Licensed Educational Psychologist · LEP #4701
Jessica Craig Psych Testing · A Bespoke Concierge Practice in Hermosa Beach
ADHD Testing for Teenagers, Adolescents & Adults in the South Bay
Comprehensive ADHD evaluation for tweens, teenagers, teenage girls, adolescents, and adults in Hermosa Beach and Manhattan Beach. Specialty expertise in high-masking presentations, late-identified adults, and the teen girl profiles routinely missed by traditional settings. Serving Redondo Beach, Torrance, Palos Verdes, El Segundo, and throughout the South Bay.
Begin with a $500 Diagnostic Screening Consult — or proceed directly to a full ADHD assessment. Now booking.
When Parents Come to Me for ADHD Testing
Your teenage daughter is bright. Everyone knows it. But she is drowning in schoolwork she should be able to handle, forgetting assignments minutes after writing them down, and lying awake at night convinced she is just not trying hard enough.
Or maybe your son has been “a handful” since kindergarten — not defiant, just in constant motion, never quite landing, never quite finishing. You have heard the word ADHD before. You need to know if it actually applies to your child, your teenager, or your young adult.
A thorough ADHD evaluation answers that question. Not with an internet checklist, and not with a 15-minute pediatrician visit, but with a full clinical and neurocognitive picture of how your teenager, adolescent, or adult family member actually processes information — where the gaps are, and what will genuinely help.
Not sure if a full ADHD evaluation is the right next step?
Begin with a Diagnostic Screening Consult — a focused 90-minute clinical session with Jessica that includes targeted screening measures, clinical interview, and a clear recommendation about whether a full assessment is warranted.
Signs That ADHD Evaluation May Be the Right Step
- Bright student who underperforms — especially the adolescent or teenager whose grades drop in middle school and high school as structure decreases and self-management becomes critical
- Chronic disorganization in teenagers and tweens: lost belongings, forgotten homework, missed deadlines, despite genuine effort
- Difficulty sustaining attention on tasks requiring mental effort, but intense focus (“hyperfocus”) on preferred activities — common in both teen boys and teen girls
- Emotional dysregulation: big reactions to small frustrations, difficulty shifting gears after disappointment
- Restlessness and fidgeting (more common in adolescent boys) or quiet daydreaming and slow processing (more common in teenage girls)
- Procrastination that looks like laziness but is actually paralysis — the teenage brain cannot initiate
- Sleep difficulties: mind racing at bedtime, difficulty waking, exhaustion that compounds everything
- Adult women who masked successfully through school and college and are now struggling at work, in graduate programs, or after becoming a parent
A note about teenage girls and adult women with ADHD
Teenage girls and adult women are significantly underdiagnosed with ADHD — not because ADHD is rarer in females, but because the presentation is different. Girls and women mask, internalize, and compensate. They manage to look “fine” in structured settings while exhausting themselves doing it. By adolescence, many teenage girls with undiagnosed ADHD also carry diagnoses of anxiety or depression — because that is what chronic burnout looks like in a teenager. An evaluation can change everything.
What the ADHD Evaluation Includes
My ADHD evaluations are comprehensive — a full clinical and neurocognitive workup, not a rating scale and a conversation. Every assessment is configured around the specific referral question.
Clinical Interview
For children and adolescents, I begin with a thorough parent interview: developmental history, observations at home, what teachers have said, what has been tried, and what your specific questions are. For teenage clients and adults, I conduct a careful clinical interview of the client themselves — their history, their experience, and what brought them here.
Cognitive & Performance-Based Testing
Standardized testing measures attention, working memory, processing speed, and executive functioning — the brain systems most directly implicated in ADHD. I use current, validated instruments including the Conners Continuous Performance Test (CPT), the Brown Executive Function/Attention Scales (Brown EF/A), and the Cognitive Assessment System (CAS2).
Rating Scales — Multiple Informants
I gather behavioral data from multiple sources: parent rating scales (Conners 4, BASC-3), teacher rating scales for children and adolescents, and — for teenagers and adults — self-report measures. ADHD looks different at home than at school, and different at work than in the rest of life. Multiple perspectives matter.
Academic Achievement Screening
ADHD frequently co-occurs with learning disabilities. I screen academic skills to ensure no reading or math disability is hiding beneath the attention profile.
Emotional & Social Functioning
Anxiety, depression, trauma, and autism spectrum traits all look like ADHD. I assess emotional and social functioning so we can be certain about what we are and are not seeing — and so the report tells the whole story.
Two Ways to Begin Your ADHD Evaluation
Diagnostic Screening Consult
90-minute focused clinical consultation with targeted ADHD screening measures and a clear recommendation about whether full assessment is warranted. The $500 credits toward your full evaluation if you proceed.
Full ADHD Evaluation
Comprehensive ADHD assessment: clinical interview, cognitive and performance-based testing, multi-informant rating scales, integrated written report, and feedback session. Pricing reflects scope and complexity.
Both options include direct work with Jessica — no associates, no handoffs. Superbills provided for PPO out-of-network reimbursement. See full Services & Fees page for all assessment packages including comprehensive psychoeducational, autism, learning disability, and gifted/2e tiers.
What You Receive
A comprehensive written report that explains findings in plain language and tells you exactly what to do. Not a document full of test scores that collects dust — a practical roadmap including:
- Diagnosis and clinical interpretation
- Specific school recommendations for adolescent and teenage clients: classroom accommodations, IEP eligibility, 504 plan guidance
- Workplace and ADA accommodation documentation for adult clients
- Evidence-based home strategies tailored to your child, your teenager, or your own life
- Medication considerations and next steps if a psychiatric evaluation is appropriate
- Referrals for any additional services identified during evaluation
- A dedicated feedback session walking through findings and recommendations
Why Families Choose Dr. Craig for ADHD Testing
I am a Licensed Educational Psychologist (LEP #4701) with a PPS Credential in School Psychology and dual master’s degrees in Clinical Psychology and Education. Before specializing in evaluation, I worked as a clinical mental health therapist and as an ERMHS counselor in South Bay high schools — sitting with real teenagers in real distress.
I have also navigated this process as a parent of neurodivergent teenagers. I know what it feels like to sit on the other side of the table — to hope that someone will finally see what you have been seeing, and to need that evaluation to actually change something at school and at home.
That dual perspective shapes everything. I do not just identify whether your teenager meets diagnostic criteria. I help you understand why she is struggling, what is driving it, and what will actually help.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does an ADHD evaluation take?
A full ADHD evaluation typically takes 8-12 hours of professional time spread across 2-3 appointments, with results delivered 4-6 weeks after testing concludes (adult clients) or 6-8 weeks (children and adolescents). The Diagnostic Screening Consult is a single 90-minute session with a recommendation typically provided within 1-2 weeks.
Can teenage girls have ADHD even if they get good grades?
Yes. Teenage girls with ADHD often mask their difficulties effectively in structured school settings while struggling intensely with the underlying executive function challenges at home or in less structured environments. Many high-achieving teenage girls have undiagnosed inattentive-type ADHD that is later identified when academic demands increase in middle school, high school, or college.
What is the difference between the $500 Diagnostic Screening Consult and a full ADHD evaluation?
The Diagnostic Screening Consult is a 90-minute focused clinical session with targeted ADHD screening measures and a clear recommendation about whether full assessment is warranted. The full ADHD evaluation (from $1,800) includes comprehensive cognitive and performance-based testing, multi-informant rating scales, academic screening, an integrated written report, and a feedback session. The $500 screening fee credits toward the full evaluation if you proceed.
Do you take insurance for ADHD testing?
Jessica Craig Psych Testing is a private-pay practice. Superbills are provided for clients with PPO out-of-network mental health benefits to submit for reimbursement. Many PPO plans reimburse a significant portion of evaluation costs. HMO plans (such as Kaiser) typically do not provide out-of-network reimbursement.
Will my child's school accept your ADHD evaluation for an IEP or 504 plan?
Yes. Reports include diagnostic conclusions and specific school recommendations written for IEP teams and 504 plan committees. As a former contracted school psychologist for South Bay districts including MBUSD, RBUSD, Torrance USD, and PVPUSD, Jessica writes reports that hold up at IEP meetings and produce concrete services and accommodations.
Schedule a Free 15-Minute Consultation
No commitment required. Jessica speaks personally with every prospective client to determine fit, answer questions, and walk through next steps.