Starting With a Free Triage Call
The adult autism assessment pathway begins the same way as our ADHD pathway: a free, unhurried triage call with a psychologist. This conversation gives you a chance to describe what has led you to consider an assessment, ask questions about cost and format, and get a feel for how our team works before committing to anything further.
Some adults have thought about autism assessment for years before making this call. Others are newer to the idea, perhaps prompted by a friend, a family member's diagnosis, or something they read that resonated unexpectedly. Either way, there is no expectation that you arrive with the "right" language or a fully formed case · just a willingness to talk and see whether the process feels right for you.
If it becomes clear during the call that ADHD, rather than autism, or both together, better matches your experiences, your psychologist can talk you through the alternative pathways available, including our combined assessment option, before you decide how to proceed.
The Initial Conversation
The first full appointment gathers your developmental and life history: early childhood, school, friendships, work, sensory experiences, and how you have navigated social situations across different settings. This is a conversation, not a test, and your psychologist will follow your lead where useful rather than working strictly from a script.
You are encouraged to describe things in your own words, including experiences that might feel hard to put into language. Our psychologists are used to sitting with uncertainty alongside you and helping you find the words, rather than expecting a polished answer immediately.
This conversation often draws on memories from very different periods of life, and it is entirely normal for some to be vivid and others hazy. Where useful, information from a parent, sibling, or old school report can help fill in gaps from early childhood.
What Is MIGDAS?
MIGDAS stands for the Monteiro Interview Guidelines for Diagnosing the Autism Spectrum. It is a conversational, strengths-based interview approach rather than a rigid pass-or-fail test. Instead of asking direct, closed questions, MIGDAS uses open conversation around topics like special interests, sensory experiences, and relationships, letting your natural communication style come through.
It was designed with input from autistic adults, and it deliberately avoids putting people on the spot or forcing responses into narrow categories. Our psychologists use it because it tends to feel more comfortable and produces a fuller, more accurate picture than a checklist-style interview alone, particularly for adults who have spent years masking their natural responses.
The Assessment Session in Practice
Alongside the MIGDAS interview, your psychologist will use standardised measures that look at adaptive functioning, sensory processing, and social communication style. These tools are interpreted together with your history and the interview, never in isolation, so no single score or answer determines the outcome on its own.
Sessions are delivered entirely by telehealth, Australia-wide, and pacing can be adjusted to suit you · there is no requirement to power through if you need a break. If sensory factors make certain environments difficult, let us know in advance so the session can be set up accordingly, whether that means adjusting lighting, reducing background noise, or simply allowing extra time between sections.
Feedback and Your Report
At your feedback appointment, your psychologist explains the outcome in clear, respectful language and discusses what it might mean for you day to day, including any practical strategies or supports that might be relevant to your situation.
You receive a written report afterwards that you can use to seek workplace adjustments, university support, or simply to have a documented understanding of yourself. As with our ADHD assessments, the report is yours to share, or not share, as you choose, and there is no expectation that you disclose your results to anyone you do not want to.
Preparing for Your Appointment
You do not need to prepare a formal history, though notes about early childhood from a parent or old family member can be genuinely useful, since autism assessment considers development from an early age. Let us know in advance about any sensory preferences · lighting, noise, breaks, or communication style · so we can make the session as comfortable as possible.
It can also help to think, before your appointment, about which environments and situations tend to feel easiest for you, and which feel more draining, since these observations often become useful material during the interview itself.
Why Telehealth Works Well for Autism Assessment
Delivering the assessment entirely by telehealth isn't a compromise clinically · it's often a genuine advantage. Many adults find travel, waiting rooms, or unfamiliar buildings sensorially difficult, and telehealth removes all of that: you join from a space you already find comfortable, on your own terms.
The structure of the assessment, including the MIGDAS interview and standardised measures, is identical regardless of the fact it's delivered online, so your results are not affected by attending from home.
Educational Information Only
This article is educational information only and is not a diagnostic tool; it cannot replace a full assessment with a psychologist, which remains the only reliable way to understand whether autism explains your experiences.