Private ADHD and autism assessment in Aberdeen

Psychiatric ADHD and autism assessment for Aberdeen adults

Caledonian Psychiatry provides private adult ADHD and autism assessment for people living and working across Aberdeen and NHS Grampian. Dr David Crocker leads every assessment personally; he is a GMC-registered psychiatrist (MRCPsych) whose clinical focus is adult neurodevelopmental conditions, and the practice holds Healthcare Improvement Scotland registration (reg. 03427).

Every appointment runs by secure video, which suits a city where the energy sector and NHS Grampian itself keep large numbers of people on rotating or unsociable hours. There is no clinic to travel to and no waiting room; patients join from home or from anywhere else that offers privacy and a stable connection. The diagnostic process itself is unchanged from an in-person assessment (the same doctor, the same NICE-aligned method, and the same detailed written report) and covers patients throughout Aberdeenshire and Moray as well as the city itself.

The NHS picture in Aberdeen

The scale of demand for adult ADHD assessment in NHS Grampian illustrates how significantly the need for services has outpaced capacity. By the end of 2023/24, 1,939 adults were waiting for an ADHD assessment within the board, a figure that is particularly striking given that NHS Grampian only opened its adult ADHD waiting list in 2021. The health board has itself acknowledged that it has “struggled to keep up with demand.” The autism picture is similarly pressured: NHS Grampian freedom-of-information data from 2023 showed that fewer than six per cent of adult autism referrals were assessed over a two-year period, with waits exceeding two years.

Grampian’s figures sit within a wider Scottish picture: nationally, around 23,300 adults were waiting for an ADHD or autism assessment as of March 2025, with a median adult wait of roughly 76 weeks (Scottish Parliament, 2025). The NHS ADHD and autism waiting times across Scotland page sets out that national data in full, and the Right to Choose page explains why that NHS England route isn’t open to patients registered with a Scottish GP.

Booking privately, by contrast, usually takes a matter of weeks rather than months, and getting started doesn’t require a GP referral.

What the assessment involves

Built around NICE guideline NG87, the process runs across two video appointments of 60 minutes each, and where it genuinely helps, timing can flex around offshore leave or shift rotas rather than forcing a fixed weekday slot. Across those two sessions, Dr Crocker builds a detailed developmental and clinical history, applies validated diagnostic rating scales, and, wherever it can be arranged, draws on collateral information from someone who knows the patient well. The outcome is a full written report setting out his reasoning and recommendations in detail. The ADHD assessment page breaks down exactly what happens at each of the two appointments, and anyone in Aberdeen still weighing up whether to go ahead may find it useful to read about our approach to assessment first.

Autism assessment in Aberdeen

Caledonian Psychiatry also offers private adult autism assessment for people in Aberdeen and across Grampian. With NHS Grampian’s adult autism service under particular pressure (only a small fraction of referrals are assessed within two years), a private route can be especially valuable. Many adults who enquire about ADHD also recognise autistic traits in themselves; the two frequently co-occur, and Dr Crocker assesses both, so there is no need to decide in advance which one best fits.

For anyone unsure which label fits (or who suspects it might be both), a combined ADHD and autism assessment assesses each within a single pathway rather than requiring that choice up front. The autism assessment and private autism assessment in Scotland pages go into more detail on how each is structured.

What it costs

An ADHD assessment (the two 60-minute video appointments described above) costs £800. Prescription charges, follow-up fees, and the rest of the pricing structure are listed in full on the fee schedule.

Where autism is also a consideration, three 60-minute sessions covering both conditions (the combined ADHD and autism assessment) cost £1,300; a standalone autism assessment is £800. Given how few adult autism referrals NHS Grampian currently manages to assess, the combined route is worth considering for Aberdeen adults weighing up both conditions.

After a diagnosis: treatment and shared care

A confirmed ADHD diagnosis often opens a conversation about medication, though it is one option among several rather than an automatic next step. Once a prescription is underway, dose adjustments happen through short video review appointments that can be timed around offshore leave and the wider shift patterns common across the north-east. Scotland has no national policy requiring an NHS GP to take over prescribing from a private psychiatrist afterwards (each practice decides for itself), so Dr Crocker writes his assessment reports with a GP reader specifically in mind, following NICE and RCPsych standards and the practice’s own published quality standards for ADHD and autism assessment, and remains available to correspond with the GP directly where needed. The shared care with your GP page covers this in more depth.

Seen across Aberdeen by secure video

Location within the region makes no difference to how the assessment runs: city centre, Westhill, Stonehaven, Inverurie, or further out into Aberdeenshire, every session takes place over the same secure video link from wherever gives you privacy and a stable connection. Appointment slots run across the working week, including early mornings and Fridays, specifically to work around shift rotas and travel-heavy jobs. The same service is available further along the coast too: see the Inverness and Dundee pages if that’s more relevant to you. Use the form below to enquire, and expect a reply within 48 hours.