ADHD Testing For Children & Teens In Minnesota
YOU KNOW YOUR CHILD. AN EVALUATION CAN HELP YOU UNDERSTAND WHY SOME THINGS TAKE SO MUCH EFFORT.
You may have wondered why staying focused, getting started, following through, keeping track of things, or managing everyday routines can require so much effort. A comprehensive ADHD evaluation can help bring those pieces together and give you a clearer understanding of your child’s attention, executive functioning, strengths, areas of difficulty, and support needs.
Do Any of These Sound like Your Child?
Getting started can be one of the hardest parts. They may know exactly what they need to do but still struggle to begin, especially when a task feels boring, overwhelming, or unclear.
Finishing what they start can take a lot of effort. They may get started but lose track of steps, get pulled into something else, or leave tasks unfinished.
They can lose track of things easily. Schoolwork, belongings, instructions, deadlines, or even what they were just about to do can be easy to forget.
Their attention can be highly variable. They may have a hard time staying engaged with some tasks while becoming deeply absorbed in others.
Transitions and everyday routines can take a lot of effort. Getting out the door, shifting away from a preferred activity, or moving from one task to the next can be especially difficult.
Impulsivity can show up in different ways. They may interrupt, respond before they have had time to think, move quickly from one idea or activity to another, or have a hard time slowing down in the moment.
If several of these sound familiar, an ADHD evaluation can help clarify whether ADHD is part of the picture and give you a clearer understanding of your child’s attention, executive functioning, and support needs.
ANSWERS THAT HELP YOU KNOW HOW TO SUPPORT YOUR CHILD
A comprehensive ADHD evaluation can help you better understand why some parts of school and daily life are harder for your child, where their strengths lie, and what kinds of support are likely to help.
You will come away with practical, individualized recommendations for home, school, and daily life, along with a clearer understanding of what your child needs and what to focus on next.
HOW IT WORKS
What Happens During ADHD Testing?
Step 1: Intake (1 to 2 hours)
We begin with a virtual meeting with parents or caregivers to gather background information, learn about current concerns, and understand what you hope the evaluation will help clarify. This helps us plan the assessment around your child’s individual needs. There is nothing your child needs to do to prepare for this appointment.
Step 2: Testing (3 to 5 hours)
The in-person testing appointment typically takes place about one week after the intake. Your child will complete a combination of structured tasks, questionnaires, and other activities based on their age and the areas being evaluated. Breaks are available as needed, and testing can sometimes be divided across more than one day.
Step 3: Feedback (1 to 2 hours)
About two to three weeks after testing, we meet virtually to review the findings, discuss any diagnoses, answer questions, and talk through practical next steps. Depending on your child’s age, needs, and preferences, they may participate in some or all of the feedback appointment. You will also receive a comprehensive written report summarizing the evaluation findings and individualized recommendations.
FAQs About ADHD Testing for Children & Teens
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An evaluation can be helpful when difficulties with attention, getting started, following through, organization, remembering what needs to be done, impulsivity, or everyday routines are making things harder at home, at school, or in daily life. It can also be useful when your child understands the material or knows what they are supposed to do but consistently has difficulty putting that understanding into action.
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Yes. Some children and teens do well academically while using a great deal of effort to stay organized, keep up with assignments, manage distractions, and meet everyday expectations. Others manage the demands of the school day but have much less capacity for homework, routines, or other demands once they get home.
An evaluation looks beyond grades and classroom behavior to consider how much effort it takes your child to manage everyday expectations.
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There is no single test that determines whether a child has ADHD. A comprehensive evaluation looks at the broader picture, including developmental history, attention and executive functioning, how difficulties show up across settings, parent and teacher perspectives when relevant, and the child or teen’s own experience.
Testing can also help clarify whether ADHD best explains the difficulties you are seeing or whether other factors are contributing.
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Yes. ADHD can overlap with autism, anxiety, learning differences, giftedness, and other factors, and more than one can be present at the same time. When these questions are relevant, we consider them together so the evaluation provides a clearer understanding of your child’s strengths, areas of difficulty, and support needs.
When families have questions about both autism and ADHD, we can consider them together within one comprehensive evaluation. Learn more about our autism and ADHD evaluations for children and teens in Minnesota.
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Yes. The written report can include recommendations for accommodations and other supports at school. Families can choose to share the evaluation with the school, where the findings may help inform decisions about supports such as a 504 plan or IEP. Eligibility and specific school services are ultimately determined by the school team.
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You will receive a written report that explains the findings, any diagnoses, your child’s strengths and areas of difficulty, and individualized recommendations. During the feedback appointment, we will walk through the results together, answer your questions, and discuss practical next steps for home, school, and everyday life.
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A comprehensive ADHD evaluation for a child or teen at White Bear Psychological Services costs $3,300. This includes the intake appointment, testing, scoring and interpretation, feedback session, written report, and individualized recommendations.
We are an out-of-network practice and can provide a superbill that families may submit to their insurance company for possible reimbursement. HSA and FSA funds can also be used, and no-interest payment plans are available.
You can learn more about child ADHD evaluation costs and payment options here.
ADHD Evaluations Across Childhood
ADHD can look different as children grow and expectations change. Learn more about ADHD Evaluation for School-Age Children in Minnesota and ADHD Testing for Teens in Minnesota.
What Families Are Saying
"Dr. Matt was professional, empathetic, and extremely knowledgeable and we were able to get an appointment relatively quickly. Finally having a thoughtful, proper diagnosis and action plan has already had a profound effect on our parent-child relationship as well as many other things in her daily life. We highly recommend Dr. Matt and White Bear Psychological Services."
— Parent of an Evaluation Client
"Dr. Rebecca was wonderful to work with. She was warm, compassionate, and thorough. She helped put our son, who was not initially sure about the whole thing, at ease and made him feel comfortable and heard. Dr. Rebecca was knowledgeable but also able to present the findings in a way that both ourselves and our son could understand. We found the process, from start to finish, to be a very positive one."
— Parent of an Evaluation Client