Private online ADHD Services for Children
Every child or adolescent with ADHD experiences their world uniquely. Through careful assessment, we can help your family understand your child's individual needs and provide the specialised support they need to flourish.
Online ADHD assessments are available for eligible children, but we do not assess ADHD in children 6 and under.
With you at every step
How a child ADHD online assessment works
To be able to help your child in the most positive way, you first need to fully understand their neurodevelopmental makeup and needs. Our specialist team will conduct a thorough, expert online assessment to ascertain if your child does, or doesn’t have ADHD.
step
1
Screening
If you feel that your child may have ADHD, our free screening process will give clarity and insight. It will be carried out by our psychology team, led by a consultant clinical psychologist. If the results are indicative of ADHD, we’ll recommend a diagnostic assessment to give a definitive answer.
step
2
Information Gathering - School/pre-school report
We ask your child’s school to fill in a report form and an online screening questionnaire, so we can understand their behaviour in different social settings. It helps our clinical team with their assessment and to understand your child’s strengths and needs better. If your child is home-schooled, don’t worry, this won’t affect the assessment and we will ask for a report from another suitable professional or someone who knows your child well, outside of the home.
step
3
Diagnostic Assessment
The diagnostic assessment is carried out by either a clinical psychologist, consultant paediatrician or consultant child and adolescent psychiatrist, who are experts in identifying ADHD in children and young people. Where indicated, we will triage your referral in order to determine the most appropriate professional for you. During the assessment, the clinician will ask you and your child some questions about their strengths, needs, likes, and dislikes as well as their development, including information around key milestones in their early years. During the course of the appointment, the expert will also be discreetly observing your child’s mannerisms and behaviours. They will bring all the information gathered during the screening and questionnaire stages and the clinical interview together and assess this against the DSM-5 criteria to determine if a diagnosis is clinically appropriate or not. The outcome will be presented to you, along with recommendations on further support and/or treatment for your child immediately after the assessment is complete.
step
4
Diagnostic Report
Working closely together, our team will produce a comprehensive report providing a clear and detailed breakdown of the assessment. The outcome will be straightforward and easy to understand, and the report can be shared with your child’s school to support a positive and informed conversation about the diagnosis. As our assessments are fully NICE compliant, you can be reassured that our diagnostic reports are recognised and accepted by both the NHS and education systems.
step
5
Treatment / Support
If the results of the assessment indicate that your child or teenager has ADHD, we will go through all the relevant support options with you. This usually looks like a ‘menu’ of possibilities (including medical, behavioural and psychological) and we’ll help you select those you feel would work best for your child. If you choose to opt for medication to treat your child’s symptoms, a specialist prescriber will assess their suitability for treatment, carry out some routine tests and if appropriate, initiate a treatment plan for your child. After the first prescription, your child will need to attend regular reviews with your prescriber. They will monitor the efficacy of the medication and any side effects your child might have. When you, your child and their clinician feel that the treatment is working and a stable dose has been reached, we will make a referral to your local NHS ADHD service or GP, who will take over the management of the prescriptions and routine monitoring.
Understanding Child ADHD
Cherishing unique minds
ADHD is a neurodevelopmental condition that affects millions of children growing up today. Your child's brain processes attention, activity, and impulses differently from their neurotypical peers. These differences represent their unique way of experiencing the world.
However, unrecognised ADHD can cause significant struggles at school, home and in social situations. Through comprehensive private child ADHD assessment and diagnosis, we can provide practical strategies, support and guidance to help your child move forward with confidence, joy and success.
We offer clinical online ADHD assessments for children aged 7 and over, UK-wide where clinically appropriate.
ADHD Signs
Your child may be experiencing…
Although there are many things that children with ADHD share, every child’s brain is unique, so ADHD can be experienced in different ways.
Challenging Behaviours
Challenging Behaviours
Children with ADHD can be very tricky to manage as they are not always able to respond to your requests and direction. Due to their impulsivity and high levels of activation, they might find it difficult to listen, stay on task or sit still. This can be very stressful, especially with the pace of life and competing demands from family, school and work. Families can get stuck in unhelpful cycles, where parents become frustrated with their children and children act-up more as they can’t always do want is wanted.
Difficulties with friends
Difficulties with friends
Social relationships at school can also suffer due to ADHD. Children can be unintentionally bossy or directive with their friends – their impulsivity and hyper-focus make it difficult to maintain positive relationships. Girls with ADHD might show their traits differently and have more internalised difficulties. They may also struggle with their self-esteem.
Difficulties at School
Difficulties at School
Children with ADHD can find it hard to reach their potential and often feel ‘told off’ more than their peers due to their difficulty in sticking to the rules. ADHD has nothing to do with how clever a child is but when a child can’t concentrate long enough to solve a problem, they won’t be able to show their true potential.
Testimonials
Some words from our patients
We've helped thousands of patients over the years, and here are some of their thoughts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Anything you’d like to ask us?
Taking the first steps to understanding why you feel different, unhappy, or struggling takes courage. We’re here to help you find the support that’s right for you.
Our assessments fully comply with NICE guidelines, and we use the highest quality and well-regarded clinical model within our service. Importantly, your child will be seen by a doctor (paediatrician or psychiatrist) as part of the assessment, which isn't always the case with private assessments. We are also a trusted NHS provider and often support different NHS Trusts and ICBs with waiting lists. This means a diagnosis made by our service should be accepted the NHS and schools/colleges.
We can provide treatment for ADHD in the form of medication for children who have been diagnosed and are deemed suitable for treatment.
If you choose to opt for medication to treat your child’s symptoms, a specialist prescriber will assess their suitability for treatment, carry out some routine tests and if appropriate, initiate a treatment plan for your child. After the first prescription, your child will need to attend regular reviews with your prescriber. They will monitor the efficacy of the medication and any side effects your child might have.
Once your child is stable on medication, with consent, we will ask their GP to prepare a transfer request to your local NHS ADHD service so they can take over ongoing monitoring and prescribing. We will continue to provide your child’s care privately until the NHS service confirms that the transfer has been accepted and is in place.
Having assessed thousands of children for ADHD, we are used to seeing it present in many different ways. Our assessments are designed to take masking and camouflaging into account – especially with girls. Our team are very well trained in understanding this area and our assessment includes information gathered from both home and school, as well as data captured from what’s called a QB check. A QB check is an online test created by experts in the field to objectively compare the reactions of your child against key ADHD symptoms, the results of which are compiled in a report which is used by the clinician to inform the diagnostic assessment.
If your child does not receive a diagnosis, this does not mean there isn't a problem. ADHD can present like many other conditions and part of the assessment is ensuring that we can evidence that the traits we see are neurodevelopmental. A child’s experiences can influence how they operate and sometimes this can look like ADHD. It is important to establish the cause of the difficulties so that the best support and understanding can be offered. If a child’s presentation is better understood by behavioural or psychological factors, the approach would be very different than if they have ADHD.
We always take the school’s observations into account, as this is an integral part of the assessment. To diagnose ADHD, it must be clear in multiple environments. As school is very structured, it is often a great place to be able to see it. However, if school does not report any observations of ADHD traits, it does not mean there will be no diagnosis, as there can be other reasons for this. Not all children present with clearly with ‘classic’ observable signs of ADHD – particularly females. Children with ADHD can concentrate extremely well if they are working on a task that is exciting or interests them and not all children show their hyperactivity by moving and fidgeting. Just as it’s true that not all children who fidget and are distractable have ADHD. It’s our job to look deeper and see what might be expected and what might be ADHD.
Many people first recognise ADHD traits during adolescence, as increased demands at school and socially can highlight challenges that previously went unnoticed.
Teens with ADHD often experience difficulty concentrating, managing their impulses, or staying organised, even when they're genuinely trying their best. If you observe these traits in your teenager, a professional assessment by a clinical psychologist or psychiatrist can help clarify if ADHD support is appropriate.
Get in Touch
We're with you at every step
Every child is unique. Many children are diagnosed with ADHD. And while differences in focus, activity and impulse control can bring daily challenges, we believe that with early understanding, gentle support and expert guidance, every child can thrive. That's why we offer private online ADHD diagnostic assessments tailored to children and teenagers. Contact our support team for more information.
Please note that you are submitting an enquiry for Psicon’s private online service, where the assessment is self-funded. If you are seeking an NHS-funded referral or wish to access the ‘Right to Choose’ pathway, please click here and request a referral through your GP.