Many adults arrive at an assessment already bracing. They expect a battery of tests, right and wrong answers, or a demand to prove they are autistic. That is not how I approach this. An adult autism assessment is a process of understanding. We look at patterns that have been present throughout your life and ask whether autism is the best explanation for those patterns.
I work with adults across California who want a careful evaluation, not a questionnaire score and a label. The aim is a clearer picture of how you have experienced the world — and, whenever possible, practical ideas for what might make life more workable.
Ready to get started or have questions?
You are not sure what actually happens in the room, even a video room
You worry there are right answers, and that you will give the wrong ones
You have scored high on an online questionnaire and still do not trust it
You have spent years rehearsing conversations, studying reactions, and reminding yourself to make eye contact
You have scored low, and you wonder if that ends the question
You have friends, a job, a relationship — and you still suspect autism
You are afraid you mask so well that no one will be able to tell
You want someone who will talk with you, not only score you
If several of these feel familiar, you are not a difficult candidate. You are an adult. A thoughtful assessment has to be built for that.
Autism is a developmental condition. I am interested not only in how you are functioning today, but in how you have experienced the world across your life. That is one reason a careful adult assessment cannot be reduced to a questionnaire or a single test score.
In my practice the assessment takes place over three individual telehealth meetings. We talk in considerable depth, beginning with childhood and continuing through adolescence and adulthood. Friendships and social relationships. Communication. Sensory experience. Routines. Interests. Emotional experience. Work or school. Intimate relationships.
I am not simply asking whether you had difficulty in these areas. I am asking about the particular way you experienced them. Someone may have had friends throughout life and still be autistic. The useful questions are how those friendships developed, how easily you understood what others expected, how much effort social interaction required, and whether maintaining relationships felt natural or took considerable conscious effort.
This matters especially with adults. Many autistic adults have become skilled at adapting. They have learned social rules intellectually that other people seem to understand intuitively. They rehearse conversations, study other people’s reactions, imitate successful social behavior, or remind themselves to make eye contact or ask certain questions. From the outside they may look comfortable. Internally the experience can be quite different.
That is why watching someone for a short time is rarely enough. If you have become good at masking, we can talk about the masking. We are not only observing how you behave in the meetings. We are exploring what happens internally, what you had to learn consciously, what still requires effort, and what life was like before those strategies existed.
I use standardized questionnaires developed to identify characteristics commonly associated with autism. They provide useful information. I do not consider them diagnostic by themselves. A high score does not necessarily mean someone is autistic. A lower score does not automatically rule autism out. The questionnaires sit alongside your developmental history, your current experience, and the patterns that emerge in our conversations.
When possible, I also gather information from someone who knows you well — a spouse, partner, parent, sibling, or another person who has observed you over time. I usually do this through a written questionnaire. The purpose is not to have someone else decide whether you are autistic. It is to add a perspective. Sometimes another person remembers things you have not thought about in years. Sometimes their observations show how a pattern looks from the outside.
You complete standardized measures online before we meet at length. They help me know where to look. They do not settle the question on their own.
Over three video sessions we cover childhood through adulthood: friendships, communication, sensory experience, routines, interests, emotions, work or school, and intimate relationships. The detail matters more than a yes-or-no checklist.
We look at what you learned to do, what still costs effort, and what other people do not see. Social comfort on the outside is not treated as proof that autism is absent.
A written questionnaire from someone who knows you can add memory and an outside view. It is not a vote. If no one is available, the assessment can still proceed.
We meet to discuss my conclusions. I explain what I learned, how I arrived there, and what I think it means for you, with time for questions. For many people this conversation is one of the most valuable parts of the process, because it looks at a life as a whole. The full roadmap is on my adult autism assessment page.
You should leave with more than a label. You should leave with a clearer understanding of yourself and, whenever possible, practical ideas about what might make life easier or more fulfilling.
Three individual telehealth meetings, not a single scored test
Optional written input from someone who knows you
Questionnaires used as information, never as the diagnosis
Room to describe rehearsal, imitation, and other masking strategies
Questions about how experiences felt, not only whether they happened
A feedback session that explains the reasoning and leaves time for questions
The purpose is not simply a yes or no. If autism is the best explanation, I want you to understand why. If it is not, I want us to think carefully about what might explain your experience better.
I’m Kenneth Roberson, PhD, a clinical psychologist specializing in adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder. I specialize in adult assessment and therapy for ASD and offer care exclusively via telehealth within California.
Telehealth only (no in-office visits)
Licensed in California only
Whether you’re seeking targeted skill-building, help navigating work or relationships, or a space to better understand yourself, therapy can help.
A: Yes. All assessment meetings are by secure video. You can complete the process from anywhere in California.
A: No. This is not a test you pass by appearing autistic, or fail by having friends and a job. We are trying to understand lifelong patterns.
A: Masking is something we can discuss. I am interested in what you do internally, what requires effort, and what life was like before those strategies.
A: I am private pay only. I am happy to provide a superbill for potential out-of-network reimbursement.
A: Yes. You leave with a clear conclusion, an explanation of how I reached it, and recommendations you can use. Details of the written process are on my adult autism assessment page.
If you have been postponing an assessment because you do not know what you would be walking into, I can walk you through it. I work with adults across California by secure telehealth. The goal is understanding — of the patterns, and of you — not a performance.
You do not have to prove anything. You do have to be willing to talk about a whole life, not only the hardest week.
Ready to get started or have questions?