For Adults Who Have Wondered About This for a Long Time
Most adults who come to us for an autism evaluation are not new to the question. They have been circling it for years, sometimes since a friend or a therapist said something offhand, sometimes since an article described their inner life a little too accurately.
The reason it took this long is usually the same. They were bright, they worked hard, and they figured out how to pass. They studied conversations the way other people study for exams. They learned which jokes to laugh at, how long to hold eye contact, and how to recover after a social day by disappearing for the evening. It worked well enough that nobody raised the question, and the cost showed up somewhere else: exhaustion, anxiety, burnout, or a depression that got treated first.
Others arrive by a different door. Their child was evaluated, they sat through the feedback session, and they recognized more of themselves in it than they expected.
Nobody fits a checklist, but a few patterns come up again and again in adult evaluations:
Every evaluation is conducted by a licensed psychologist or neuropsychologist on our evaluation team, by secure video from your own home. Most adult autism evaluations take two to three testing sessions. The evaluation includes:
The diagnostic picture most people have in mind was built largely from studies of boys. Autistic women, and plenty of men too, often present differently: social interest that is real but effortful, careful imitation of peers, interests that look ordinary on the surface but run unusually deep, and a habit of holding everything together in public and falling apart at home.
That is why a quick screener so often misses it, and why so many adult women we see were treated for anxiety, depression, or an eating or mood concern first. A good evaluation has to look past the mask without assuming what is underneath. Sometimes the answer is autism. Sometimes it is ADHD, trauma, or social anxiety. Sometimes it is more than one. All of those are useful answers, because each one points to different help.
ADHD and autism overlap often, and adults who have been wondering about one have frequently wondered about the other. When both are real questions, we recommend a combined evaluation rather than assessing one thoroughly and screening the other in passing. You can read more about combined ADHD and autism evaluations for adults. If attention is the main question, see our adult ADHD evaluation page.
We would rather tell you this before you pay for anything than after.
It can include: a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder when the evidence supports it, a clear picture of your social, sensory, and adaptive strengths and difficulties, screening for the conditions that overlap with autism, and recommendations you can actually use.
It cannot currently include: a Full Scale IQ. Processing speed and other timed, motor-dependent measures are not administered by video, so we do not report a single overall IQ score. Evaluations are also available only to clients located in Texas at the time of each appointment.
If you need the report for something specific, say so on your free consultation call and we will tell you honestly whether our evaluation can document what you need.
Adults sometimes ask whether a diagnosis at 35 or 50 changes anything. For most people it does.
It gives you an accurate explanation for things you may have spent years blaming on yourself. It changes what therapy should focus on, away from trying harder at social performance and toward reducing load and protecting energy. It gives you language for conversations with a partner, a family, or an employer, and documentation if you ever want to request workplace or academic accommodations; our guide to accommodations explains how that process works. And for many people, the most important change is simply permission to stop masking in the places where it is safe to.
Adult autism evaluations are billed to Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas, Optum (UnitedHealthcare), and Oscar Health for clients located in Texas. Members pay their plan’s copay or cost share. Before anything is scheduled, we verify your benefits, handle any prior authorization your plan requires, and give you a written estimate built from your own plan’s numbers. We do not accept Medicaid or CHIP.
Self-pay. An autism evaluation is $1,750, and a combined ADHD and autism evaluation is $2,500. Each fee includes the report and feedback session, with no hourly charges added. Evaluations are HSA and FSA eligible, and we provide a superbill for possible out-of-network reimbursement. Details are on our Fees & Insurance page.
Yes. Autism does not begin in adulthood, but it is very often identified there, especially in people who compensated well enough that nobody raised the question earlier. A careful adult evaluation looks for that early history rather than assuming it away.
No. A parent, sibling, or old report cards help when they are available, but many adults are evaluated without them. We can usually build the developmental picture through a careful history, and a partner or close friend who knows you well now can add useful perspective.
Adults through age 55, as well as children 6 and older and teens. Evaluations are available to clients located in Texas.
Evaluation appointments are typically available within one week of your first call. Most adult autism evaluations take two to three testing sessions by secure video. Your written report is ready within 14 days of the final testing session, followed by a live feedback session.
No. Appointments are typically available within one week, with evening and weekend options. Adult autism evaluation waits elsewhere often run many months.
Yes, and it is one of the most common reasons adult women come to us. The evaluation looks at anxiety, depression, and trauma history alongside autism, so you leave knowing what actually explains your experience.
That is a real answer and often a useful one. Social anxiety, ADHD, trauma, and OCD can all look similar from the outside. Because the evaluation is comprehensive, we are looking at those possibilities the whole time, so you leave with an explanation either way.
Yes. When both are real questions, we recommend a combined ADHD and autism evaluation, which is $2,500 self-pay or billed to insurance for members of our in-network plans.
An autism evaluation is $1,750 self-pay, which includes the report and feedback session. For members of our in-network plans, Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas, Optum (UnitedHealthcare), and Oscar Health, the evaluation is billed to insurance instead. Evaluations are HSA and FSA eligible.
Yes, if you are located in a PSYPACT participating state at each appointment. Evaluations outside Texas are self-pay; insurance billing applies to clients located in Texas. Check your state on the official PSYPACT map.
Take the first step with a free 15-minute consultation. Call (512) 240-2633 or contact us online.
