Inside a real ADHD assessment.

"Most people contact us when they're not yet sure they want an assessment. That's exactly the right time, and there are three ways to do it."

We've deliberately made the first step easy. No clinical screening, no qualifying questions, no pressure. Whichever route you choose, you're talking to Paul, our Director of Operations, not a clinician, by design. The first contact is a conversation about whether an assessment is the right next step, not a test of whether you qualify.

About half of the people we speak to first go on to book. The other half need something we don't offer, or aren't ready yet, and we'll tell you that honestly, both times.

Take as long as you need to decide if now is the right time for you, or your child's assessment. No pressure, no obligation, no expectation, just honest, transparent facts.

From the first conversation onward, the priority is simple: that you feel at ease and unhurried.

"This is the actual instrument we use, and the actual scoring rule. Try it. There are no wrong answers."

Before your assessment, we send you a structured pre-assessment pack, the Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale, version 1.1 (ASRS-v1.1). It's a validated six-question screener developed by the WHO in collaboration with Harvard Medical School. Below is one of the questions, exactly as it appears in the instrument. Pick the option closest to your experience over the last six months.

In the real screen, you answer six questions like this one. Each scores against a threshold; four or more positive answers in Part A is clinically meaningful. You can also take the full six-question screen now if you want.

"Whichever route you've chosen, in-person at Bedford or online from home, the room you walk into is calm by design."

If you've chosen in-person, you'll arrive at Bedford Consulting Rooms at 4 Goldington Road. The clinic is a calm, residential-style space, not a hospital. Reception will let Tina know you've arrived, and you'll have a quiet few minutes in the waiting area. There's water, the room is unhurried, and there's no clock counting down at you.

If you've chosen online, you'll receive a secure GDPR-compliant video link the day before. We test camera and audio with you in the first five minutes. The visual below is illustrative, a one-to-one, full-attention video session, not a multi-tab consultation.

For Cambridge online patients in particular, removing the 90-minute round trip means you arrive at the assessment less tired and more yourself, which makes a real clinical difference.

"This is the heart of the assessment. The DIVA‑5 isn't a test you can pass or fail. It's a structured conversation that covers eighteen specific things, in a specific order, with examples."

The DIVA-5 is the Diagnostic Interview for ADHD in Adults, fifth edition. It's the gold-standard semi-structured diagnostic instrument used by ADHD specialists across the UK and Europe. It walks systematically through the 18 DSM-5 ADHD symptoms, 9 of inattention, 9 of hyperactivity-impulsivity, in both your adulthood and your childhood.

The DIVA-5 is a structured, face-to-face conversation, not a tick-box form.

For each one, Tina asks you a specific question, then asks for specific examples from your real life. This is what stops the assessment being a multiple-choice questionnaire. Below is one of the eighteen criteria, exactly as it appears in the instrument.

We work through all eighteen criteria. We talk about what's happening in your life right now, and what happened in your childhood. We don't just want a yes or no, we want the example. That's what produces a defensible diagnostic picture rather than a tick-box exercise.

The structured interview takes around 90 minutes and is part of an assessment appointment that runs 2 to 3 hours in total. People sometimes find parts of it emotional, particularly the childhood criteria. We have tissues. We pause. We carry on when you're ready.

"NICE guidance requires evidence of symptoms in childhood. This is the section where we build that picture, gently and at your pace."

An adult ADHD diagnosis requires evidence that symptoms began before age 12 and have persisted. So a substantial chunk of your assessment is about your childhood, not because your past is the most important thing, but because the diagnostic criteria require it.

We'll ask about school, the report cards that said you "could try harder," the homework that took five hours, the bedroom that was a permanent disaster, the friendships that came and went. We'll ask about your parents and siblings, your sleep, your eating patterns, the things you tried and abandoned. We'll ask about any childhood diagnoses or assessments.

For about half of the adults we assess, this section produces a quiet moment of realisation: "oh, that's what all of that was." For the other half, it's confirmation of what they've suspected for years. Both are valid.

"Wherever possible, the conversation about what we've found happens right there, in the room. The written report follows within 14 days."

The last half-hour of the assessment is the part most clinics don't include, and it's the part our patients most often say mattered. Wherever possible, Tina shares her clinical conclusion at the end of your appointment, before you leave. Occasionally more information is needed first, and she'll tell you straight away if so. If a diagnosis is appropriate, she'll explain her reasoning, what she's seen across the DIVA-5 and the developmental history that meets criteria.

If a diagnosis isn't appropriate, she'll explain that too, what didn't meet criteria, what she thinks the picture is instead, and what might help. A clear "no" is as valuable as a clear "yes" if it gets you to the right next step.

We talk through what happens next: whether medication is something you want to consider, how the six-month titration package works if so, whether shared care with your Cambridgeshire (or other) GP is realistic, and what other support might help, psychological therapy, ADHD coaching, workplace adjustments.

"The report is the deliverable. It's how you'll get medication, support at work, recognition at university. We take 14 days because we write each one personally, Tina, no templates, no AI."

Within 14 days of your assessment you'll receive a comprehensive, NICE-aligned written report. It's structured for your GP to act on, suitable for DSA assessors, employers, schools, and your own records. Below is a heavily redacted preview of a real report, names, dates and personal details blanked out, structure preserved.

A typical report is 6–10 pages. The full structure includes pre-assessment instrument scoring, the developmental history summary, the DIVA-5 evidence for each of the 18 criteria you met (or didn't), a clinical formulation, the diagnostic outcome, and structured recommendations. The report is co-addressed to you and your GP, and we send it as a secure PDF.