A free template for the weeks before an adult autism or ADHD assessment. Your own history, written down.
I nearly did not book. When I finally did, the thing that steadied me most was not the assessment itself. It was a document I wrote in the weeks before: my own history, organised so I could see it whole. I am an occupational therapist, and even I had misread my own childhood for decades. Writing it down gave the girl I had explained away back to me, before any clinician confirmed a thing.
This is that document, laid out for you to fill in. Not a test. Not a script. A place to remember and organise the life you actually lived, including the parts you may have spent years calling something else. When it is done, it is yours. Keep it, or hand it to your assessor and let it speak for the years you cannot fit into a first appointment.
What is inside
The template moves gently back through a life, one section at a time, with memory prompts rather than questions to pass or fail.
- The years before school, and the school years where the pattern often hides.
- Friendships, communication, and the quiet work of fitting in.
- Sensory life, routines, and the interests you lost hours in.
- Attention, focus, and getting things done.
- Feelings, regulation, and the cost of looking fine.
- The times it all stopped working, and the scaffolding that keeps you upright.
- A final page to gather the strongest threads, if you want to hand your assessor just one.
Fill it over weeks, not in one sitting. Answer as your hardest day, not your best. Leave gaps where you have them, because gaps are information too.
Who it is for
For anyone preparing for an adult autism or ADHD assessment, or still deciding whether to book. It asks nothing of you but honesty, and it is free.
Before You Walk Into the Room
A personal history template for an adult autism and ADHD assessment. Fill it on screen, or print it and write by hand. It is free, and it is yours to keep.
This is a personal history aid, not a clinical or diagnostic tool. It cannot tell you whether you are autistic or have ADHD; only a qualified clinician can.