Understanding Neurodivergence, Neuroaffirminglyce

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.