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What To Expect
A clear pathway, without needing to know all the answers before you begin
It can be difficult to know whether you or your child need autism assessment, ADHD assessment, broader neurodivergent screening, therapy, parent support or something else entirely.
You do not need to work this out before contacting Cocoon.
The first step is usually an Initial Consultation & Planning Appointment with Dr Jill Woods, Chartered Clinical Psychologist. We discuss what is happening now, relevant history, individual strengths and support needs, and what you would most like help to understand.
From there, the next step is individually recommended rather than assuming that everyone needs the same tests or assessment package.
- What is the process for child and teen assessments?
For children and teenagers, the Initial Consultation is usually completed with a parent or guardian. This allows sensitive developmental, family, educational and wellbeing information to be discussed without placing the young person at the centre of conversations about their difficulties.
Following the consultation, you receive a brief written summary outlining the initial clinical formulation, recommendations, possible assessment or support pathways, and the relevant costs.
You can then decide whether you would like to proceed.
STAGE 1: Consultation and Planning
The Parent Initial Consultation & Planning Appointment is the usual starting point for new child and teen referrals.
We explore:
• your child's strengths and interests
• current concerns and support needs
• developmental and family history
• school or educational experiences
• emotional wellbeing and regulation
• attention and executive functioning
• social communication and relationships
• sensory, learning or neurodivergent differences
• previous assessments or professional involvement where relevant
The aim is not to begin with a label and search for problems associated with it. It is to understand the whole young person and identify the most useful next step.
STAGE 2: Screening or Assessment, where appropriate
Some children benefit from a broader neurodivergent screening and strengths profile before deciding whether formal diagnostic assessment is required.
Cocoon's Child / Teen Holistic Neurodivergent Screening & Strengths Profile considers the young person's broader developmental picture, including strengths, support needs and relevant information across home and school.
Other children may already have sufficient information to proceed to a particular diagnostic assessment pathway.
Assessment is therefore individually planned rather than automatically placing every child through the same sequence of tests.
STAGE 3: Report and Feedback
Once the agreed screening or assessment information has been gathered, the findings are integrated into a written report.
You then receive a feedback consultation to review the findings, ask questions and discuss the recommendations.
Where screening indicates that a formal autism, ADHD, AuDHD, cognitive, learning or other assessment would be useful, those options and their costs are discussed before you decide whether to proceed.
Formal assessment is not automatically required simply because screening has been completed.
STAGE 4: Formal Diagnostic Assessment, if chosen
If formal diagnostic assessment is recommended and you wish to proceed, the assessment pathway is agreed with you first.
Payment for the agreed assessment is arranged only after the pathway and costs have been reviewed with you.
The relevant appointments, questionnaires and assessment sessions are then organised.
Depending on the referral question, assessment may include developmental information, parent or individual clinical interview, school or workplace information, standardised measures, direct assessment or observation, cognitive or executive-function assessment, and other clinically appropriate information.
STAGE 5: Final Report, Feedback and Support
Following assessment, the information is brought together through clinical formulation rather than interpreting individual test scores in isolation.
A final written report is provided and a feedback consultation is arranged to discuss:
• the assessment findings
• identified strengths
• support needs
• practical recommendations
• home, school, college or workplace supports where relevant
• reasonable accommodations where appropriate
• therapy or post-identification support options where helpful
There is no obligation to continue with therapy or additional services at Cocoon. Recommendations can be shared with other professionals involved in your or your young person's care.
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2. What is different about the Cocoon approach?
Cocoon Clinical Psychology is an independent clinical psychology practice developed and led by Dr Jill Woods, a neurodivergent Chartered Clinical Psychologist.
Dr Woods works directly with each client and family throughout their Cocoon pathway. This provides continuity from initial consultation and assessment planning through to feedback, recommendations and support where required.
Assessment at Cocoon is:
Whole-person and strengths-focused
Assessment looks beyond a list of difficulties or diagnostic criteria.
The aim is to understand the person's individual pattern of strengths, differences, support needs, developmental history, environment and lived experience.
Neuroaffirmative
Neurodivergent characteristics are not approached as behaviours that simply need to be corrected or normalised.
Where a person is experiencing distress, difficulty or reduced participation, assessment considers what may be contributing to that experience and what changes, accommodations, skills or supports may genuinely help.
Individually planned
Not everyone needs the same assessment battery.
The assessment pathway is selected according to the person, the referral question and the information already available.
This helps avoid unnecessary assessment while allowing relevant areas to be explored in greater depth where clinically appropriate.
Clinically integrated
Questionnaires and test scores provide useful information, but they are only one part of psychological assessment.
Findings are considered alongside developmental history, lived experience, observation, functional impact, strengths, contextual information and relevant clinical evidence.
Designed to lead somewhere useful
A good assessment should do more than provide a name for an experience.
Reports therefore include individualised recommendations and practical next steps for the person and, where relevant, their family, school, college, workplace or other professionals.
Accessible for children and young people
Where appropriate, children and teenagers can receive developmentally accessible information about their own profile and strengths.
Parents can also receive guidance about talking with their child about autism, ADHD or other aspects of neurodivergence in a respectful and developmentally appropriate way.
Support after assessment
Some people simply need assessment and recommendations. Others may benefit from parent consultation, therapy, school support, accommodation guidance, psychoeducation or post-identification support.
Any additional support is optional and is discussed according to individual need.
Not sure where to start?
You do not need to know which assessment to request before making contact. An Initial Consultation & Planning Appointment is designed to help clarify the most appropriate next step.
3. How much will Diagnostic Assessment Cost?
Assessment costs depend on the referral question and the amount of assessment required. Cocoon is a specialist, tailored assessment and intervention service.
Consultation with Dr Woods' aims to make this as transparent as possible. You will be told the recommended pathway and relevant fees before deciding whether to proceed at any stage of the process.
Current guide fees include:
Initial Consultation & Planning Appointment: €195
Comprehensive Adult Neurodivergence Screening & Strengths Profile: €600 [A portion of this fee may be credited towards subsequent diagnostic assessment when this proceeds within three months]
Child / Teen Holistic Neurodivergent Screening & Strengths Profile: €1,050 [A portion of this fee may be credited towards subsequent diagnostic assessment when this proceeds within three months]
Adult or Child / Teen ADHD Assessment: €1,450
Adult Autism Identification: €1,400 Standard / €1,800 Comprehensive
Child / Teen Autism Diagnostic Assessment: €2,200 Core / €2,650 with Cognitive / Executive Functioning Profile
Adult or Child Comprehensive AuDHD Assessment: €2,800
Additional cognitive, learning or executive-function assessment may be recommended where clinically appropriate.
Rather than trying to select an assessment pathway yourself, the specialist initial consultation process helps identify which assessment pathway is most appropriate for you or your child, which areas would be useful to explore in greater depth, and which assessments may not be necessary.
The aim is to build a clinically meaningful understanding of the person's individual profile of strengths, differences, support needs and current concerns, while avoiding unnecessary assessment and cost wherever possible.
Why can assessment costs differ?
Cocoon provides a holistic tailored service, rather than a menu of narrowly-focused set packages. We will never sell you anything you do not need! and you do not need to know what you need in advance.
Two people asking the same initial question may need very different assessment pathways.
Factors that can affect assessment planning include:
• age and developmental history
• previous assessments or reports
• complexity of the referral question
• whether autism, ADHD, AuDHD or wider neurodivergence needs to be explored
• cognitive or learning questions
• giftedness or twice-exceptionality
• school, college or workplace support needs
• whether additional professional information is required
• the type and detail of written documentation required
Any assessment recommended by Dr Jill Woods will be discussed in detail with you before you agree to proceed.
Fees are subject to change. The Fees & Assessment Pathways page contains Cocoon's current assessment fees and should be used as the main price guide.
VIEW CURRENT FEES & ASSESSMENT PATHWAYS