Adult ADHD Evaluation

A Careful, Thorough Evaluation in Doylestown, PA and Lambertville, NJ

Home ยป Adult ADHD Evaluation

Trouble with focus, follow-through, time, or organization can have many causes, and ADHD is only one of them. At Buckingham Psychiatry, Dr. Jacob Buinewicz and Dr. Vihasa Govada take the time to understand your history, your current difficulties, and whether ADHD, another condition, or a combination explains what you are experiencing.

Dr. Buinewicz is a double board-certified psychiatrist who sees patients in person at our Doylestown, PA and Lambertville, NJ offices.

Psychiatrist speaking with a patient during an evaluation

Signs It May Be Time for an Evaluation

Adults who seek an ADHD evaluation often describe a long-standing pattern, not a recent change. Common experiences include:

  • Difficulty starting, staying with, or finishing tasks, even ones that matter to you
  • Losing track of time, missing deadlines, or chronic lateness
  • Disorganization at home or work, and misplacing everyday items
  • Getting easily distracted, or becoming so absorbed in something that everything else is lost
  • Inner restlessness, trouble sitting still, or feeling constantly “on the go”
  • Forgetfulness in daily routines, appointments, and conversations
  • Impulsive decisions, or strong emotional reactions that feel hard to control
  • A sense that you work much harder than others to get the same results

These experiences appear in many conditions, which is exactly why a careful evaluation matters.

logoborder

Ready for clear answers? Call 484-466-5560 or schedule an evaluation.

Dr. Buinewicz

Meet Dr. Jacob Buinewicz

Jacob D. Buinewicz, MD, is double board-certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN). He has specific expertise in mood and bipolar disorders, ADHD, anxiety disorders, OCD, and PTSD. Dr. Buinewicz believes that all care should begin with a patient-centered, comprehensive, and holistic evaluation, and that you should understand your diagnosis and the reasoning behind it.

Schedule an Evaluation
484-466-5560

What the Evaluation Includes

An ADHD evaluation is a diagnostic process, not a single test. Ours is built around several sources of information so that the conclusion rests on more than a questionnaire:

  • A detailed clinical interview covering your current concerns, your history from childhood to now, and how things show up at work, at home, and in relationships
  • Standardized rating scales and a review of past records or reports
  • Input from people who know you, when helpful. We can interview a parent, partner, or other family member, with your permission, to hear what they have observed now or in your childhood
  • A review of your health history, sleep, and daily habits, since these can affect attention and energy
  • Screening for other conditions that can look like ADHD or occur alongside it, including anxiety, mood, trauma-related, and sleep difficulties
  • A clear explanation of the findings and recommended next steps, with time for your questions

Ruling In, and Ruling Out

A good evaluation does not assume the answer. Attention and concentration problems are common in anxiety, depression, trauma, poor sleep, and other conditions, and ADHD often occurs together with them. Our goal is an accurate picture, which means that some people leave with an ADHD diagnosis, some with a different explanation, and some with both. Each of those outcomes points to a different path forward, which is why getting the diagnosis right matters more than getting a particular one.

Conditions That Can Look Like ADHD

Because so many conditions affect attention, we consider them together instead of one at a time. These commonly include:

  • Anxiety disorders, where worry and tension crowd out concentration
  • Depression, which can slow thinking and drain motivation and energy
  • Bipolar-spectrum conditions, where attention and energy shift with mood
  • Trauma-related conditions, which can cause restlessness, distractibility, and difficulty relaxing
  • Sleep disorders and chronic sleep loss, which closely mimic inattention
  • Other health factors that can affect focus and energy

Sorting these out is one of the main reasons psychiatrists are involved in the evaluation, and it is why we also screen for them as part of every visit.

Your Care Team

Dr. Jacob Buinewicz and Dr. Vihasa Govada are psychiatrists who evaluate your symptoms, help rule out other psychiatric conditions that can look like ADHD, and provide ongoing psychiatric care.

Sophie Buinewicz, PhD, is a psychologist who brings a behavioral approach, offering practical, skills-based support alongside your psychiatric care.

Understanding ADHD in Adults

ADHD is a neurodevelopmental condition that affects attention, activity level, and impulse control. In adults it often looks different than it does in children. Visible hyperactivity may fade into inner restlessness, while difficulties with planning, organization, time, and follow-through tend to become more noticeable as responsibilities grow.

ADHD is described as having inattentive, hyperactive-impulsive, and combined presentations. Many adults, including many women and high-achieving professionals, were overlooked earlier in life because they compensated well or because their difficulties were attributed to anxiety, stress, or personality. A careful evaluation helps sort out which explanation actually fits.

What Happens After Your Evaluation

We review the findings with you in plain language, including how we reached our conclusions. If ADHD is part of the picture, we discuss what that means for you and the options for support that fit your goals, which can include skills-based and behavioral support, ongoing psychiatric care, or both. If something else better explains your difficulties, we explain that and recommend appropriate next steps. With your permission, we are glad to coordinate with other clinicians involved in your care.

Who This Is For

Adults who suspect they have ADHD, who were told they might have it, or who were evaluated in the past and want a careful second look at the diagnosis. If you are not sure where to start, scheduling an evaluation is a reasonable first step.

How to Prepare

  • Write down the specific difficulties you notice and when they started
  • Gather any earlier evaluations, school records, or report cards you still have
  • Think about whether a parent, partner, or close family member could share their observations
  • Bring a list of other clinicians involved in your care

Frequently Asked Questions

Can ADHD be diagnosed in adulthood?
Yes. Many adults are diagnosed for the first time later in life, often after years of working around their difficulties. Current diagnostic criteria look for a pattern that began in childhood, so we ask carefully about your early years even if no one noticed at the time.
Will I be told that I have ADHD?
Only if the evidence supports it. Our aim is an accurate answer, not a particular one.
How is this different from a screening questionnaire?
A questionnaire can suggest that further evaluation is worthwhile, but it cannot tell ADHD apart from anxiety, mood, sleep, or trauma-related difficulties. A clinical evaluation looks at your history, your current functioning, and other possible explanations together.
Do I need childhood records?
They can be helpful, but they are not required. If you do not have them, we rely more on your history and on input from family members who knew you then.
Do you accept insurance?
Buckingham Psychiatry is a private-pay, out-of-network practice. That allows an unhurried, individualized evaluation. Our office can answer questions about fees and what to bring to your visit.

Schedule an Evaluation

Call 484-466-5560 or use the button below.

Our Offices

Doylestown: 3655 Route 202, Suite 225, Doylestown, PA 18902
Lambertville: 243 North Union Street, Suite 118, Lambertville, NJ 08530

Schedule an Evaluation

Accessibility by WAH