Autism Assessment for Women
Many women reach adulthood without knowing that they’re autistic. For girls and women who’ve spent years masking, adapting, and compensating, the signs of autism often go unrecognised by the people around them and by the professionals they turn to for help. Instead, they receive diagnoses that describe their distress but miss what’s driving it.
Anxiety. Borderline personality disorder. Bipolar disorder. Depression. PTSD. These labels may capture descriptions of symptoms that pathologise distress, but when the way her brain operates, her neurodivergence, remains unidentified, treatment targets the surface while the root cause remains invisible, misunderstood and untended (particularly by the woman herself).
Autism in women has been, and continues to be, consistently unrecognised and underdiagnosed. Women who mask effectively are particularly likely to be missed: performing social behaviour that doesn’t come naturally, requires an inordinate amount of energy, suppressing stimming, mirroring others to fit in. The cost of sustained masking is extremely and tragically high. Chronic exhaustion, burnout, loss of identity, and a persistent sense that something is wrong that nobody can name. She feels like an imposter and reads the incongruence between what she’s experiencing and what other’s seem to manage without difficulty, as being a failure. It’s not.
There is also a documented relationship between highly empathic autistic women and vulnerability to psychologically abusive and coercive relationships. When you don’t fully understand your own neurology, including your need for routine, your sensory sensitivities, and your different processing style, it becomes harder to recognise when someone is exploiting those traits against you. Neurodivergent women often have a very strong sense of justice, honesty and fairness, and may be prone to assuming that others share those same qualities which leads to missing subtle coercive behaviours and ‘red flags’. If this connection resonates, the Patterns of Control book and educational resources at WiseWOMAN Studio explore the dynamics of coercive control and psychological abuse in depth, and may be a useful companion to the self-understanding that a diagnostic assessment can provide.
This service is designed for women whose neurotype of autism has been overlooked, misdiagnosed, or masked, including those who have received prior diagnoses of anxiety, borderline personality disorder, bipolar disorder, depression, or PTSD without the underlying neurodivergence being identified or understood.
All assessments are offered by Clinical Psychologist, Donna-Marie (Dee) Donaldson. Dee is a late-diagnosed neurodivergent woman who understands the impacts and what it takes to live with a different brain and nervous system, one that you've likely learned to disguise and cope with without realising the impacts in doing so. Well, at least until such time as those impacts arrive in the form of severe autistic burnout. She also knows the benefits of knowing and learning to respect, and to work with rather than against, your neurotype. To share those benefits she offers accessible cost-effective assessments and diagnostic reports that are neurodivergent affirming and with a focus on recognising the differences in the way autism presents in girls and women.
Assessments use the MIGDAS-2 (Monteiro Interview Guidelines for Diagnosing the Autism Spectrum), a diagnostic interview that captures how autism presents across the lifespan, including masked, high verbal fluency, and internalised presentations; traits that many highly capable women have developed to cope across their lifetimes.
Two accessible cost-effective options are available:
a Brief Diagnostic Assessment for self-understanding and formal diagnosis, and
a Comprehensive Diagnostic Assessment meeting the Australian National Guideline standard, including NDIS-relevant functional impact documentation.
All sessions are conducted online via secure video platform.
Why pursue a diagnostic assessment?
A formal autism diagnosis gives you three things.
First, self-understanding. A diagnosis provides a framework for making sense of lifelong patterns: why certain environments drain you, why relationships follow particular dynamics, why strategies that work for other people have never worked for you. For many women diagnosed in adulthood, this reframing is the most significant outcome.
Second, workplace and educational accommodations. A formal diagnosis allows you to request reasonable adjustments under Australian disability discrimination law, whether that means modified sensory environments, flexible scheduling, written rather than verbal instructions, or adjusted assessment conditions in study.
Third, where clinical criteria are met and functional impact is documented, a comprehensive diagnostic report can support an application for government funding through the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). A diagnosis alone does not guarantee NDIS access. The assessment must demonstrate permanent and significant functional impact across specific domains. But a comprehensive report is written with these requirements in mind.
About this service
This is a private clinical psychology service offering clinically sound, evidence-based, neuroaffirming autism diagnostic assessment via secure telehealth for women aged 17 and over (Note: This service is only available for women who are residents of Australia).
The service is provided by Donna-Marie (Dee) Donaldson, a registered clinical psychologist with the Psychology Board of Australia (AHPRA) and a late-diagnosed neurodivergent woman herself. Dee understands what it is to move through the world without a framework for your own experience, to have your distress attributed to the wrong cause, and to arrive at diagnosis only after years of being assessed through lenses that weren’t built for you. That lived understanding informs the way Dee offers assessment: thorough, respectful, accessible, cost-effective and considers the nuances of how autism presents in women rather than the historical lens that based criteria on boys and men.
Assessments use the MIGDAS-2 (Monteiro Interview Guidelines for Diagnosing the Autism Spectrum), a diagnostic interview designed to capture how autism presents across the lifespan, including presentations that involve masking, high verbal fluency, and internalised expression. These are the patterns most commonly seen in women.
All assessments are conducted via secure video. Telehealth removes geographic barriers and allows you to be assessed in your own environment, which for many autistic women produces a more accurate clinical picture than an unfamiliar clinic setting. It also allows for, and indeed encourages you to bring along, two to three items that you find are soothing to your senses, calm your nervous system, and/or are examples of topics or things that you find exceptionally fascinating or interesting (regardless of whether others share that fascination).
Unfortunately Medicare rebates do not apply to neurodevelopmental assessment for adults. Should you have private medical insurance you may like to enquire as to whether your policy provides rebates. Should you have access to third-party funding for payment, email admin@wisewomanstudio.com to enquire about arranging for direct invoicing to the third-party organisation.
Why WiseWOMAN Studio doesn’t offer ADHD assessment
Whilst Dee is experienced in assessing for ADHD, and it often exists alongside autism for many women, the ‘gold-standard’ treatment for most people includes trialing medication. In fact it’s often after women diagnosed with ADHD and have stabilised on medication that autism becomes apparent, as the high-energy of ADHD neurology can effectively hide autistic neurology. Nevertheless, as a values-based decision, WiseWOMAN Studio (and Dee) would prefer that should you suspect that ADHD may be leading to difficulties, you invest precious time and financial resources in seeking a diagnosis by a psychiatrist or where GP’s are approved to diagnose and treat ADHD. However, should you choose WiseWOMAN Studio for an assessment of autism, you will be screened for ADHD (along with other conditions that may blur diagnosis or co-occur with autism). Should ADHD become apparent through the assessment process, your report will mention it and may recommend further assessment with a psychiatrist to ensure access to treatment.
Two assessment options
Brief Autism Assessment — $900
A focused diagnostic assessment resulting in a clinical report that confirms or rules out an autism diagnosis. This option is appropriate if you are seeking self-understanding, a formal diagnosis for personal or professional purposes, or documentation to support workplace or educational accommodations.
The brief assessment includes a pre-appointment screening battery completed online, a two-hour telehealth diagnostic interview, and a written diagnostic report (typically 2-4 pages) delivered within four weeks.
(Note: The 40% deposit required upon booking is $360).
Comprehensive Autism Assessment — $1,400
A full diagnostic assessment that meets the requirements of the Australian National Guideline for Autism Assessment and Diagnosis (Autism CRC, 2023). This option is appropriate if you need a report that documents functional impact across multiple life domains, states DSM-5-TR severity levels, and includes a permanence statement. This is the standard required for NDIS access applications.
The comprehensive assessment includes the same pre-appointment screening battery and diagnostic interview as the brief option, plus a functional assessment (WHODAS 2.0), an extended clinical interview (2.5 hours), and a detailed written report (typically 15–25 pages) designed to address the NDIS criteria required for diagnosis by a Clinical Psychologist including identifying a ‘Level’ of functioning delivered within four weeks.
(Note: The 40% deposit required upon booking is $560).
What the process looks like
You choose your assessment type and pay a deposit of 40% of the full assessment fee (non-refundable) through the booking page at the link below. Payment can be made by debit or credit card (Visa or Mastercard) at the time of booking. The remaining balance is charged to your provided card details 72 hours before your scheduled session.
After payment of the deposit, you are emailed an intake package including a consent form, a developmental history questionnaire, and a separate emailed link to complete a set of validated screening measures online before your appointment. You are also encouraged to provide any relevant records (GP referral, previous medical or psychological assessments, school reports) and to nominate a corroborating informant (parent, partner, sibling, or long-term friend) who can complete a brief questionnaire about your developmental history. Don’t worry if you don’t have access to old school reports or a corroborating informant as many women seeking to understand their neurotype later in life often aren’t able to do so. Just let Dee know in the form when asked to nominate someone. Every piece of documentation is valuable in assisting with your assessment process.
ESSENTIAL: All intake materials must be completed and returned at least 72 hours before your session.
You will be guided to Dee’s calendar where you will be able to choose a date and time for your telehealth assessment session that is a minimum of 14 days after the deposit is paid, giving you time to complete the intake materials. You will need to show photographic ID (driver's licence or passport) at the start of the online session.
After the session, your results are reviewed by Dee and a diagnostic report is completed and emailed to you securely. All reports are delivered within four weeks following the telehealth assessment.
An optional 50-minute feedback session ($300) is available upon request in some circumstances if you would like the opportunity to receive feedback from Dee on your report results and its recommendations. This session is also delivered via online platform.
Cancellation and payment terms
The 40% deposit is non-refundable. Rescheduling requests must be made by email a minimum of 72 hours before the scheduled session. No refund is provided for cancellation or non-attendance. The remaining balance is automatically charged to the card on file 72 hours before the session. WiseWOMAN Studio strictly adhere to our policy of non-refundable deposits, cancellations and non-attendance to allow for the time allocated for booking, administration, provision of intake documentation and screening assessment tools. No exceptions are able to be made. Should you wish to reschedule your session, please ensure you do so outside of the 72 hour timeline prior to your session, however should you need to reschedule due to an emergency, consideration may be given where a medical certificate is provided.
A note on what this service is and is not
This is a diagnostic assessment service. It is not therapy, counselling, coaching, or crisis support. The purpose of the assessment is to determine whether you meet the clinical criteria for autism spectrum disorder using DSM-5-TR diagnostic standards. Where ADHD indicators are observed during the assessment, these will be noted in the report with a recommendation for further specialist assessment as mentioned above.
A diagnostic assessment undertaken or provided by WiseWOMAN Studio or representatives, including Clinical Psychologist Dee Donaldson, does not infer or create a therapeutic relationship and does not imply or create an agreement for therapy. WiseWOMAN Studio does not offer adhoc or ongoing psychotherapy, coaching or therapeutic services.
If you are experiencing distress related to coercive control or psychological abuse, the book Patterns of Control and the educational resources at WiseWOMAN Studio may be helpful.
If you are in immediate danger, contact 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732) or emergency services (000). Further crisis services can be found HERE
This clinical assessment service is provided by Donna-Marie Donaldson (Dee), Clinical Psychologist.
All promotional content complies with AHPRA advertising guidelines. This is not a therapeutic service.
A further note on platform and technology usage for assessment:
In addition to the validated screening and assessment tools that WiseWOMAN Studio uses during the assessment process, Dee also uses the Halaxy calendar booking service for participant assessment bookings and uses Novopsych, an Australian online platform for psychologists that utilises AI for collating of client results and summarising online assessment sessions. Novopsych adheres to Australian privacy and security requirements. It is a condition of assessment that participants understand and consent to the use of Novopsych technology and AI-use during the assessment process. Participant assessment results and reports are not uploaded, shared with or written by any other AI platform. By booking an assessment with WiseWOMAN Studio you are consenting to the use of Halaxy and Novopsych in recording your information and results. Further details will be found in the consent form provided upon booking.
Terms and Conditions | What You’ll Need to Prepare for your Assessment
You will find the full details of the WiseWOMAN Studio Terms and Conditions including details of what you’ll need to have ready on the day of your assessment, for the provision of our Neurodevelopmental Assessment Services HERE