Neurodivergent-Affirming Evaluations for Children & Teens
Launching Fall 2025 – Waitlist Now Open!
Side Quest Psychotherapy is excited to announce neurodiversity-affirming evaluations for children and teens, beginning Fall 2025.
Diagnostic evaluations are individually tailored and utilize:
- Monteiro Interview Guidelines for Diagnosing Autism (MIGDAS-2): A sensory-informed, narrative-based tool that highlights a child’s natural language, inner world, and regulation needs
- Diagnostic Interview for ADHD (DIVA-5): A structured and validated clinical interview for mapping ADHD traits across developmental stages
- Quantitative measures assessing:
- Executive functioning and cognitive processing
- Sensory sensitivities and sensory-seeking patterns
- Interoceptive and proprioceptive awareness
- Social communication preferences and interaction styles
- Emotion regulation, burnout, and demand avoidance
All tools are selected for their clinical validity and their ability to support a respectful, accurate understanding of neurodivergent experience.
A Collaborative, Insightful Evaluation Process
Many children and teens are misunderstood or misdiagnosed—not because their providers aren’t skilled, but because traditional diagnostic frameworks often fall short. They weren’t built to capture the nuanced ways neurodivergence presents in real life—especially for those who are AFAB, nonbinary, BIPOC, or have experienced chronic stress or trauma. Standard tools frequently overlook kids who mask, internalize, or show distress in less “typical” ways.
As a clinician with advanced training in complex differential diagnosis, I specialize in untangling the overlapping threads of autism, ADHD, PDA, OCD, PANS/PANDAS, trauma, and sensory processing differences. This process is designed to carefully distinguish between neurodevelopmental conditions, medical or immune-related issues, and trauma-based adaptations—while recognizing that multiple forces are often interacting at once.
Each evaluation draws on clinically validated tools, interpreted through a neurodivergent-affirming, developmentally attuned lens. I pay close attention to how cognitive style, sensory processing, identity development, and emotional regulation show up across different environments—home, school, peer interactions, and beyond.
This is not about labeling a child or ticking diagnostic boxes. It’s about uncovering the deeper why behind their challenges and equipping families with a meaningful, accurate understanding of what supports will actually help them grow, connect, and thrive.
Who Might Benefit
This type of assessment may be a good fit for children and teens who:
Are often described as “highly sensitive,” “intense,” “complex,” or “hard to figure out”
Show signs of autism, ADHD, or sensory processing differences that have gone unrecognized or misdiagnosed
Struggle with focus, transitions, social interaction, flexibility, or emotional regulation
Experience shutdowns, meltdowns, burnout, or sensory overload
Have been told they’re “fine” despite deep internal struggles
Have eating patterns shaped by sensory needs, rigidity, or executive functioning challenges
Are in eating disorder treatment but feel misunderstood, over-controlled, or unsupported
Designed for Real-Life Neurodivergent Needs
This isn’t your standard evaluation experience. It’s sensory-friendly, low-demand, and built with real neurodivergent kids in mind—especially those who are anxious, burned out, avoidant of anything that feels clinical, or just plain done with being misunderstood.
The process is inclusive, trauma-informed, and attuned to the unique ways neurodivergence shows up across overlapping areas of life. It’s not about labeling or fixing—it’s about finally making sense of things in a way that feels grounding, respectful, and empowering.