A lot of people who come in for ADHD evaluation, adolescents and adults alike, have been told some version of the same thing: "you're smart, you're just not trying hard enough." Or: "everyone struggles to focus sometimes." Or: "you seem fine to me."
If that sounds familiar, you're not alone, and you're not imagining it.
What ADHD testing really is
ADHD doesn't exist in a vacuum. Many conditions can look like ADHD: anxiety, depression, sleep disorders, traumatic brain injury, learning disorders. And some of them coexist with it. A neuropsychological evaluation is the only approach thorough enough to untangle that picture.
The goal isn't just to determine whether ADHD is present. It's to understand your full cognitive profile so that recommendations are actually useful to you.
Sustained attention and working memory
How well you maintain focus over time and hold information in mind while using it.
Processing speed and cognitive efficiency
The pace at which your brain takes in, processes, and responds to information.
Executive function
Planning, organization, and impulse control: the cognitive skills that govern self-directed behavior.
Emotional regulation patterns
Patterns that affect daily functioning and are commonly overlooked in standard ADHD assessments.
Ruling out conditions that mimic ADHD
Anxiety, depression, sleep disorders, and TBI can each present with ADHD-like symptoms. A neuropsychological evaluation distinguishes between them.
Why a formal evaluation matters
An ADHD diagnosis, whether for an adolescent navigating school or an adult navigating work and daily life, isn't just a label. It's information that can change how you approach challenges, how you understand your history, and what options are available to you.
Workplace Accommodations
A documented diagnosis is required for most workplace accommodation requests. Neuropsychological documentation provides the formal record employers and HR departments need.
Academic Documentation
Graduate programs and professional licensing exams (including bar exams, medical boards, and others) frequently require formal neuropsychological documentation to grant testing accommodations.
Medication Decisions
Psychiatrists and prescribers frequently request neuropsychological documentation before initiating ADHD medication in adults. A formal evaluation provides the foundation for evidence-based treatment.
Self-Understanding
Knowing your actual cognitive profile, not just a suspected diagnosis, changes how you work with your own brain. Many adults describe the evaluation as the first time their experience was validated and explained.
What the evaluation process looks like
The evaluation follows the same structure as any neuropsychological assessment at Riverside: clinical history review, intake interview (sometimes on evaluation day, sometimes earlier), evaluation day, analysis, and a feedback session where Dr. Baldassarre walks you through what was found.
For ADHD evaluation specifically, the battery is designed around attention, executive function, and the broader cognitive context. Plan for a 3–4 hour appointment. ADHD evaluations are conducted in-person only at our River Forest office.
Clinical history review
A detailed review of records, prior evaluations, and background history so evaluation day is focused entirely on testing.
Intake interview
A structured clinical interview with Dr. Baldassarre covering your concerns, developmental history, and what brings you in.
Evaluation day
A structured battery of standardized cognitive tasks, designed to objectively measure attention, memory, processing speed, and executive function.
Analysis
Dr. Baldassarre interprets your results against normative data, integrates your history, and prepares a written report.
Report and feedback
The report is sent to your referring provider to expedite care planning. Dr. Baldassarre is always available after your consultation with your referring provider to walk you through findings, answer your questions, and explain what the results mean for you.
Why Riverside Psychology for ADHD evaluation
Most ADHD content, and many evaluators, are oriented toward young children. Dr. Baldassarre's training and practice focus on neuropsychological evaluation for adolescents (ages 13+) and adults, which means her ADHD assessments are grounded in the cognitive norms and real-world concerns that actually apply to the people she sees.
Board-certified
ABPP/ABCN board certification in neuropsychology, among fewer than 30 in greater Chicagoland.
Dartmouth-trained
Trained in adult neuropsychological evaluation at a leading academic neuropsychology program.
Insurance accepted
In-network with major insurance payors. Prior authorization is handled as part of the intake process.
Questions about ADHD evaluation
ADHD evaluation for adolescents and adults raises a lot of specific questions, especially if you've never had a formal assessment or have had a prior evaluation that left you with more questions than answers.
Yes. A neuropsychologist is qualified to diagnose ADHD through a comprehensive evaluation that assesses attention, executive function, and related cognitive domains, and rules out other explanations. The neuropsychological report can be used to support medication management by a psychiatrist or prescribing physician.
A psychiatric assessment focuses on diagnosis and medication management, often based on interview and rating scales. A neuropsychological evaluation is a structured cognitive assessment that measures how attention, memory, and executive function are actually performing, using standardized tasks with normative data. The two approaches are complementary, and many psychiatrists refer patients for neuropsychological evaluation specifically because it provides documentation and clarity they can't get from interview alone.
In most cases, no. Patients can self-refer for a neuropsychological evaluation. A referral from your physician or psychiatrist can be helpful for insurance purposes, but it is not required to schedule.
A prior diagnosis doesn't disqualify you from a full neuropsychological evaluation. Many adults come to Riverside specifically because they want a more rigorous assessment than they received previously, or because they need formal documentation they don't have.