ADHD rarely presents in isolation, and the boundaries between ADHD and other neurodevelopmental, emotional, and behavioral conditions remain difficult to navigate—particularly when symptoms overlap, mask one another, or shift across developmental stages.
In this advanced training, Dr. Caroline Buzanko—psychologist, clinical director of Koru Family Psychology, adjunct assistant professor at the University of Calgary, and international speaker specializing in neurodevelopmental assessment—equips you to conduct diagnostically precise, ecologically valid ADHD assessments that honor neurodiversity while addressing real-world functional impairment.
Grounded in a strengths-based, neuroaffirmative paradigm, this course moves beyond symptom checklists to examine ADHD as a disorder of performance variability—shaped by executive functioning demands, environmental contexts, developmental transitions, and the interaction between neurological difference and social expectations.
Through this training, you will:
- Refine your differential diagnostic framework by integrating anxiety, trauma responses, learning disorders, and other neurodevelopmental profiles into a cohesive clinical formulation.
- Apply structured and flexible interview techniques, rating scales and observational methods across settings to capture inconsistency, situational performance, and the impact of environmental demands.
- Recognize how ADHD presents differently across gender, culture, and developmental stage and adjust clinical interpretation accordingly.
- Develop practical strategies for transparent communication throughout the assessment process, from intake preparation through results interpretation, fostering diagnostic acceptance, shared understanding, and readiness for intervention planning.
By the end of this workshop, you will have consolidated a comprehensive, ecologically grounded assessment model that translates diagnostic data into functional insight and intervention strategy—with sharper clinical judgment for navigating diagnostic ambiguity, a structured yet flexible approach to complex cases, and practical tools to support accurate, affirming, and actionable outcomes for neurodivergent clients across the lifespan.