Adult Autism Assessment Sydney
Comprehensive private autism assessments for adults in Sydney CBD and via telehealth across Australia. PhD-trained Clinical Psychologist. Detailed report and feedback session included.
About Adult Autism Assessments
Adult autism diagnosis is increasingly common, and increasingly important. Diagnostic criteria were historically developed based on male childhood presentation, meaning that women, girls, gender-diverse individuals, and those who masked effectively in structured environments were frequently missed, misdiagnosed, or told their difficulties were something else entirely, anxiety, depression, personality disorder, or simply a lack of trying.
Many adults arrive at an autism assessment in their 30s, 40s, 50s, or later, sometimes after a child's diagnosis prompted reflection, sometimes after years of accumulating mismatched explanations, and sometimes simply because something shifted and the effort of continuing without answers became too great.
At FORME Psychology, we provide comprehensive, neurodiversity-affirming autism assessments for adults. A thorough assessment includes a structured developmental interview, a structured observational assessment, and a detailed written report, followed by a 60-minute feedback session to ensure you leave with clarity, not more questions.
Many adults arrive at an autism assessment in their 30s, 40s, 50s, or later, sometimes after a child's diagnosis prompted reflection, sometimes after years of accumulating mismatched explanations, and sometimes simply because something shifted and the effort of continuing without answers became too great.
At FORME Psychology, we provide comprehensive, neurodiversity-affirming autism assessments for adults. A thorough assessment includes a structured developmental interview, a structured observational assessment, and a detailed written report, followed by a 60-minute feedback session to ensure you leave with clarity, not more questions.
How Autism Presents in Adults
What Assessment Explores
Autism presents differently in adults than it does in children, particularly in those who have spent years masking, adapting, and developing compensatory strategies. Many adult presentations are subtle, internalised, and easily mistaken for anxiety, introversion, or social awkwardness.
Social & Communication
- Difficulty reading unspoken social rules or cues
- Preference for direct communication and discomfort with ambiguity
- Exhaustion from social interaction even when it appears successful
- Difficulty maintaining relationships over time
- A tendency to be misread as cold, blunt, or disinterested
- Deep, loyal connections within a small circle
Sensory & Cognitive
- Sensitivity to sound, light, texture, smell, or taste
- Sensory seeking: a need for specific input or stimulation
- Deep, sustained focus on areas of intense interest
- Preference for routine, predictability, and structure
- Difficulty switching between tasks or tolerating interruption
- Strong sense of justice and fairness
Emotional & Behavioural
- Difficulty reading unspoken social rules or cues
- Preference for direct communication and discomfort with ambiguity
- Exhaustion from social interaction even when it appears successful
- Difficulty maintaining relationships over time
- A tendency to be misread as cold, blunt, or disinterested
- Deep, loyal connections within a small circle
Why Consider an Adult Autism Assessment?
A formal autism assessment does not change who you are. It provides language, context, and clinical clarity for experiences that have often gone unrecognised for decades. Adults commonly seek assessment to:
- Finally understand why certain things have always been harder, socially, sensorially, and emotionally
- Make sense of a lifetime of misdiagnoses, unsuccessful treatments, or unexplained difficulties
- Following a child's or sibling's diagnosis, which prompted recognition of similar traits in themselves
- Access NDIS supports, workplace accommodations, or university disability services
- Inform therapy: an accurate diagnosis significantly changes what effective support looks like
- Reduce shame and self-blame by replacing inaccurate narratives with an accurate neurological explanation
- Understand the relationship between autism and co-occurring anxiety, depression, ADHD, or burnout
Understanding Autism
What The Research Tells Us About Adult Autism
Autism is a neurodevelopmental condition with a strong genetic basis. Research consistently shows that it involves differences in how the brain processes information, differences present from birth, though they may not become apparent or recognisable until the demands of life exceed a person's capacity to adapt.
Many autistic adults were never assessed because diagnostic criteria were historically developed based on young male presentations, missing the more internalised, socially compensated profiles common in women, girls, gender-diverse individuals, and those with higher cognitive ability. The result is a generation of adults who were diagnosed with anxiety, depression, or borderline personality disorder, treated for symptoms rather than the underlying neurology, and never given an accurate explanation for why life has always felt harder.
ADHD and autism frequently co-occur. Anxiety and depression are significantly more prevalent in autistic individuals, often not as separate conditions, but as consequences of decades of masking, social exhaustion, and navigating a world not designed for how they think. An accurate diagnosis changes what effective support looks like, at every stage of life.
Many autistic adults were never assessed because diagnostic criteria were historically developed based on young male presentations, missing the more internalised, socially compensated profiles common in women, girls, gender-diverse individuals, and those with higher cognitive ability. The result is a generation of adults who were diagnosed with anxiety, depression, or borderline personality disorder, treated for symptoms rather than the underlying neurology, and never given an accurate explanation for why life has always felt harder.
ADHD and autism frequently co-occur. Anxiety and depression are significantly more prevalent in autistic individuals, often not as separate conditions, but as consequences of decades of masking, social exhaustion, and navigating a world not designed for how they think. An accurate diagnosis changes what effective support looks like, at every stage of life.
What The Assessment Delivers
What You Can Expect From A FORME Psychology Autism Assessment
A comprehensive autism assessment provides more than a diagnosis. For most adults, the assessment process itself: the thorough developmental history, the structured observation, the written report, and the feedback session, delivers clarity that changes how they understand themselves and how they seek support going forward.
- Diagnostic clarity: a clear, clinically grounded answer about whether you meet criteria for an autism diagnosis
- A comprehensive written report: documenting findings, diagnostic conclusions, and personalised recommendations you can use with therapists, employers, NDIS, and other services
- A 60-minute feedback session: to walk through the findings, ask questions, and understand what they mean for you
- Reduced self-blame: replacing years of inaccurate explanations with an accurate neurological understanding of your experience
- A foundation for effective therapy: an accurate diagnosis significantly changes what therapeutic support looks like and how useful it is
- Access to supports: NDIS eligibility, workplace accommodations, and disability services all require a formal diagnosis
Our Approach To Adult Autism Assessment
Our assessments are comprehensive, neurodiversity-affirming, and grounded in current evidence-based practice. We assess the whole person, not just a checklist of symptoms.
Neurodiversity-affirming
Autism is understood as a natural variation in human neurodevelopment, not a disorder to be fixed.
Gold-standard Diagnostic Instruments
We use gold-standard diagnostic instruments selected to your presentation and age. The specific tools used (which may include the ADOS-2, ADI-R, or MIGDAS-2) are confirmed prior to assessment.
Sensitive to Adult and Late-diagnosed Presentations
We are experienced in assessing masked, internalised, and female presentations of autism, those most commonly missed in standard clinical settings.
Integrated Assessment and Therapy
FORME Psychology also provides autism therapy and post-diagnostic support, so you do not need to retell your story to a new clinician.
The Adult Autism Assessment Process
Our process is thorough and designed to be as clear and manageable as possible.
1. Contact Us
Reach out by phone or email to book a private adult autism assessment. We will guide you through the process and answer any questions.
2. Screening Questionnaires
Pre-assessment questionnaires covering autistic traits, sensory experience, mental health, and daily functioning help us understand your presentation before we meet.
3. Structured Clinical Interview
A structured clinical interview online with a family member, partner, or someone who knew you in childhood. This 60–120 minute interview explores early development, behavioural patterns, and history.
4. In-person Observational Assessment
A 60–90 minute in-person assessment at our Sydney CBD rooms. The observational assessment evaluates social communication and interaction in a naturalistic, conversational context. The specific instrument used is selected to your presentation.
5. Additional Clinical Judgement
We integrate questionnaire responses, interview findings, and observational assessment data with clinical expertise, including any co-occurring conditions such as ADHD, anxiety, or depression.
6. Report Preparation
A detailed written report outlining assessment findings, diagnostic conclusions (if applicable), and personalised recommendations for support, therapy, and relevant accommodations or services.
7. Feedback and Ongoing Support
A 60-minute feedback session to walk through the report, answer your questions, and discuss next steps. Ongoing therapy is available at FORME Psychology.
Fees
Adult Autism Assessment Costs
Medicare rebates are not available for diagnostic assessments.
Fees cover all assessment sessions, questionnaires, report preparation, and the feedback appointment. Some private health funds may provide partial coverage under extras.
FORME Psychology does not prescribe medication. If medication is being considered, we can provide referral pathways to a psychiatrist.
Autism Assessment:
$3,000
Combined Autism + ADHD
$4,000
Just been assessed elsewhere? What to do next?
If you have already received an autism diagnosis and are now looking for therapy or post-diagnostic support, you do not need to repeat the assessment process. FORME Psychology offers autism therapy for adults at any stage of the diagnostic journey
Why FORME Psychology
What sets us apart
Sydney has many psychology clinics offering autism assessments. Here is what distinguishes FORME.
PhD-trained Clinical Psychologist
A doctoral-level training standard above general registration. Clinical psychologists complete additional supervised training in advanced assessment, this distinction matters most for complex, co-occurring, or ambiguous presentations where diagnostic accuracy is essential.
Gold-standard Diagnostic Instruments
We use gold-standard diagnostic instruments selected to your presentation and age. The specific tools used (which may include the ADOS-2, ADI-R, or MIGDAS-2) are confirmed prior to assessment.
Assessment And Therapy Under One Roof
Unlike clinics that assess only, FORME Psychology also provides autism therapy and post-diagnostic support. You do not need to re-tell your story to a new clinician after the assessment.
Neurodivergence Expertise
Specialist experience in autism, ADHD, and co-occurring presentations, not neurodivergence as a footnote to a generalist practice.
Experienced in Adult And Late-diagnosed Presentations
We specifically assess masked, internalised, and female presentations of autism, those most commonly missed in standard clinical settings.
Jargon-free, Actionable Reports
Our reports are written to be understood, by you, your family, your school, your employer, and your other treating clinicians. Findings are clear, conclusions are direct, and recommendations are specific.
Warm, Direct Clinical Style
Assessment can feel daunting. We work hard to make the process feel manageable, for the person being assessed and for their family.
Your Psychologist
Dr Bernadette Maunick, DPsych (Clinical), MAPS
Dr Maunick is a PhD-trained Clinical Psychologist with specialist expertise in autism, ADHD, and neurodivergent presentations across the lifespan. She is experienced in assessing masked, late-diagnosed, and female presentations of autism, and in the complex intersection of autism with anxiety, depression, trauma, and ADHD. All assessments are conducted by Dr Maunick personally. Registered with Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) and a member of the Australian Psychological Society (APS).
Frequently Asked Questions
No. You can book directly with FORME Psychology without a referral.
Typically 2–4 weeks from initial contact to feedback session, covering questionnaires, a developmental interview, an in-person observational assessment, report preparation, and a feedback appointment.
Where diagnostic criteria are not fully met, the assessment still provides clinical clarity about your presentation, your strengths and challenges, and what support may be helpful.
Yes. Autism and ADHD frequently co-occur, and we offer combined assessments. See our fees table for combined assessment pricing.
Yes. We are experienced in assessing masked and late-diagnosed presentations. The instruments we use are selected to assess autism across all presentations, including those with significant compensatory strategies.
The structured clinical interview is conducted online. The in-person observational assessment requires an appointment at our Sydney CBD rooms in Sydney CBD.
You receive a comprehensive written report and a 60-minute feedback session. FORME Psychology also offers autism therapy and post-diagnostic support if you wish to continue.
Possibly. Anxiety and depression are highly prevalent in autistic individuals, often as a consequence of unrecognised autism and prolonged masking and misdiagnosis is common, particularly for women. An assessment can help clarify what is driving what.
A diagnosis does not change who you are. It changes how clearly you can see yourself.
Book an adult autism assessment with Dr Bernadette Maunick in Sydney CBD.
