Neurodivergence Assessments for Adults
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This list was put together by Neurodivergent Insights, which is run by Dr Megan Neff, a neurodivergent (Autistic-ADHD) psychologist, parent, and educator. She creates mental health and wellness resources with the neurodivergent person in mind.
-paraphrased from website
I really like and recommend her content. It’s accessible and easy to understand even with complicated topics and is rooted in intersectionality, neurodiversity affirming.
I can’t speak to anything about cost/insurance etc of any of these providers.
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Neurodiversity Autism diagnoses
Curated by autistic psychologists, these tests can help identify autistic folks by considering the patterns in how they think (cognition), how they view/see/hear their world (perception), and how they act (behavior). Many adults get a diagnosis later in life, called late diagnosed, because their autistic traits were missed by schools/teachers/family etc. Masking and gender bias both play large roles in why folks don’t get a diagnosis earlier.
They offer formal asessments and screenings as well as the initial testing they’ve curated. If you’re hoping to work with the specific psychologists, they recommend taking a certain set of six tests towards the bottom of the page.
This is what they say overall about their asessments:
“Our autism/AuDHD assessment can result in a
better understanding of yourself. A psychologist or naturopathic assessment may also help you capitalize on your strengths and help you improve
challenging areas of your life.It can also help your partner(s), colleagues, friends,
and family better understand your strengths and
unique qualities. And if a formal diagnosis applies,
you may be eligible to receive accommodations
and/or access to local resources to assist you.” -
Learn more about the strengths of many autistic folks. The website creator is an autistic psychologist who is neurodiversity affirming and approaches assesments and tests for autism/adhd and co-occuring conditions as ways to to understand oneself deeper.
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Getting tested for autism and how to prepare by Guava Health
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Dr Megan Neff, an neurodivergent (Autistic-ADHD) psychologist, parent, and educator, puts together these infographics about common misdiagnosis around neurodivergence and breaks down the different experiences. I really like her content.
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“When I began the college application process as a teenager with a chronic illness, I was lost. After two years of medical chaos, during which college would have been deemed an impossibility, my conditions stabilized under the care of a new team of doctors. I was and am not healthy by any means, but I eased into my new normal and a new treatment plan. As I did, I realized that outside of my health, something else had changed: I could now go to college.”
-from article
College & Higher Education
Scholarships for Art students
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“The Jack K. and Gertrude Murphy Award and the Edwin Anthony and Adalaine Boudreaux Cadogan Scholarships help fuel the forward-thinking visual arts movement that makes the Bay Area unique. These awards were established in 1986 and are designed to further the development of Bay Area master of fine arts students and to foster the exploration of their artistic potential. The winners of the Murphy Award and the Cadogan Scholarships receive financial awards (award amounts to be determined when applications reopen). Each winner also has their work displayed in a professionally curated exhibition at SOMArts Cultural Center.”
-from their website
Applications likely reopen next March
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They offer several, listed below:
Scholarship and Residency at Banff
Fellowship at Diaspora Dialogues
Fellowship at the Institute of American Indian Arts
Tin House Summer Workshop.
Polk and Shields Foundation Scholarship in Creative Writing at University of Toronto
“The Carol Shields Prize Foundation Scholarship and Residency at Banff Centre
The Scholarship, for a BIPOC woman or non-binary writer, supports tuition, accommodation, and a meal plan, allowing a writer to attend a Literary Arts residency program at Banff Centre in Alberta, Canada”—-from their website
Not sure when new applications re open
“The Carol Shields Prize Foundation Fellowship at Diaspora Dialogues
This Fellowship provides financial support to a woman or non-binary BIPOC writer who is a refugee or new immigrant to Canada. The stipend is intended to provide opportunity for a writer to create, freer from financial constraints. As a part of the Fellowship, the recipient will also receive the support of a mentor to provide structured feedback on their work, as well as access to Diaspora Dialogues’ suite of professional development training and networking events. The Carol Shields Prize Foundation and Diaspora Dialogues are deeply grateful to the M.A. Faris Foundation for supporting this Fellowship”
Sana’a Jaber- Inaugural winner interview
The Carol Shields Prize Foundation Fellowship at the Institute of American Indian Arts
Junior and Senior year of BFA
“The Carol Shields Prize Foundation Fellowship at the Institute of American Indian ArtsFounded on October 1, 1962, the Institute of American Indian Arts offers academic excellence to both Native and non-Native populations. The goal of IAIA is empowerment through education, economic self-sufficiency, and expression and enhancement of artistic and cultural traditions. The Fellowship supports a woman or non-binary BIPOC writer from the U.S. or Canada enrolled in the Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Creative Writing program to support their junior and senior years of study.”
Sarah Camille Chiago is Inaugural winner
“The Carol Shields Prize Foundation Scholarship for Indigenous Women and Non-Binary Writers
The Scholarship supports a writer’s attendance at the Tin House Summer Workshop. The award covers full tuition, room and board, and a travel stipend.”
“The Jim Polk/Carol Shields Prize Foundation Scholarship in Creative WritingThe Scholarship supports a woman or non-binary writer in the Master of Arts in Creative Writing program at the University of Toronto. The aim of the scholarship is to support the growth of writers from traditionally underrepresented groups. The Carol Shields Prize Foundation and the University of Toronto are deeply grateful to Jim Polk for supporting this Scholarship.”
More residencies below:
https://carolshieldsprizeforfiction.com/programs/#scholarships
Undergrad Scholarships
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NBCUniversal Tony Coelho Media Scholarship
“The NBCUniversal Tony Coelho Media Scholarship will offer eight (8) scholarships to be used in the Fall semester of 2025. High school seniors, undergraduate, and graduate students with disabilities who are pursuing careers in media, communications, or entertainment industries that will be enrolled in college or a university during Fall 2025 are eligible. Each recipient will receive $5,625 to help cover the cost of education at their college or university.”
-from website.
They offer it yearly.
Technology and Access
Accessible learning resources
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General accessible tools for learning available on microsoft.
This page includes accessibility features for all Microsoft Windows and Microsoft 365 users. Many of which support those with learning disabilities, dyslexia or anyone trying to learn with their software.
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Legal Obligations for Digital Accessibility
“What is this resource about? This resource discusses the legal obligations of postsecondary institutions with respect to the accessibility of digital learning materials and provides Policy Guidance for trying to ensure that digital content, online delivery systems, and technologies are accessible for students with disabilities.”
-from their website
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If you use microsoft software, this is a good resource for ways to make it more accessible around neurodivergence. I’ve found it pretty helpful.
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This is written Rabbi Shoshana Meira Friedman, an autistic PDA educator and parent.
“PDA children (and adults) need a different approach. We need a life that allows us large amounts of autonomy, control, and social equality, as well as co-regulation to support our hypervigilant nervous systems. If we don’t get this, PDAers will eventually have trouble meeting one or more survival needs: eating, sleeping, hygiene, toileting, safety, and connection to loved ones. This is PDA burnout.
As I explain to my clients and community members, we accommodate the underlying nervous system disability, and wellness will follow.”
-from her website
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Everybody Communicates a detailed guide by Autistic Self Advocacy Network on how to get communication assessments, funding, and accommodations. This could be helpful for autistic adults, parents of autistic children, autistic young people trying to navigate the educations ystems.
Accommodation Ideas
Free learning platforms
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Coursera is a free global platform providing online courses and degrees from major universities and companies for anyone, anywhere in the world. You can get free individual classes as well as bachelors and masters programs and professional certificates. There are also paid classes and certificates as well but it seems like there’s a lot you can get out of it before having to pay.
I haven’t personally finished any courses on them though I’ve started, but that’s more because chronic illness and before I really understood any of my access needs.
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Khan Academy is an all ages personalized learning resource that offers practice exercises, videos, and a tailored dashboard. Covering K-college subjects like math, science, reading, computing, history, art, economics, financial literacy, SAT, and MCAT, it emphasizes skill mastery to prepare learners for higher education and careers.
—Paraphrased from their website
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UDEMY is also an online learning platform with extensive free classes especially tech , businesses and coding related. This is the link to their free options. For the larger collection of classes and certificates, you do have to have a membership starting at 14.
I’ve not used this platform since their classes don’t really align for me with my learning goals but I know its often suggested on lists of free paltforms.
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Archive.org is part of the Wayback Machine. It has a large library including digital books, audio and tv and movies. Open Library is also one of its projects
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“Bookshare is the world’s largest collection of accessible ebooks. Members can access over 1.4 million titles and read in ways that work for them with easy-to-read, accessible formats. The collection includes books for school, career, and reading pleasure, as well as titles in over 40 languages. The collection is supported by partnerships with over 1,000 US and international publishers and a dedicated volunteer community.”
-from website
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Libby is a free digital library app where you can read books/audiobooks as long as you have a valid library card. You can checkout books for free though there is a time limit how long you can have them and you can only checkout what is available at your local library.
I’ve started using it recently and have been enjoying it so far.
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“Library Genesis, commonly called LibGen, is a free alternative to Z-Library. It’s also among the most popular ebook-sharing sites.”
from their website
I haven’t personally used it so according to a review:
Legally grey and had legal challenges in some countries. Quality depends on the user who uploaded. They have no download limits. They have ebooks, scholarly articles, comics as well as others. Their user interface is supposedly a bit clunky. They have many out of print materials. Multiple file formats.
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Librivox is a volunteer run library of audiobooks. Volunteers read and record public domain texts. They partner with Project Gutenberg, where they get many of their texts. Project Gutenberg has free ebooks for ones where the US copyright has expired. They preserve many historical books and documents. It is also volunteer run
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“Open textbooks are licensed by authors and publishers to be freely used and adapted. Download, edit and distribute them at no cost.We define an open textbook as one that has an open license that makes it free for anyone to use and change. It can be print or digital.”
-their website
I haven’t used this one personally but seems pretty cool.
Free Library and Book Apps
Self Advocacy
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Learn about what your rights are according to the ADA. Not all of it is specific to education but many parts apply and if you’re able its a good idea to have an accessible guide like this handy even if its just a reference when needed. Autistic Self Advocacy Network created the guide.
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Under Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, there are 13 disability categories for students to qualify for an IEP (individualized learning plan).
The article uses the term ‘special needs’ which is not a term I personally like but Emily Ladau referenced it in her book Demystifying Disability, and I trust her research that the content could be helpful.
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“ASAN partnered with the Family Network on Disabilities to produce Roadmap to Transition: A Handbook for Autistic Youth Transitioning to Adulthood. This plain language handbook was created to help young autistic people understand and plan for their transition to adult life.”
-from their website
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