Autism Evaluations

Evaluations for an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can provide meaningful answers for your child, yourself, or another family member. These evaluations are focused on providing a clearer understanding of how someone thinks, communicates, and experiences the world. That understanding often leads to identifying the right supports for school or work, more effective therapeutic approaches, and an overall better understanding of oneself.

At PBHW, we provide comprehensive ASD evaluations for children as young as six through adulthood.

Is an Evaluation Right for You or Your Child?

You might consider an ASD evaluation if you or your loved one:

•       Finds social situations confusing, exhausting, or hard to navigate — or has chronic or ongoing difficulty making and keeping friends

•       Struggles to read social cues, including facial expressions, tone of voice, or unspoken ‘rules’ of conversation

•       Has strong, focused interests or engages in repetitive routines or behaviors

•       Relies heavily on predictability and becomes distressed when plans or routines change

•       Is highly sensitive to — or unusually unresponsive to — sensory input (e.g., sounds, lights, textures, tastes, smells)

•       Needs formal diagnostic documentation to access school accommodations (e.g., IEP or 504 plan), therapeutic services, or workplace accommodations

We also work with adults and children who were diagnosed with an ASD earlier in life and want an updated evaluation, specifically one that reflects how their needs, strengths, and unique differences have evolved over time.

There is no “too old” or “too mild” to wonder if you or a loved one may be somewhere on the autism spectrum. Many adults come to us after years of wondering why certain things have always felt harder than they seemed to for everyone else.

A Specialty in High-Masking and High-Achieving Adults

Many of the adults we partner with are successful by many outward measures: physicians, attorneys, executives, engineers, academics, and other high-achieving professionals who have spent years intuitively studying and adapting to fit ‘neurotypical’ social expectations. This kind of adaptation, often called ‘masking’ or ‘camouflaging,’ can make an ASD easy to overlook, even by other clinicians and the individual themselves. It can also come at a real personal cost: chronic exhaustion, anxiety, burnout, or a persistent sense of working harder than everyone else just to keep up appearances.

We have particular experience evaluating high-masking and high-achieving individuals, including those who don’t fit the more visible presentation of ASD often described in older, now outdated clinical literature. Our assessment approach (see below) is designed to look past surface-level social competence and identify the underlying patterns in sensory processing, social effort, and cognitive style that so often go unrecognized in adults who have learned to compensate exceptionally well.

What Happens During an Evaluation

No two evaluations look exactly alike. We tailor every evaluation process to the person in front of us. However, most evaluations include the following components:

1.        Clinical Interview. We start by talking with you (and, for children, with parents or caregivers) about developmental history, current concerns, and what you're hoping to get out of the evaluation. This gives us the context behind the behaviors we'll be assessing.

2.        Behavioral Observation. Using structured activities and natural interaction, we observe things like communication style, social engagement, play or conversation patterns, and how someone manages emotions in the moment. For children, this often looks like guided or interactive play; for adults, it's typically a more conversational, task-based process.

3.        Standardized Testing. We use validated diagnostic tools and questionnaires completed by you and people who know you well (e.g., parent, partner/spouse, teacher; see below). Depending on your goals and needs, we may also include cognitive, academic, or neuropsychological testing to build a fuller picture of how to best support you or your child.

4.        Collateral Contact (With Your Permission). With your consent, we may also reach out to other people who know you or your child well, including a pediatrician, therapist, psychiatrist, teacher, school counselor, coach, or extended family member. These conversations can add valuable context we might not otherwise ‘see’ in a clinical setting, especially for behaviors that show up differently at school, at work, or at home. This is always optional; we'll ask who, if anyone, you'd like us to contact before reaching out to them.

5.        Feedback Session. Once testing is complete, we meet again to walk through the results together, including clinical findings, whether an ASD diagnosis fits, and what we'd recommend moving forward. This is a mutual conversation, not a lecture, with a focus on answering your questions and presenting findings clearly.

6.        Individualized Written Report. You'll receive a detailed report summarizing our findings, along with specific, practical recommendations for therapy or related clinical services, school or workplace accommodations, and other next steps. This report is yours to use with schools, other providers, or employers, for as long as it's relevant.

What You Walk Away With

• By the end of the process, our goal is that you have:

  •       A clear answer on whether an ASD diagnosis fits

  •       A better understanding of individual strengths, not just areas of challenge

  •       Concrete, actionable recommendations — not just a diagnosis (if any), but a tangible plan forward

  •       Documentation to support medically and/or legally necessary accommodations (if any) and services, when needed

  •       A resource you can share with family, educational teams, or employers to help them understand how to support you or your child more effectively

Our Approach

At PBHW, we approach every evaluation as a collaboration, not a verdict. Autism looks different in every person, and we take a strengths-based, person-centered approach that treats the person being evaluated — not just their symptoms or differences — as the point of the process.

Our aim is for every evaluation to feel respectful, clear, and genuinely useful, regardless of outcome or clinical conclusions.

Scheduling an Evaluation

If you're considering an evaluation for yourself or your child, the first step is a free 15-minute phone consultation. This gives us a chance to understand your concerns and make sure our evaluation process is a good fit for your needs before you commit to moving forward.

Call us at (206) 880-1851 or click below to get started.