Child ADHD assessment.

Overview

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental condition affecting roughly 5% of children. It shapes how a child sustains attention, regulates impulses and activity, organises tasks and manages emotion. It is not caused by parenting, screen time, diet or vaccines, and it is present from early childhood even where it is only recognised later.

This page covers assessment of children and young people aged 6 to 17. For under-6s, assessment usually involves a developmental paediatrician and we will signpost you accordingly. For 18 and over, see our Adult ADHD Assessment page. If autism is also a question — and for many children it is — see , or ask us about the combined pathway.

What your child's assessment includes

• Pre-assessment screening appointment with a specialist clinician
• Standardised parent and school questionnaires, scored and interpreted
• Direct teacher and school observations gathered with your consent
• A full diagnostic appointment with our paediatric specialist team
• A formal written diagnostic report, including the reasoning behind the outcome
• A treatment plan, with medication initiation and titration where clinically appropriate
• A letter for your child's school to support SEN planning and access arrangements
• A letter to your NHS GP, with your consent, so the diagnosis joins the medical record

Signs of ADHD in children

ADHD presents in three patterns — predominantly inattentive, predominantly hyperactive-impulsive, or combined. For a diagnosis, features must be present in more than one setting and have been present from before the age of 12.

Inattention features

• Difficulty sustaining attention on schoolwork, reading or instructions
• Appears not to listen when spoken to directly
• Loses or forgets things needed for daily tasks
• Avoids tasks requiring sustained mental effort
• Disorganised approach to work, bags, homework and time
• Easily diverted by unrelated thoughts or stimuli

Hyperactivity and impulsivity features

• Fidgeting, leaving their seat, or restlessness that feels driven
• Difficulty playing or working quietly
• Talking excessively, or answering before a question is finished
• Difficulty waiting a turn; interrupting conversations or games
• Acting without apparent regard for consequence

Many children show some of these some of the time. What distinguishes ADHD is persistence, presence across settings, and genuine impairment to learning, relationships or wellbeing.

How we assess ADHD at the clinic

Step 1 — Pre-assessment screening

A screening appointment with one of our specialist clinicians to hear your concerns, review your child's development and decide together whether full assessment is the right next step. No GP referral is required — you can book directly. £250.

Step 2 — Parent and school questionnaires

Standardised questionnaires completed before the main appointment by you and, where appropriate, by someone who knows your child outside the family — usually a teacher. Tools commonly used include the Conners' rating scales and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. These are sent to you as links and take a few minutes each.

Step 3 — School information

With your consent we contact your child's school directly for teacher observations. This step is not optional padding: NICE requires evidence from more than one setting before ADHD can be diagnosed in a child. It is also the step most often skipped by faster services, and its absence is a common reason a report is later questioned by a school or an NHS team.

Step 4 — The diagnostic appointment

A structured but relaxed appointment with our paediatric specialist team, with you present throughout. We explore developmental history, current function at home and school, and screen for the conditions that commonly sit alongside ADHD or explain the picture instead. Your child will not be put under pressure — difficulty answering a question is expected and does not affect the outcome. Clinic time across the pathway totals roughly 2–3 hours.

Step 5 — Feedback, report and plan

We talk you through the outcome and what it means, then send a formal written report. From first contact to report is typically 4–8 weeks, depending on availability and how quickly school information comes back. £1,600 for the diagnostic assessment and report.

What is in your child's report

• The diagnostic outcome, stated plainly, including ADHD presentation type where diagnosed
• The evidence and reasoning behind that conclusion — not just a verdict
• Any co-existing or alternative conditions identified
• A treatment plan with the options available to your child
• Specific, practical recommendations for school and home

If we do not diagnose ADHD, we will say so clearly and explain why. Many children referred for assessment have another explanation — anxiety, a learning difference, sensory differences, or normal variation under stress — and we will signpost you to the right help rather than leave you where we found you.

Medication and follow-up

Where medication is clinically appropriate and you choose it, we initiate and titrate treatment for under-18s in house. Titration is done gradually with monitoring of response, height, weight, blood pressure and side effects at each review. Follow-up appointments are £180.

Medication is never the only option, and it is never automatic. Behavioural strategies, school accommodations and parent support are part of the plan whether or not medication is used.

Your child's diagnosis and the NHS

Our reports are written to NHS standards and are accepted by NHS GPs and by schools. With your consent we write to your child's GP after diagnosis so the diagnosis becomes part of their NHS medical record — which is in their interest for later life, including access to medication and reasonable adjustments at university and at work.

Fees

• ADHD pre-assessment screening — £250
• ADHD assessment with diagnostic report — £1,600
• Combined autism and ADHD assessment with report — £2,500
• Follow-up appointment, including medication review and titration — £180

See our full price list. Every price shown is the price you pay.

Why our assessment costs more than some others

Private child ADHD assessments in the UK are advertised from a few hundred pounds upwards. It is a fair question why ours is not among the cheapest, and the answer is what the fee covers.

• Evidence from more than one setting. We gather and interpret school and teacher information as a required step. Contacting schools, chasing responses and scoring the returns takes clinician and administrative time. Assessments priced substantially lower generally rely on parent-reported questionnaires alone.
• A paediatric specialist team. Your child is assessed by clinicians who work with children, not by a generalist working from a script.
• Standardised, scored instruments. Conners', SDQ and, where autism is also in question, the SCQ, SRS and ADOS-2 — administered and interpreted by clinicians trained in them.
• A report that holds up. Written to a standard schools use for SEN planning and NHS GPs accept for the medical record. A cheaper report that is later rejected costs more, in time and in delay, than a thorough one.
• Differential diagnosis, not confirmation. We look for the conditions that mimic or accompany ADHD. Concluding that a child does not have ADHD takes as much clinical work as concluding that they do.

Where we are not more expensive is afterwards: our follow-up and medication review appointments are £180, which is at or below what most private providers charge for the same appointment.

When to seek assessment

Consider assessment if difficulties with attention, activity or impulsivity are persistent, present both at home and at school, and are getting in the way of your child's learning, friendships or self-esteem — particularly if school has already raised concerns, or if your child is starting to describe themselves as stupid, lazy or naughty.