Autism Assessments
Our Autism and AuDHD assessments are provided by our neurodivergent and neuro-affirming team members. We have experience assessing 'internalised' or 'masked' Autism profiles in people who don't fit the mainstream stereotypes.
We are also able to provide differential diagnoses between neurodivergence, other neurodevelopmental differences, complex trauma, and mental health conditions. We offer a trauma-informed service and understand that Autistic people are more likely to have experienced trauma than their neurotypical peers. We are often looking for neurodivergence AND trauma together rather than thinking it has to be one or the other.​
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To read about our ADHD assessments, please click here
To read about our NDIS access request assessments, please click here​
Assessment Process
Our neurodiversity-affirming Autism assessments consist of around 3 to 4 hours of talking about your possible Autistic traits using the MIGDAS-2 interview tool, which is considered the most neuro-affirming Autism assessment tool currently available. Depending on your preference, this assessment can be broken into a 2-hour plus 1-hour appointment, or 3 x one-hour appointments.
We will ask you about Autistic traits in adulthood and childhood and ask you to complete online questionnaires about possible Autistic traits. If you're around 25 years of age or under, we will ask you to bring a parent, carer, or another adult who knew you during childhood to some of the assessment appointments. If you're over 25 years of age you may also bring a support person to the appointments if you wish to do so.
NDIS applications
While our assessment reports may assist you in seeking support, accommodation or funding, please note that our assessments and reports for Autism, ADHD, and AuDHD are diagnostic only. Our reports provide information about how you meet diagnostic criteria for Autism and/or ADHD according to the DSM-5-TR, which is the psychiatric manual that is used to confirm or rule out a diagnosis. Our diagnostic assessment reports do not provide information that is specifically targeted to the domains of functional capacity that the NDIS considers relevant, as the diagnostic criteria for Autism does not neatly overlap with the NDIS functional capacity domains.
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If you are interested in a comprehensive assessment of your support needs in different functional capacity areas to provide you with written documentation so you can apply for the NDIS and show how your disability meets their access criteria, please consider ordering an NDIS Access Request assessment report in addition to an Autism assessment.
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We cannot guarantee that an Autism assessment report by itself will provide enough information about the NDIS functional domains to obtain you entry into the NDIS.
Fees for Autism Assessments
Fees for Autism assessments are $2000 to $2500 for the assessment plus full report
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There are different assessment rates, depending on your assessor's experience.
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Assessments with our senior assessors are $2500 for interviews, questionnaires, and full report.
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Assessments with our other assessors are $2000 for interviews, questionnaires, and a full report. All of our registered and provisional psychologists are supervised by our senior clinicians throughout your assessment.
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Please see the psychologist's profile page for the cost of an assessment with your assessor.
*The fees listed here are based on a standard assessment with up to 4 hours of interview time. If your assessment is complex and we estimate more time is needed, the fee will be higher. Our admin team will contact you if your assessment may require more work so we can provide you with an updated quote.
AuDHD Assessments
Our neurodiversity-affirming AuDHD (i.e. Autism & ADHD) assessments consist of around 4 to 6 hours of talking about your possible Autistic and ADHD traits using the MIGDAS-2 and DIVA-5 interview tools. Depending on your preference, this assessment can be broken into a series of one hour or two hour appointments. ​We will ask you about Autistic and ADHD traits throughout adulthood and childhood and ask you to complete online questionnaires. ​If you're around 25 years of age or under, we will ask you to bring a parent, carer, or another adult who knew you during childhood to some of the assessment appointments. If you're over 25 years of age, you may also bring a support person to the appointments if you wish to do so, but this is not mandatory.
Fees for combined Autism + ADHD assessments are $2500 to $3000 for the assessment plus a full report
- There are different assessment rates, depending on your assessor's experience. Please see the psychologist's profile page for the cost of an assessment with your assessor.
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*The fees listed here are based on a standard assessment with up to 6 hours of interview time. If your assessment is complex and we estimate more time is needed, the fee will be higher. Our admin team will contact you if your assessment may require more work so we can provide you with an updated quote.
Funding and Rebates
You can pay privately for an assessment and report.
You may be able to receive a health fund rebate, depending on your health fund, level of cover, and who will be assessing you. If you would like to obtain health fund rebates for your assessment, please tell us you would like your assessment with a registered psychologist, as our provisional psychologists are not able to provide you with a health fund rebate.
You may be able to use your NDIS funding to pay for an assessment, depending on your plan goals. If you are plan-managed, you should check with your Support Coordinator or Plan Manager to see if your assessment can be covered.
If you are under 25 years old, you may be able to access a Medicare rebate for your Autism assessment if you have a referral from a paediatrician or psychiatrist. Unfortunately, your GP will not be able to write you a referral for this type of assessment.
If you are over 25 years old, unfortunately, due to Medicare rules, you will not be able to access Medicare rebates to pay for your assessment. This means you do not need a referral or mental health care plan from your doctor to book or attend an assessment.
Age groups we assess
Adults
Teenagers over 13 years of age
Children*
*Assessments for children up to 12 years of age are best done in person, where the assessment can be play-based. A face-to-face assessment for children is typically more engaging for your child and can provide better observation data for the assessor.
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However, sometimes, it is not possible or practical for a family to access a face-to-face assessment for their child. They might live in a regional or remote area with limited access to services, or there might be a medical, developmental, or disability-related reason why a face-to-face assessment is not possible or practical. You are welcome to join our waiting list if a telehealth assessment is the right choice for your family.
What happens now?
Get in touch!
Please click here to fill in our intake form to join the waitlist for our psychology assessments
If you have any questions, you can email the Very Helpful Chats admin team: admin@veryhelpfulchats.com.au
Before your first appointment for your assessment, our dedicated admin team will send you our full assessment intake form. This form includes questionnaires for the assessment and requests information about your developmental, educational, social and mental health history. Our senior clinicians will then review the form and allocate you to the assessor who has the skills and experience to meet your needs.
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We also request your credit card, debit card, or PayPal details. Rest assured that we take card security seriously, and your details are stored securely on our client management system, Halaxy. This security measure helps us prevent theft and fraud. No one at Very Helpful Chats will have access to your card details. If you have any concerns or questions regarding the security of your card details, we encourage you to read more about Halaxy's card security here: Halaxy Card Security FAQs.
Our Assessment Team
Fiona Bissell
Registered Psychologist
Senior Assessor
Rebecca Sooben
Provisional Psychologist
Izzy Seddon
Registered Psychologist
Kristel Stillman
Senior Psychologist
Senior Assessor
Haffy Kediye
Registered Psychologist
Senior Assessor
Kia Bishop
Provisional Psychologist
Wendy Singer
Registered Psychologist
Senior Assessor
Anna Aminov
Senior Clinical Psychologist
Senior Assessor
Gabby Desmond
Registered Psychologist
Zoe Smith
Registered Psychologist
Steph Murray
Provisional Psychologist
Yvonne Daly
Senior Counselling Psychologist
Senior Assessor