCheck is a computer based assessment that measures patterns of attention, activity level, and impulsivity during a structured task. It uses motion tracking via a camera to gather information about movement and focus.
QbCheck does not diagnose ADHD on its own. It provides additional data that supports clinical understanding when considered alongside interview material, developmental history, sensory processing, and executive functioning.As with all our diagnostic work, tools are never used in isolation. Information is integrated thoughtfully and interpreted within a wider understanding of masking, gendered expectations, trauma, burnout, nervous system regulation, and context.
Why combined assessment often looks different
Autism and ADHD frequently co occur, and when they do, traits can amplify, mask, or compensate for one another. This can make either profile harder to identify when assessed in isolation.
For example, ADHD related impulsivity or novelty seeking can obscure autistic need for predictability, while autistic structure and masking strategies can reduce the visibility of ADHD traits. Sensory sensitivity, emotional regulation, and executive functioning are often shaped by the interaction between both profiles rather than one alone.
Because of this, combined assessment requires an integrated, developmental lens that looks beyond surface behaviour and considers how different neurodivergent traits work together over time.
We do ADHD-Autism, ADHD-OCD, or Autism-OCD assessments.
Q&A
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Adult ADHD Full Diagnostic Assessment - £1,800
Adult Autism Full Diagnostic Assessment - £1,900
Adult OCD Full Diagnostic Assessment - £1,100
Adult Combined ADHD/Autism Diagnostic Assessment - £2,600
Child ADHD Full Diagnostic Assessment - £2,000
Child Autism Full Diagnostic Assessment - £2,100
Child OCD Full Diagnostic Assessment - £1,300
Child Combined Diagnostic Assessment - £3,000
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Divergent Life believe that a neurodiversity-affirmative diagnosis is akin to safeguarding neurodivergent individuals. We believe that understanding your neurobiology and how it interacts with the world around you is a basic human right and a path towards relational, educational, physical and psychological safety.
When we can get curious as to how we can use the knowledge of neurodivergence to understand how it makes an individual vulnerable in certain contexts and how that information can be used to safeguard that person, psychological and relational safety and protection can be achieved.
At Divergent Life, we understand neuroaffirming diagnosis as a form of safeguarding.
Understanding your neurobiology and how it interacts with the world around you can support relational, educational, physical, and psychological safety. For many people, diagnosis offers language for experiences that have long been misunderstood or misinterpreted, both by others and by themselves.
When we become curious about how neurodivergence creates vulnerability in certain environments, this knowledge can be used to reduce harm and increase protection. It allows families, schools, workplaces, and systems to adapt expectations, reduce unnecessary stress, and put appropriate supports in place.
Diagnosis can also be understood through a trauma informed lens. For some individuals, recognising and naming neurodivergence helps make sense of past experiences of misattunement, chronic stress, or repeated overwhelm. This understanding can support self compassion, reduce internalised shame, and lessen the ongoing impact of neurodivergent trauma.
Diagnosis is not about fixing or changing who someone is. It is about understanding, safety, and creating conditions in which neurodivergent people can live with greater agency and care.
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Shared care arrangements can be complex and vary depending on where you live and the approach taken by your local GP practice or Integrated Care Board. Some GPs are willing to enter shared care agreements following a private diagnosis, while others may not. This variation also applies to NHS psychiatrists and services.
At Divergent Life, our diagnostic assessments are thorough, evidence informed, and aligned with NICE guidelines. This means our reports meet recognised diagnostic standards and are written clearly to support communication with GPs, schools, and other professionals.
While shared care decisions ultimately sit with NHS services, we have not to date encountered difficulties where clients have sought medication following a diagnosis completed through our service. We have also successfully supported families using our reports as part of EHCP applications and wider advocacy processes.
We are always happy to talk through what shared care might look like in your specific situation and to help you think about next steps in a realistic and informed way.
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In short, yes.
Neurodivergence itself does not disappear, but how it is experienced can shift across different stages of life. As the brain develops from childhood through adolescence into adulthood, and as bodies change over time, the balance of strengths, challenges, and support needs can change too.
Life transitions often play a significant role. Increased demands, changes in routine, stress, illness, or reduced external structure can all affect how ADHD or autistic traits show up day to day.
Hormonal changes can also have a noticeable impact. Many people experience shifts during puberty, pregnancy, the postnatal period, perimenopause, menopause, and later life. These changes can influence attention, sensory sensitivity, emotional regulation, energy, and stress tolerance. Similar shifts can occur for people whose hormone levels change during adolescence, adulthood, mid life, or through medical or environmental factors.
While we sometimes use terms like women and men when discussing hormonal patterns, we recognise that gender is diverse and that lived experience is shaped by many factors, including gender identity, hormone use, health, and context. Individual experience always matters more than categories.
Understanding how neurodivergence interacts with development, hormones, and life stage can be an important part of self understanding, self compassion, and adapting support over time.
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Timelines can vary depending on individual circumstances, complexity, and how quickly information is returned, but we aim to be as clear and predictable as possible.
We usually have a waiting period of around 4 to 8 weeks for a full diagnostic assessment appointment.
From the start of assessment to completion, the overall diagnostic process typically takes around 6 to 8 weeks. This includes assessment sessions, questionnaires, information gathering, clinical integration, and report writing.
Following the final assessment appointment, it usually takes around 4 to 6 weeks for you to receive a draft report. This draft is shared so you can check accuracy and ensure it reflects you or your child fully before the report is finalised.
We will keep you informed throughout and are always happy to talk through timelines if you have particular needs or deadlines.
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This is a very common and understandable concern. If you are seeking an assessment, it usually means you have been living with unanswered questions, ongoing struggles, or a sense that something has not quite been understood. Wanting clarity matters.
Many people find that the possibility of not receiving a diagnosis feels more unsettling than receiving one. Often this is because you are seeking explanation and meaning, or because you may have experienced misdiagnosis, dismissal, or being misunderstood in the past.
If diagnostic criteria are not met, that does not mean your experiences are invalid or that nothing is going on. Our assessments are designed to explore the full picture, including neurodivergent traits, masking, sensory processing, executive functioning, emotional regulation, trauma, and context. Sometimes difficulties are better understood through a different lens, or through the interaction of multiple factors rather than a single diagnosis.
Whatever the outcome, you will leave the process with a clearer understanding of yourself or your child, and with thoughtful guidance about next steps and appropriate support. Our aim is not simply to assign a label, but to help you make sense of your experience in a way that is respectful, grounded, and useful.
Diagnosis is one possible outcome. Understanding is always the goal.
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For many people, receiving a diagnosis can feel unexpectedly anticlimactic. You may have spent months or years wondering about your neurobiology, searching for answers, and holding a lot of emotional weight around being understood. When the answer finally comes, it can take time to land.
There is no single or expected way to feel. Some people experience relief, others feel grief, validation, anger, or simply tiredness. All of these responses are understandable.
At Divergent Life, diagnosis is not the end point. It is a doorway into deeper understanding and more appropriate support, should you want it.
We offer a range of options to support individuals and families to integrate and make sense of a diagnosis. This includes therapeutic support for adults, children, and adolescents, using approaches that are trauma informed and neuroaffirming. Our work is attentive to nervous system regulation, identity, lived experience, and the impact of past misattunement or overwhelm.
For some people, therapy feels like the right next step. For others, coaching offers a lighter, more practical way to explore identity, build supportive scaffolding, and make changes that better fit their neurobiology. Coaching can be particularly helpful where the focus is on daily life, work, routines, energy, or self understanding rather than clinical intervention.
We also offer group programmes that provide shared learning, connection, and reflection with others who have similar experiences. Many people find these spaces validating and grounding, especially after diagnosis.
All ongoing support is optional and guided by your needs and readiness. Some people take time to sit with their diagnosis before seeking further input. Others want support straight away. There is no right pace.
You can explore our therapy, coaching, and group programme pages to see what might feel supportive for you or your family, and we are always happy to help you think this through.
Diagnosis names something. Support helps you live with it, on your own terms.
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Many people assume diagnosis is required in order to access support. It is not.
At Divergent Life, you do not need a formal diagnosis to access screening, therapy, coaching, or group programmes. Some people seek assessment because they want clarity or external recognition. Others simply want support that fits how their nervous system and mind work.
We will always help you think about what level of assessment or support feels appropriate for you or your family, without pressure to pursue diagnosis unless it serves a clear purpose.
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If you already hold a diagnosis from another service, we can work with this.
Some people come to us because their previous assessment felt incomplete, overly medicalised, or did not reflect their lived experience. Others want support, integration, or updated understanding rather than reassessment.
We can help you make sense of existing diagnoses, explore how they fit your current life stage, and offer neuroaffirming support moving forward. In some cases, additional screening or profiling may be helpful, but this is always discussed collaboratively.t if I am already diagnosed elsewhere?
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Yes.
Assessment is not about medication. Many people pursue diagnosis to understand themselves, access accommodations, advocate within systems, or reduce self blame. Medication may be helpful for some people and not for others.
Our work focuses on understanding neurobiology, nervous system needs, and context. Medication is one possible option within a wider support landscape, not a requirement or expectation.
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We recognise that assessment can feel intense, especially for people with sensory sensitivities, anxiety, trauma history, or past experiences of being misunderstood.
We aim to make the process as predictable and supportive as possible. We will explain what to expect, offer flexibility where we can, and work at a pace that feels manageable. You are always able to ask questions, pause, or reflect on next steps.
Assessment should feel containing, not exposing.