Adult Autism Assessment

Drawing from her extensive clinical experience, Dr Louise Hanson provides in-depth comprehensive Autism assessments for adults. Autism is a lifelong neurodevelopmental brain style that influences how an individual perceives and engages with the world. These unique brain differences can manifest in various ways, including differences in social interactions, communication, attention and organisation, emotional regulation, sensory processing, and motor skills.

Assessments for Autism can be conducted in person in Caloundra, Sunshine Coast or through online face-to-face video consultations to individuals living anywhere in Australia.

Adults with Autism May Experience Differences or Difficulties in the Following Areas:

  • Social Interaction: Unique approaches to socialising, which may include challenges interpreting neurotypical social cues or preferences for deep, meaningful connections over casual interactions.

  • Communication: Differences in verbal and nonverbal communication styles, such as expressing oneself through specific interests or a preference for direct and literal language.

  • Executive Functioning: A need for additional strategies or supports to manage planning, organisation, time management, and task transitions effectively.

  • Emotional Regulation: A heightened emotional awareness that may require tailored tools to process and express feelings in overwhelming situations.

  • Sensory Processing: Distinct sensory experiences, including heightened or reduced sensitivity to environmental inputs like sounds, lights, textures, or smells.

  • Routine: A strong preference for routine and predictability, which may make unexpected changes or transitions more challenging to navigate.

  • Motor Skills: Variations in motor coordination that might affect activities like handwriting or navigating physical spaces but may also highlight unique strengths in other areas.

  • Social Burnout from Masking: Exhaustion from prolonged efforts to suppress or hide autistic traits to fit into neurotypical social environments.

Common Signs of Autism in Adults:

  • Difficulties interpreting what others are thinking or feeling.

  • Feeling anxious in social situations.

  • Experiencing difficulty forming and/or maintaining friendships or preferring solitude.

  • Being perceived as blunt, rude, or disinterested, even though it’s unintentional.

  • Finding it challenging to express emotions or explain how you feel.

  • Interpreting language literally, which can make it difficult to understand sarcasm or idiomatic phrases like "it’s a piece of cake."

  • Relying on a consistent daily routine and feeling anxious when it is disrupted.

Autism in Women

Autism is often missed or misdiagnosed in women and girls because they may present differently, with traits that may be subtle or socially "acceptable." Many women and girls use masking strategies to camouflage their autistic traits, such as mimicking social behaviours or suppressing their differences, which can make their challenges less visible. Additionally, societal expectations and gender stereotypes can lead to their struggles being overlooked or attributed to other conditions.

Common Signs of Autism in Women:

  • Social Camouflaging: Mimicking social behaviours to fit in, which may “mask” (i.e., camouflage) autistic traits.

  • High Anxiety: Persistent worry, especially in social situations or when routines are disrupted.

  • Deep Special Interests: Intense focus on hobbies or passions, which may appear more socially typical.

  • Sensory Sensitivities: Heightened or reduced sensitivity to sounds, textures, smells, or lights.

  • Emotional Intensity: Strong emotional responses or difficulty regulating emotions.

  • Struggles with Boundaries: Difficulty recognising or maintaining personal and social boundaries.

  • Difficulty with Transitions: Preference for routine and predictability, with distress when changes occur.

  • Social Challenges: Preference for one-on-one interactions and difficulty navigating group dynamics.

  • Executive Functioning Issues: Challenges with planning, organising, or managing time.

  • Masking Burnout: Fatigue and overwhelm from prolonged efforts to hide autistic traits.

Assessment Process

  • The first step is a brief phone call consultation to establish your needs. This can be initiated through contacting Dr Louise Hanson on 0400568473 and leaving a voicemail message. Alternatively, you may wish to fill out the contact form at the bottom of this webpage.

    Please note it may take up to a week for our practice to contact you back.

  • Once you decide to proceed with the assessment, you will be emailed intake forms to fill out and return.

  • During the first session, we will go through information you provided in the intake forms and obtain further information, as deemed appropriate.

  • During this session Dr Louise will use an internationally recognised procedure to assess for Autism.

  • You will be provided with a comprehensive report of the assessment findings. Dr Louise will explain the findings and discuss next steps.

    Please note: a diagnosis of Autism is not guaranteed if the criteria is not met.

Contact Form

Filling out the following fields will send an email to Dr Louise Hanson