Please use our new referral form - found here.
(you can right click to save the file to your computer, or just click the link to print it).
Do you wonder if you have an attention disorder?
We can help you be certain if you do or don't.
Through our unique process of assessing your symptoms, strengths, challenges and functioning, we will clearly establish if you have ADHD or not.
Since up to 86% of adults with ADHD also have at least one other condition; and up to 65% of youth have at least one other condition, our assessment will establish if you have one or more other diagnoses.
At the end of our assessment, you will know any diagnoses, and you will have a specific treatment plan to help you move forward with confidence.
Our team consists of a psychiatrist, a psychologist, a physician assistant and great office staff. We use standardized questionnaires to help capture your symptoms and challenges, and brain based testing to see how your attention and focus are compared to people your age.
Through our unique process, you will have a lot of time to discuss your challenges with experts who have extensive experience in the field. You won't feel rushed! At the end of the process, you will have a 1 hour feedback appointment, where you will understand:
- Which diagnoses you have (do you have ADD/ADHD or not?)
- How and why your diagnoses were made, and
- What the best path forward is for you (ie your treatment plan).
After the feedback appointment, you will get this information in writing, so that you can review everything afterward. This way, you can listen in the feedback appointment without worrying about missing things, or needing to write them down.
Our team is led by Dr. Kenny Handelman. Not only has he been a medical expert in the field of ADHD for over 20 years, but he has adult ADHD himself. If you ask him, he'll tell you that his life is "ADHD 24/7! I live with it, work in it, and do my best to enjoy the unique ways my brain works (and use many treatment strategies to help it every day too!)." Dr. Handelman has also taught doctors at conferences and scientific meetings in 22 countries over 4 continents.
Our assessments are done with people as young as 6 years old, people in their teenage years, and adults. We also see older adults. We have had many people over 60 years old who have wanted to know about ADHD, including a couple of people over 80 years old. It is our honour to help people of all ages to understand if they have ADHD, and to better understand how their brains work.
Our specialty assessment for ADHD and co-existing conditions includes many components:
- Standardized Rating Scales and Questionnaires - These are completed prior to your Assessment. These allow you to document thoroughly the nature of your symptoms, challenges as well as strengths. Using a standardized questionnaires provides important, statistically relevant information, which is used to help with diagnosis, and also to guide our team for the clinical interview. This allows you to have more confidence in the accuracy of your diagnosis.
- Cognitive Testing - While most assessments for ADHD include a clinical interview, we include objective, standardized computer-based testing of attention and cognition. This allows us to measure how your brain is functioning, and adds a whole new dimension to our assessments. We gain insights into how your brain is functioning - and how that relates to your symptoms, diagnoses, day to day challenges, as well as your strengths. The testing is completed in the office. This testing will give you a clear understanding of how your brain is working now, and point to the current challenges and opportunities for treatment.
- Clinical Interviews - Our team want to ensure that we understand your concerns and strengths. You will start with a virtual interview with our physician assistant. You will then have a longer interview with the psychiatrist when you come into the office; and you will also be interviewed by our psychologist. You will have ample time to explain concerns, symptoms, challenges, and discuss opportunities. Our patients generally appreciate that they have enough time to explain their concerns, and they don't feel rushed.
A Feedback Report: After the questionnaires, testing and clinical interview are completed, our team will review and interpret all the information gathered, and pull it all together for you. We create a Feedback Report which summarizes all of the elements of the assessment, the diagnoses and recommendations for treatment.- A Feedback Session: Very soon after your assessment in the clinic, you will have a one hour Feedback Session. This session is generally done virtually i.e. via telemedicine for your convenience. Dr. Handelman will explain the Feedback Report, as well as diagnosis and treatment recommendations. He will also share his view of your strengths and opportunities - because assessing and treating ADHD is not only about getting symptoms out of the way, it's also about living with your strengths and living up to your potential. You will have time to ask your questions, and ensure that you have the answers that you need. This feedback session gives you more time to understand the diagnosis and treatment, and ask the questions you have. You will not feel rushed, as you will have enough time to ask questions and discuss the testing, questionnaires and recommendations.
We require a physician referral to start your assessment process. After your assessment, you will have a clear treatment plan to use with your doctor, and a full understanding of what is recommended.
If you have any questions about our assessment, please call our office at: 905-845-8850, or use our Contact Us page to reach out. We will respond in a timely and professional manner.
OHIP will cover Dr. Handelman's clinical time with you (ie the interview and feedback session). A fee is payable for the standardized questionnaires, the cognitive testing, the interpretation of the results and the report writing. Patients may be eligible for insurance reimbursement for some or all of the testing fee - though you will have to check with your insurance provider to ensure your coverage. If this assessment isn't right for you, then we encourage you to see one of the other experts in the community for assessment of ADHD.
Due to the high demand for assessments, Dr. Handelman will provide consultations and treatment recommendations, with specific recommendations for treatment going back to your referring doctor. Referring physicians should be prepared to receive the patient back and work on the implementation of the treatment recommendations.
We understand that many patients want to be able to work with Dr. Handelman for ongoing follow up - but he is currently unable to provide ongoing follow up due to the high patient load he is currently carrying. After reviewing the situation, Dr. Handelman decided to continue to offer consultations and treatment recommendations without providing ongoing follow up. The rationale for this is that it allows you the opportunity to get the right diagnosis and treatment plan set up, to help you to get on track.
If you require ongoing follow-up from a specialist, then we recommend that you speak to your referring doctor, and ask for a referral to another doctor or clinic. You are certainly welcome to check back with us in about 12 months, to see if we are able to provide follow up at that time. That said, we encourage you to not wait or delay your treatment on the chance that Dr. Handelman may be able to provide follow up in the future.
To see Dr. Handelman for a consultation, you'll need to get a Medical Doctor to send a referral, and then our office will contact you to start the process of completing the initial questionnaires and then booking the consultation. At the end of the process, the referring physician will receive a consultation report, and the patient and/or family will receive a report summarizing the findings of the assessment, along with treatment recommendations.
Please note that the Centre for Integrative Mental Health does have other services, including psychotherapy for kids, their parents, and teens & adults for ADHD, behavioural management, depression/anxiety and more. You do not need a referral to access these services.
Please contact our office if you have any questions about our consultations or services.