What does a Finding Focus ADHD assessment report contain?

Confirm whether the report includes the assessment result and treatment plan

Check for a stated assessment conclusion: a completed assessment can conclude that the patient does not have ADHD. Attendance at an appointment is not, by itself, evidence of a diagnosis.

Finding Focus assessments are conducted by licensed nurse practitioners using DSM-5-TR criteria and CADDRA-aligned practice. These are independent professionals working with Finding Focus. The American Psychiatric Association publishes DSM-5-TR; CADDRA is the Canadian ADHD Resource Alliance.

If a treatment plan is included, treat it as the assessing clinician’s recommendations. It is not confirmation that a recommended service has begun or that another professional has adopted those recommendations. Read it together with the stated result, rather than using a recommendation without that context.

The assessment framework does not establish a fixed report template or show that every supporting detail is attached. CADDRA-aligned practice does not mean that CADDRA has approved or authenticated an individual assessment or document.

This page explains documentation for receiving professionals. It does not diagnose a patient or replace your own clinical assessment.

Diagnosis letters and healthcare-provider reports are optional

Check the document type before deciding whether it answers your question. Finding Focus assessments provide results and a treatment plan; the two optional documents below are available on request.

A diagnosis letter is not a substitute for a full clinical record. Confirm whether the document includes the assessment result, treatment plan and any supporting clinical details you need. The document names alone do not establish a page count, questionnaire package or set of attachments.

Tell the patient exactly what information you need before they request an optional document. They can then ask the clinic whether that information is available, rather than selecting a document based on its name alone.

Confirm the supporting detail your decision needs

A genuine report can still leave a clinical question unanswered. Use this checklist to review the document in front of you, not as a promise that every item appears in every report.

• Reasoning: is there enough explanation of how the assessment conclusion was reached for your intended use?
• History and functioning: if developmental history or effects on daily life matter to your decision, are they documented?
• Measures: if you need questionnaire names, scores or completion dates, are those details present?
• Information sources: can you distinguish the patient’s account from information supplied by someone else?
• Plan and limitations: are recommendations, unresolved questions and any suggested further assessment clear?

If something is missing, ask a specific question. Missing detail in a report does not, on its own, show that the issue was not considered during the assessment. Equally, a reference to DSM-5-TR or CADDRA does not establish that a particular questionnaire or collateral interview was completed.

Record your own judgment about whether the information is sufficient for the decision you are making.

Verify the source through independent contact details

Check both who issued the document and who authored it. A logo or signature alone is not verification. Use your organisation’s privacy and consent process before requesting patient-specific confirmation.

1. Check the identifiers. Look for the patient’s details, assessment date, report date and author’s name. Compare any repeated information for consistency. Missing or inconsistent information is a reason to clarify, not proof that a report is invalid.
2. Find the clinic independently. Use independently confirmed Finding Focus contact details, rather than relying only on details in the supplied file. Ask how to submit a verification request through an appropriate channel.
3. Ask what can be confirmed. With the necessary consent or authority, ask whether the document was issued through Finding Focus, who authored it and whether a corrected or later version exists. Avoid sending a full report through an unconfirmed channel.
4. Check registration separately. Look up the named nurse practitioner with the relevant provincial nursing regulator. In Ontario, use the College of Nurses of Ontario’s public Find a Nurse register to check identity, registration status and any listed restrictions.

A registration listing does not authenticate a particular file. Confirmation that a file is genuine does not establish that it meets your professional or institutional requirements. Keep authenticity, clinical sufficiency and acceptance as separate questions.

A report is not an accepted handover

Receiving a document does not, by itself, record your agreement to take over care.

Outside clinicians decide independently whether to accept any handover. Finding Focus does not assume another professional has accepted care. Clarify responsibilities directly if a handover is proposed; the report is not evidence of a formal shared-care agreement.

Medication decisions remain with the prescribing clinician. Stimulant medications and non-stimulant options require an individual review of possible benefits, adverse effects and monitoring needs. An assessment recommendation is not a prescription or an instruction for another clinician to initiate or change treatment.

If your review involves treatment, check the current clinical situation rather than assuming the original plan is still current. Confirm who is responsible for decisions and what remains outstanding before communicating an agreed next step to the patient.

Documentation does not expand the clinic’s clinical services

Finding Focus will not promise a particular assessment outcome or another organisation’s acceptance of its documentation.

• Do not assume psychological testing, the full clinical chart or completion of a third-party form is included with a report. Confirm the specific request before describing it to a patient as available.
• If clinical wording is unclear, ask for clarification. The wording must remain consistent with the actual assessment findings.

Optional ongoing care for adults takes place through check-ins. A report is a record of an assessment, not evidence of what happened at later visits unless that information is included.

Separate therapy is provided by a Registered Social Worker for adults 18+ physically located in Ontario. That service does not include diagnosis, prescribing, medication adjustment, psychological testing or third-party reports. Direct medication questions to the prescribing clinician. Direct assessment-document questions to the clinic, not to the therapist.

For a clear documentation request, specify the patient, the exact document, the question it needs to answer and the intended recipient. This gives the clinic a defined issue to address without assuming an additional assessment, form or service is included.