Key takeaways
- Adult autism testing is a clinical evaluation. The diagnosis comes from an interview, your developmental history, and structured questions, because there is no medical test, such as a blood test, for autism.
- Zellig Psychiatry evaluates adults and teens 12 and older for autism across Pennsylvania, by secure video or in person.
- Online questionnaires are only a first check. They do not diagnose, and scoring high is a reason to book an evaluation.
- You finish with a feedback session and a written report. First appointments are typically available within a week or two.
Who an adult autism evaluation is for
Autism testing, for an adult living in Pennsylvania, can mean a secure video appointment from home. Zellig Psychiatry evaluates adults and teens 12 and older anywhere in the state, by secure video or in person, and our locations page lists current in-person options. The clinicians who do it are certified physician assistants who specialize in psychiatry.
In an autism evaluation, a clinician licensed in Pennsylvania decides whether your history and the way you experience the world meet the criteria for autism. Testing, evaluation, and assessment describe one process here.
An autism evaluation is open to any Pennsylvania resident aged 12 or older, including adults already diagnosed with ADHD who think they may be autistic as well. An estimated 2.21% of US adults, about 5.4 million people, had autism spectrum disorder in 2017. And some are not diagnosed until adolescence or adulthood.
What autism is, and how it shows up in adults, is covered on our autism in adults page. The diagnosis itself is a clinical judgment.
How to get tested for autism as an adult
How to get tested for autism as an adult comes down to five steps. You book first. History questionnaires go out before your first visit. The evaluation itself is either a single two-hour visit, or an intake visit followed by a separate MIGDAS-2 session. Either way, you return for a feedback session with the written report and next steps.
- Book your evaluation, or a screening consult if you are not sure a full evaluation is warranted. You leave with a date and know which evaluation and which format you are booked for.
- Complete the history questionnaires we send beforehand, and gather what you can: old school reports, or the name of someone who knew you as a child and will answer a few questions. NICE asks for early developmental history where possible, so bring what you have.
- Attend your evaluation, either as a single two-hour visit or as an intake visit followed by a separate MIGDAS-2 session.
- Take part in the MIGDAS-2 interview, a guided conversation covering how you communicate, how you handle change and routine, your sensory experience, and how all of that plays out at home and at work or school.
- Come back for the feedback session, where you receive the written report and plan next steps. The report states the diagnosis. Where the criteria are not met, it sets out what was found instead and what better explains what you have noticed. Next steps might be accommodations at work or school, treatment for something that turned up alongside, or nothing more than having the answer.
What the autism assessment involves
The autism assessment itself is a clinical interview, using the MIGDAS-2, against the DSM-5-TR criteria, the diagnostic manual clinicians work from, supported by direct observation and by your own history. NICE looks for the same things: core features present in childhood and continuing into adulthood, early developmental history where possible, and how you are functioning now.
Two things make adult assessment different from assessment in a child. The history has to be reconstructed from your own account, because the people who watched you grow up may not be available to ask. And an adult may have spent years building coping strategies that cover the traits, so those strategies are part of what a clinician sees in the room. That is why the interview covers so much ground and why other explanations have to be ruled out: autism symptoms in adults can overlap with ADHD or an anxiety disorder, and NICE asks assessors to weigh other neurodevelopmental conditions, mood disorders, and anxiety disorders before anything is settled.
Our autism in adults page explains more about how diagnosis works.
Howe Zellig evaluates autism
Our autism evaluations are built around the MIGDAS-2, the Monteiro Interview Guidelines for Diagnosing the Autism Spectrum. It is a sensory-based interview process with a dedicated version for adults who speak fluently. Instead of a script of set tasks, it is a guided conversation. We talk about your interests, how you experience sound, texture, light and routine, and how you relate to other people. From there the clinician builds a detailed profile of how you experience the world.
The ADOS-2 is the test most people have heard of, and it is useful. For adults it has a few limits:
- It flags other conditions as autism. In community mental health clinics, the ADOS-2 wrongly flagged autism in 30% of adults with psychosis. The study’s authors note that the social communication difficulties it measures are not specific to autism.
- Its scores don’t settle the question on their own. In a UK adult autism service, the ADOS-2 caught 92% of adults who were diagnosed with autism, but correctly ruled it out in only 57% of those who were not. The researchers advised clinicians to interpret its results cautiously.
- It can feel artificial. Tasks like telling a story from a picture book can feel awkward for adults. Adults who have learned to mask can also get through a short structured observation without their traits showing.
The MIGDAS-2 works the other way. It starts from the things you care about and the way your senses work, which is where autistic traits tend to show up even in adults who mask well. Most people find it more comfortable than being tested, and a more relaxed conversation gives a truer picture. It also produces a narrative report that describes you, not just a score, which is more useful for school, work accommodations and next steps.
You can have your evaluation as a single two-hour visit, or as an intake visit followed by a separate MIGDAS-2 session.
What an autism evaluation looks like by video and in person
Your evaluation is either a single two-hour visit, or an intake visit followed by a separate MIGDAS-2 session, with the feedback session booked as its own appointment after it. A video visit needs a private space and a working camera. Do the forms beforehand. The interview is the one we would do with you in the room, and it produces the same written report. In-person appointments are available as well.
The report is the part you keep. It sets out the diagnosis or its absence, the findings behind it, recommendations, and any referrals. Not meeting the criteria still comes with an explanation of what was found. A correct diagnosis in adulthood can help people understand past challenges, identify personal strengths, and find the right kind of help.
How much does an autism diagnosis cost?
An adult autism evaluation at our practice costs $800. That fee covers the whole process: the comprehensive psychiatric intake, the MIGDAS-2 autism evaluation, the written report, and a feedback session where we go over the results with you. Our rates are among the most accessible in the market.
The evaluation is booked either as one two-hour visit or as an intake visit followed by a MIGDAS-2 session. Either way, it ends with the feedback session where you receive your written report. If you go on to treatment, follow-up visits start at 30 minutes.
We accept most major commercial plans in Pennsylvania for follow-up visits. Our insurance and fees page has current details on the plans we accept and self-pay options.
Who can diagnose autism?
Who can diagnose autism comes down to training, and several professions do this work. NIMH says an adult can be referred to a neuropsychologist, psychologist, or psychiatrist who has experience with autism, and NICE says a comprehensive assessment should be carried out by professionals who are trained and competent, drawing on a range of professions.
The clinicians who carry out adult autism assessment include:
- Psychologists and neuropsychologists
- Psychiatrists
- Psychiatric physician assistants
- Nurses, occupational therapists, and speech and language therapists, as part of an assessment team
- Developmental pediatricians and child neurologists, who evaluate children
An autism psychiatrist might be a psychiatric practice that sees you by video or in person, wherever in Pennsylvania you live. Ours is led by certified physician assistants who specialize in psychiatry. A collaborating psychiatrist is part of the practice. In Pennsylvania a physician assistant works under a written agreement with a collaborating physician that records scope of practice and the degree of collaboration. Current clinicians and their credentials are on our team page.
Neuropsychological testing means standardized tests of thinking skills such as attention, memory, language, and problem solving, given by a doctoral-level clinical neuropsychologist to measure cognition. Some cases call for fuller testing of that kind, for example when it is hard to tell conditions apart or when the documentation you need requires it. When that is the case, we say so and refer you on.
What happens after an autism diagnosis
Other pages carry what comes next: our autism in adults page for the condition itself, our post on AuDHD for autism and ADHD together, and two pieces on the way, one comparing autism and ADHD side by side and one on women diagnosed late.
NICE is explicit that medication is not used for the core features of autism in adults. For those core features the same guideline points to psychosocial supports to consider, which means non-drug support based on skills and social contact. The list includes a social learning program focused on improving social interaction, a structured daily living skills program, a structured leisure program for people who are socially isolated, and anti-victimization work based on decision-making and problem-solving skills. It also names a supported employment program for people having difficulty getting or keeping a job. That is UK guidance, and Zellig does not run those programs, though we can refer.
Coexisting conditions are the part we handle: ADHD, anxiety, depression, and sleep problems that come alongside autism, treated on their own terms through medication management.
The report does practical work too. It carries recommendations and referrals to therapy or other supports. Under the ADA an employer may require only the documentation needed to establish a disability and the need for an accommodation. A clinician’s diagnostic report is that kind of documentation.
Where to get tested for autism for adults in Pennsylvania
You ca get tested for autism for adults in Pennsylvania anywhere in the state at Zellig Psychiatry. An autism diagnosis takes nothing more than a Pennsylvania address, because the evaluation runs by secure video across Pennsylvania. Current in-person options are on our locations page.
A video evaluation is the full evaluation. It uses the same interview as an appointment in the room and produces the same written report. Whether you choose the two-hour visit or the intake visit and MIGDAS-2 session, each appointment, including the feedback session, can be taken by video from wherever you live in the state.
Our clinicians are licensed in Pennsylvania. The evaluation is open to anyone living in the state, and we cannot take patients from elsewhere. Where you are inside the state makes no difference. Zellig Psychiatry offers autism testing Pennsylvania residents can reach without a long drive.
Common questions about autism evaluations
Can a psychiatrist diagnose autism?
Yes, a psychiatrist can diagnose autism. NIMH names psychiatrists among clinicians an adult can be referred to for an autism evaluation, and NICE puts them on the assessment team alongside psychologists. At Zellig Psychiatry, certified physician assistants who specialize in psychiatry do the evaluation, in a practice with a collaborating psychiatrist. Where fuller neuropsychological testing is needed, we refer out.
Is there a test I can take before booking an evaluation?
There are screening questionnaires you can take first, and none of them can diagnose you. CDC says a screening tool does not provide a diagnosis. NICE treats a score of 6 or above on the AQ-10 as the trigger to offer a full assessment. A high score is a reason to book.
Do you use the ADOS?
No. We use the MIGDAS-2, a sensory-based diagnostic interview built for conversation rather than scripted tasks. For adults, the ADOS-2 can mistake other conditions for autism and can miss traits in people who mask. The MIGDAS-2 gives a fuller picture of how you actually experience the world.
Do you evaluate teenagers for autism?
Yes, Zellig Psychiatry evaluates teenagers aged 12 and older for autism, the same way an adult is evaluated, by secure video across Pennsylvania or in person. Mention it when you book so we schedule the right appointment. Our evaluations start at age 12.
Can I be evaluated for autism and ADHD at the same time?
Yes, autism and ADHD can be evaluated in one process when both are in question, which is also how the overlap gets untangled: NIMH notes that autism symptoms in adults can overlap with ADHD. Ask for the combined evaluation when you book, or raise it at the consult and we will arrange it.
Can I get an autism diagnosis without a parent to describe my childhood?
Yes, an autism evaluation goes ahead without a parent to describe your childhood. NICE asks for early developmental history where possible, and someone who knew you as a child helps. School reports, old report cards, and photographs all count as history. So does your own memory. Bring whatever you have, and tell us about the gaps.
Zellig Psychiatry offers in-person care and secure video visits statewide across Pennsylvania, for anyone aged 12 and up, and our locations page shows where in-person visits are available.
One practical thing to bring: childhood records, or contact details for someone who remembers you as a child. If you have neither, book anyway.
This information is for general education and is not medical advice. It cannot diagnose you or replace an evaluation with a clinician. For personal medical decisions, talk with your own prescriber or clinician.