Adult Autism Assessment at Neuro Insight:

Many adults reach a point where they wonder whether autism could explain experiences that have been present throughout their lives. You may have always felt different, found social situations exhausting, struggled with sensory overload, or developed ways of masking your difficulties that leave you feeling drained.

Our Adult Autism Assessment is designed to provide clarity, understanding and practical recommendations—not simply a diagnosis.

Before your assessment, you'll complete a detailed questionnaire exploring your developmental history, current experiences, education, work, relationships and any previous diagnoses. This helps us build a clear picture of your life and ensures the assessment is tailored to you.

Your assessment can take place online or face-to-face.

We use gold-standard assessment methods recommended by NICE, including the ADOS-2 and, where appropriate, the ADI-R, alongside a detailed clinical interview and behavioural observation.

Our aim is to understand not just whether diagnostic criteria are met, but how your brain works in everyday life.

Unlike many autism assessments, we include a comprehensive cognitive assessment.

This helps identify your individual strengths and any areas that may benefit from additional support, such as executive functioning, processing speed, attention or working memory. Understanding your cognitive profile often explains why certain situations feel more challenging and helps shape meaningful recommendations.

Following your assessment you'll receive a detailed report explaining the findings in clear, accessible language.

Your report includes:

• Diagnostic conclusions (where appropriate)
• Your cognitive profile and strengths
• Practical recommendations
• Workplace or educational adjustments
• Suggestions for further support or intervention

The report can be shared with your GP, employer, university or other professionals if required.

One of the things that makes Neuro Insight different is our expertise in developmental trauma as well as neurodevelopmental conditions.

Autism and trauma can sometimes look surprisingly similar. Difficulties with relationships, emotional regulation, sensory experiences, anxiety and social communication may arise for different reasons.

Our assessments don't simply ask "Is this autism?"

We also explore how early life experiences, attachment and trauma may have influenced your development, helping us distinguish between autism, trauma, or where both exist together. This leads to more accurate formulations and more meaningful recommendations.

Every brain is different.

Our assessments focus on understanding your individual strengths, challenges and experiences, rather than simply working through a diagnostic checklist.

Whether you're seeking answers for yourself, looking for workplace adjustments, or trying to understand lifelong experiences that have never quite made sense, our aim is to provide clarity, validation and practical guidance for the future.

Adult ADHD Insight Assessment at Neuro Insight:

Some adults reach a point in life where they begin to recognise lifelong patterns of inattention, impulsivity, restlessness, or difficulty maintaining focus — yet may not wish to pursue medication or formal psychiatric diagnosis.

Our ADHD Insight Assessment is designed for adults who want to understand their attention profile and executive functioning rather than seek a medical route. The focus is on clarity, self-understanding, and practical guidance.

This assessment includes:

• A detailed developmental and life history interview exploring patterns of focus, motivation, organisation, and energy regulation.
   
• Completion of validated ADHD screening tools and measures of executive functioning.
   
• Exploration of strengths, coping strategies, and areas of functional impact.
   
• Consideration of overlapping factors such as anxiety, trauma, or sleep that may influence attention and concentration.
• A cognitive and executive functioning assessment
   
• A comprehensive written report summarising findings and offering clear recommendations for workplace, study, or lifestyle adjustments.
   

This process does not involve medication referral, but provides a psychologically informed understanding of your attentional style — helping you make sense of your experiences and plan meaningful strategies for daily life

Sometimes the answer isn't simply autism or ADHD.

Many people present with a combination of neurodevelopmental differences, trauma, sensory processing differences or overlapping characteristics that require a broader, more holistic assessment. Our Comprehensive Neurodiversity Assessment is designed for those complex presentations where a single-condition assessment may not provide the whole picture.

The assessment includes screening for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD), Tourette's Syndrome, developmental trauma and related neurodevelopmental differences, alongside a comprehensive cognitive assessment.

Using detailed developmental history, gold-standard assessment tools, cognitive testing and clinical formulation, we aim to understand how your brain works rather than simply whether you meet the criteria for a particular diagnosis.

Following the assessment, you will receive a detailed report explaining:

• Areas of neurodevelopmental difference
• Cognitive strengths and challenges
• The interaction between neurodiversity and trauma where relevant
• Practical recommendations for home, education, work and everyday life
• Signposting to appropriate interventions and support

This assessment is particularly valuable when there is uncertainty about whether difficulties are explained by one condition, several co-occurring conditions, trauma, or a combination of these factors.

Please note: Neuro Insight does not provide medication or prescribing services. This assessment is intended to provide diagnostic clarity, formulation and practical recommendations. Where appropriate, we can advise on NHS or private medical services for medication assessment and ongoing management.

Please note:  Our cognitive assessments cannot be used as evidence for an Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plan or a statutory determination of Special Educational Needs. If you require an assessment for this purpose, we recommend consulting a Chartered Educational Psychologist.

A cognitive assessment provides much more than an IQ score. It helps explain how your brain processes information, highlighting both your strengths and the areas that may make everyday life, education or work more challenging.

At Neuro Insight we use the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-V) for children and the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS-IV) for adults—internationally recognised assessments that provide a detailed profile of cognitive functioning.

Whether you're seeking answers for yourself or your child, the assessment offers valuable insight into learning, problem-solving, attention and information processing.

The assessment explores several important areas of thinking, including:

Understanding language, verbal reasoning and expressing ideas.

Recognising patterns, solving visual problems and thinking flexibly without relying on language.

Holding and manipulating information in your mind, essential for learning, following instructions and organisation.

How efficiently simple information is processed, which can affect learning, reading, written work and everyday tasks.

A summary of overall intellectual functioning, interpreted alongside the wider cognitive profile rather than in isolation.

One of the greatest strengths of a cognitive assessment is that it identifies patterns, not just scores.

Many people have areas of exceptional strength alongside areas that require additional support. Understanding these differences often explains why someone can excel in one situation yet struggle in another.

For example, an individual may demonstrate:

• Strong reasoning and problem-solving skills but slower processing speed.
• Excellent verbal ability alongside weaker working memory.
• Outstanding visual thinking with difficulties organising information.

Recognising these patterns helps move the conversation away from "How intelligent is this person?" towards "How does this person learn best?"

A cognitive assessment can provide valuable information for:

• Understanding learning strengths and challenges.
• Identifying cognitive factors contributing to everyday difficulties.
• Supporting neurodevelopmental assessments such as autism or ADHD.
• Informing educational, workplace or therapeutic recommendations.
• Guiding reasonable adjustments and practical support.
• Career and vocational planning.
• Building confidence through a better understanding of individual strengths.

Following the assessment you'll receive a comprehensive written report that includes:

• A detailed explanation of your cognitive profile.
• Clear descriptions of your strengths and areas of difficulty.
• Interpretation of the assessment findings.
• Practical recommendations for education, employment or daily life.
• Suggestions for appropriate support where required.

Our reports are written in clear, accessible language and are designed to help individuals, families and professionals understand what the results mean in everyday life.

At Neuro Insight, we believe a cognitive assessment should never be reduced to a single IQ score.

Our focus is on understanding how you think, learn and solve problems, recognising that every cognitive profile is unique. By identifying both strengths and challenges, we can provide practical recommendations that help individuals flourish in education, work and everyday life.

The Neurosequential Assessment is one of the most comprehensive ways of understanding how early experiences have shaped the developing brain and how this influences emotions, behaviour, learning and relationships today.

Based on the Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics (NMT®), developed by Dr Bruce Perry and colleagues, this assessment looks beyond diagnoses and symptoms to understand how the brain developed over time.

Rather than asking "What's wrong?" the assessment asks:

"How did this brain develop, and what does it need now?"

Children and adults who have experienced adversity often present with behaviours that appear confusing, challenging or inconsistent.

Traditional assessments frequently describe what someone is struggling with.

A Neurosequential Assessment helps explain why.

It explores how experiences such as:

• early neglect
• abuse or trauma
• disrupted attachment
• foster care or adoption
• medical trauma
• chronic stress
• neurodevelopmental differences

may have influenced brain development at different stages of life.

Understanding these developmental experiences often changes how families, schools and professionals respond.

The brain develops from the bottom up.

Basic survival systems develop first, followed by emotional systems and finally the thinking brain responsible for reasoning, planning and self-control.

When early life is safe and predictable, these systems develop in sequence.

When development is interrupted by significant stress or adversity, the brain adapts to survive. This can leave some systems overactive while others have fewer opportunities to fully develop.

This is why children who appear bright and capable may still struggle with:

• emotional regulation
• impulsivity
• attention
• relationships
• sensory processing
• learning
• transitions
• feeling safe

These behaviours are often adaptations rather than deliberate choices.

Every assessment combines multiple sources of information to build a comprehensive picture of development, including:

Pregnancy, birth, early milestones, attachment experiences, education, health and significant life events.

Understanding the relationships that have supported development, alongside experiences of adversity or disruption.

Consideration of autism, ADHD, FASD and other neurodevelopmental differences where appropriate.

Where appropriate, we may include measures such as:

• Heart Rate Variability (HRV)
• Balance
• Eye tracking
• Other physiological indicators

These measures provide additional information about regulation and nervous system functioning.

Relevant developmental, trauma, sensory, executive functioning and behavioural questionnaires are selected according to each individual's presentation.

Unlike many assessments that conclude with a diagnosis, the Neurosequential Assessment provides a roadmap for intervention.

One of the central principles of Bruce Perry's Neurosequential Model is that the sequence of intervention matters.

Children cannot reliably access reasoning, learning or behaviour strategies when their nervous system is in survival mode.

Instead, intervention should generally follow the sequence:

Regulate → Relate → Reason

By understanding where the greatest developmental needs lie, we can recommend interventions that match the needs of the brain—not simply the behaviour being observed.

The Neurosequential Assessment is particularly valuable for children, young people and adults who have experienced:

• Developmental trauma
• Abuse or neglect
• Foster care or adoption
• Early separation from caregivers
• Medical trauma
• School exclusion or repeated placement breakdown
• Emotional dysregulation
• Complex behavioural needs
• Co-occurring neurodevelopmental conditions such as autism, ADHD or FASD

It is equally valuable for professionals seeking a shared formulation that helps everyone understand the person through the same developmental lens.

Following the assessment you will receive:

• A comprehensive Neurosequential Assessment report.
• An individualised Brain Map illustrating areas of relative strength and developmental need.
• A clear explanation of how early experiences have influenced current functioning.
• Practical recommendations for home, school, work or therapeutic settings.
• A prioritised intervention plan based on the principles of the Neurosequential Model.

Where appropriate, recommendations may include sensory regulation, relationship-based approaches, environmental adaptations, therapeutic interventions and strategies to strengthen specific areas of development.

At Neuro Insight we believe that behaviour makes sense once we understand the developing brain.

The Neurosequential Assessment helps move conversations away from:

"What's wrong with this child?"

towards

"What happened, how did the brain adapt, and what does it need now?"

When we understand the brain's developmental story, we can respond with greater compassion, more effective support and interventions that work with the brain rather than against it.

(Independent Clinical Psychology Service)

This service is  available only to foster carers, adoptive families, agencies, and social services outside of Guernsey.

This is not a fostering or adoption approval assessment and does not replace statutory social work processes. It is a specialist clinical psychology consultation designed to support families caring for children who have experienced early adversity, trauma, disrupted caregiving, or developmental complexity.

Fostering and adoption journeys are shaped by children’s early experiences. When early adversity impacts development, behaviour can often be misunderstood as defiance, opposition, or poor parenting.

This assessment provides a developmentally-informed psychological formulation to help carers and professionals understand:

• How early experiences may have shaped brain development
   
• Patterns of regulation and stress response
   
• Attachment and relational needs
   
• Neurodevelopmental factors (where relevant)
   
• Areas of strength and resilience
   
• Priorities for intervention and support
   

The aim is to move beyond behaviour-focused explanations toward a clear developmental formulation and practical roadmap for support.

Assessments are informed by the Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics (NMT), developed by Dr Bruce Perry.

NMT provides a framework for understanding how the brain develops in response to experience, particularly early stress and trauma. It helps identify:

• Regulation needs
   
• Relational patterns
   
• Developmental gaps
   
• Strengths and resilience
   

Recommendations are sequenced in a developmentally appropriate way, prioritising safety and regulation first, then attachment and relational connection, and later cognitive and behavioural support.

This service focuses on understanding the child’s developmental profile and support needs.

The process typically includes:

• Review of developmental, trauma, and placement history
   
• Caregiver consultation interview
   
• Analysis of stress and regulation patterns
   
• Developmental and neurobiological formulation
   
• NMT-informed recommendations
   
• Written report with a practical intervention roadmap
   

The focus is on equipping caregivers and professionals with a clear, compassionate understanding of the child’s needs.

Where helpful, follow-up consultation or periodic review can be offered to:

• Monitor progress
   
• Refine recommendations
   
• Support caregivers
   
• Help services maintain a developmentally-informed plan
   

To avoid any confusion with statutory processes:

• This service does not provide fostering or adoption approval assessments.
   
• It does not replace statutory viability, Form F, or court-directed social work assessments.
   
• It is provided independently through Neuro Insight.
   
• It is intended for UK and international families, agencies, and professionals outside of Guernsey.
   

Trauma can affect far more than memories.

It can change how we feel, think, relate to others and experience the world around us. Many people describe feeling constantly on alert, emotionally overwhelmed, disconnected from others or unable to move on from experiences that happened months—or even years—ago.

Our PTSD Assessment is designed to provide a clear understanding of whether trauma is contributing to your current difficulties and, importantly, what support is most likely to help.

PTSD is about much more than experiencing a traumatic event.

Two people may live through the same experience but respond very differently, depending on factors such as previous life experiences, childhood adversity, support networks and individual resilience.

Our assessment explores not only what happened, but also how those experiences have affected your nervous system, relationships and everyday life.

This provides a more meaningful understanding than symptom checklists alone.

We take time to understand your life story, including significant traumatic experiences, current symptoms and the impact these have had on your relationships, work, education and emotional wellbeing.

The assessment is always conducted at a pace that feels safe and respectful. You will never be expected to disclose more than you feel comfortable sharing.

Where appropriate, we use validated assessment measures, including:

• PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5)
• Trauma History Questionnaire
• Additional trauma or dissociation measures where clinically indicated

These tools are interpreted alongside the clinical interview—they are never used in isolation.

Where appropriate, a cognitive assessment may also be included to help understand how trauma may be affecting attention, memory, concentration and executive functioning, and to identify individual strengths that can support recovery.

One of the strengths of our assessment is that it provides a clinical formulation, not simply a diagnosis.

We consider:

• The nature and timing of traumatic experiences.
• Current PTSD symptoms.
• Childhood adversity and attachment experiences.
• Protective factors and resilience.
• Neurodevelopmental differences such as autism or ADHD where relevant.
• Factors that may be maintaining current difficulties.

This holistic understanding helps explain not only what is happening, but why.

Following the assessment you will receive a comprehensive report including:

• Diagnostic conclusions where appropriate.
• A clear explanation of your presentation.
• An individualised psychological formulation.
• Recommendations for treatment and ongoing support.
• Practical advice for managing symptoms in everyday life.

Reports are written in clear, accessible language and can be shared with your GP, insurer or other healthcare professionals if required.

Recovery from trauma is possible.

Where appropriate, recommendations may include:

• Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR)
• Trauma-focused Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (TF-CBT or CBT for PTSD)
• Stabilisation and emotional regulation strategies
• Sensory regulation approaches
• Further psychological or psychiatric assessment where indicated

Recommendations are tailored to your individual circumstances, recognising that there is no single approach that works for everyone.

At Neuro Insight, trauma is understood through a developmental and neurobiological lens.

Alongside extensive experience in trauma assessment, Nigel Humphrey is an EMDR Europe Accredited Practitioner with specialist expertise in developmental trauma, attachment difficulties and the interaction between trauma and neurodevelopmental conditions such as autism, ADHD and Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder.

This broader perspective allows us to distinguish between PTSD, complex trauma, neurodevelopmental differences and situations where these overlap—leading to more accurate assessments and more meaningful recommendations.

Trauma can leave people feeling confused, overwhelmed and unsure why they continue to react in certain ways long after the danger has passed.

Our aim is not simply to determine whether you meet the criteria for PTSD, but to help you understand how your experiences have shaped your nervous system, identify your strengths and provide a clear, evidence-based pathway towards recovery.

Choosing a career path is not simply about interests or qualifications. For many young people — particularly those with neurodevelopmental differences, learning needs, or early adversity — successful transition into education, training, or employment depends on understanding their cognitive profile, adaptive functioning, emotional regulation, and real-world support needs.

The Vocational Profile & Transition Assessment provides a psychologically-informed understanding of a young person’s readiness for employment, training, or further education, and helps families, schools, and services plan realistic and supportive pathways into adulthood.

This assessment is particularly helpful for:

• Neurodivergent young people (ADHD, autism, learning differences, FASD)
   
• Care-experienced young people
   
• Young people with developmental trauma histories
   
• Individuals approaching school-leaving age or college transition
   
• Services planning supported employment or independence pathways
   
• Situations where there is uncertainty about “what next”
   

The assessment integrates multiple areas of functioning that influence vocational success, including:

• Cognitive strengths and learning profile
   
• Executive functioning and organisation skills
   
• Adaptive functioning and independence skills
   
• Emotional regulation and stress tolerance
   
• Social understanding and workplace communication
   
• Sensory needs and environmental fit
   
• Motivation, interests, and identity development
   
• Impact of neurodevelopmental differences or trauma history
   

Rather than focusing only on career “choices,” the assessment looks at capacity, readiness, and environment fit.

A clear, practical report outlining:

• A summary of the young person’s vocational strengths
   
• Areas requiring support or scaffolding
   
• Readiness for employment, college, or training pathways
   
• Recommendations for reasonable adjustments or support
   
• Suggestions for realistic next steps
   
• Guidance for parents, schools, and professionals
   

Where relevant, findings can be integrated with:

• Cognitive assessments (e.g., WAIS/WISC)
   
• Neurodevelopmental assessments (ADHD / autism)
   
• Adaptive functioning measures
   
• Neurosequential or developmental formulation
   

The aim of this assessment is to help systems move from:

“What job should they do?”

to

“What conditions will help them succeed?”

By clarifying strengths, vulnerabilities, and support needs, the assessment helps reduce unrealistic expectations, prevent placement breakdown, and support more sustainable transitions into adulthood.

The assessment typically includes:

• Background information review
   
• Clinical interview
   
• Standardised measures where appropriate
   
• Collaborative feedback
   
• Written report
   

It can be completed as a stand-alone assessment or as an add-on to a broader NeuroInsight psychological assessment.