Little did Heather know that her quest to answer the question, “Do I have adult ADHD?” would result in a journey on a road less traveled. Normally, such a journey starts by contacting one’s primary care physician about symptoms that are wreaking havoc on them (e.g., attention, organization and memory problems) or talking to friends or co-workers for recommendations. However, her doctor only knew one person who conducts ADHD evaluations and none of her friends or co-workers knew anyone that provided this service. So what did she do? She did what many people do and Googled “adult ADHD testing” to see if she could find someone who specialized in helping people with these issues. As she scrolled through the Google results she came across Christopher Quarto – a licensed psychologist who provides telehealth evaluations to clients nationwide. “Hmmm. How can he can test people for adult ADHD online?” she thought to herself. Heather decided to find out more about him on his website and discovered that Dr. Quarto has conducted ADHD evaluations for 30+ years and online for the past decade using a HIPAA-secure video app. “Well, that makes me feel a little more comfortable,” Heather thought to herself. But I’m still not sold on talking to someone I don’t know AND who lives out of state!” She kept thinking about how to proceed – “Maybe I should just schedule an appointment with the person my doctor told me about. On the other hand – it would be so convenient to meet with someone online who actually specializes in this stuff AND he says on his website that he can do the evaluation in 2 1/2 hours AND it just involves ONE appointment!” Heather slept on it and decided to send Dr. Quarto an e-mail to schedule an appointment.
Later the next day, Heather sent Dr. Quarto an e-mail and was surprised that he responded to her so quickly! She felt relieved by his down-to-earth style of relating to her and clear way of explaining how the psychological evaluation process works. She was excited to schedule an appointment.
It was appointment day and Heather sat in front of her computer in her home office. She felt a little nervous. “I wonder what this will be like?” she thought to herself as she had never undergone a psychological evaluation before. A few seconds later Dr. Quarto appeared on Heather’s computer screen. She felt relieved that he was so kind and easy to talk to. Dr. Quarto started the interview by asking Heather questions about why she wanted to be evaluated for adult ADHD as well as her history. She appreciated his thoroughness and felt like Dr. Quarto knew pretty much everything about the major aspects of her life by the time that part of the appointment had concluded.
Following the interview, Dr. Quarto had Heather open a browser on her computer and go to the website of a test publishing company that he told her about earlier. He had her complete a series of tests on the website – basically self-report questionnaires that ask people questions like, “I have trouble concentrating. Never, Sometimes, Often, Almost Always” and monitored her all the while using the video app.
Once Heather completed the tests Dr. Quarto provided her with preliminary findings and talked to her about the next steps in the process, which basically amounted to writing a comprehensive report consisting of historical information she provided to him during the interview; the observations he made of her during the appointment; a detailed description and explanation of the test results; a summary of the findings; and a diagnosis and treatment plan. Dr. Quarto informed Heather that a treatment plan was a fancy way of saying recommendations or strategies that specifically target her problems. She was pleased to hear that the recommendations were practical and “doable.”
Heather was amazed when she received an e-mail from Dr. Quarto three days later informing her that her report was finished! Several of her friends who were evaluated by psychologists in her city not only had to schedule three appointments to complete the whole process (interview + test session + discussion of test findings), but also had to wait a month to get their reports! It was also nice that Dr. Quarto sent a copy of the report to her primary care physician who would be in charge of prescribing medicine to treat her symptoms. “Wow! I didn’t know what to expect on this journey,” Heather thought to herself, “but I’m so glad I stopped putting this off and got this taken care of. I can’t believe how easy and convenient this was!”
If you’re interested in being evaluated for adult ADHD then you could substitute your name for Heather’s in the story above. Do something for yourself today that could pave the path for a smoother journey through life. Contact Dr. Quarto to schedule an appointment! chris@chrisquarto.com Also, click here for details.
