Des Plaines, Illinois
Specialized evaluations for children, teens, and adults — with expertise in high-masking autism, late-diagnosed autism, and PDA profiles.
Des Plaines & the northwest suburbs
Need psychological testing or an autism evaluation in Des Plaines, IL? Help & Healing Center provides specialized evaluations for children, teens, and adults seeking clarity around autism, ADHD, learning, cognitive, and developmental concerns.
Our clinicians have expertise in high-masking autism, late-diagnosed autism, and PDA profiles that may be missed in traditional evaluations. We serve Des Plaines families from our nearby Glenview office, with telehealth available for eligible evaluations.
Psychological testing is most useful when it is designed around a specific question. Rather than taking the same approach with every person, our clinicians consider age, developmental history, current concerns, previous evaluations, and the areas where additional clarity is needed.
How we can help
Services available to Des Plaines-area patients include comprehensive autism assessments, high-masking evaluations, PDA profile evaluations, ADHD testing, and psychological evaluations across the lifespan.
Our autism evaluations for children, teens, and adults examine social communication, sensory experiences, developmental history, and behavioral patterns. We bring these factors together to provide a clearer understanding of an individual's strengths, challenges, and support needs.
Autism can be difficult to recognize when someone has learned to mask or adapt to social expectations. Our clinicians have experience evaluating high-masking presentations, including individuals who may have been overlooked during earlier assessments or whose challenges are primarily internal.
PDA, or Pathological Demand Avoidance / Pervasive Drive for Autonomy, can involve intense resistance to everyday demands and a strong need for autonomy. We consider PDA characteristics within the broader evaluation to help distinguish these patterns from anxiety, defiance, or other concerns.
Psychological testing can help identify concerns related to ADHD, attention, working memory, executive functioning, organization, and impulse control. Evaluations can provide useful insight into challenges affecting school, work, relationships, and daily responsibilities.
Children can experience difficulties in ways that are not always easy to interpret. A child may struggle academically, become overwhelmed by transitions, have difficulty regulating emotions, or experience challenges with peers. Parents may seek an evaluation to better understand concerns involving learning, attention, emotional regulation, behavior, social interaction, communication, development, or executive functioning.
Teenagers face increasing academic, social, and emotional demands. For some teens, these demands make previously subtle differences much more noticeable. An evaluation may help clarify questions about autism, ADHD, learning, executive functioning, social communication, sensory experiences, or emotional concerns. For teens who appear to be doing well externally but experience significant internal stress, masking and compensation strategies can also be important parts of the clinical picture.
Adults do not need to have been evaluated as children to seek answers now. Some adults begin considering autism or ADHD after recognizing similarities between their own experiences and those of a child or family member. Others may have spent years adapting to work, school, relationships, and social expectations without understanding why certain situations are consistently exhausting or difficult. Adult evaluations can explore lifelong patterns involving social communication, sensory experiences, attention, executive functioning, behavior, and cognitive functioning.
A previous evaluation does not always settle every question. If an earlier autism assessment did not feel consistent with your experiences, or if high masking or PDA characteristics were not considered, a second opinion may provide another perspective. The goal is to review the available information carefully and determine whether additional assessment or clarification is appropriate.
Convenient for Des Plaines residents
Help & Healing Center serves Des Plaines residents from our nearby Glenview office.
Our office is located at: 2700 Patriot Blvd, Suite 250, Glenview, IL 60026.
Des Plaines is located in the northwest Chicago suburbs and has neighboring communities that include Glenview, Park Ridge, Mount Prospect, Rosemont, and Chicago. Our location can be a convenient option for families and individuals looking for psychological testing near Des Plaines while seeking specialized evaluation services. We also serve individuals from surrounding communities such as Glenview, Northfield, Skokie, Park Ridge, Mount Prospect, Wilmette, Winnetka, and other North Shore and northwest suburban areas. For eligible assessments, telehealth may be available depending on the assessment being requested, clinical requirements, and the individual's circumstances.
Is testing right for you?
There is no single reason someone seeks psychological testing. You may be considering an evaluation if you have questions about:
Whether autism may explain lifelong patterns, whether ADHD may be affecting attention or executive functioning, why learning has been unusually difficult, social communication and relationships, sensory experiences, emotional regulation, cognitive strengths and challenges, persistent organizational difficulties, a previous diagnosis that does not seem to fit, high-masking or camouflaged autistic characteristics, demand avoidance and autonomy-related patterns, or what recommendations or supports may be appropriate.
The purpose of an evaluation is to answer meaningful clinical questions—not simply to administer tests.
What to expect
A psychological evaluation typically involves several sources of information. Testing results are considered alongside the individual's history and current concerns so that the findings have meaningful clinical context. Depending on the evaluation, you may move through the following stages:
Initial Consultation
The process begins by discussing what prompted the evaluation, what questions you want answered, and what type of assessment may be appropriate.
Interviews & Assessment
The evaluation may include clinical interviews, developmental history, observations, questionnaires, and standardized assessment measures selected according to the individual's needs.
Clinical Review
The results are interpreted together rather than viewed as isolated scores. Relevant developmental history, current functioning, masking, and demand-avoidant patterns may be considered when appropriate.
Written Report
A detailed report summarizes the findings and provides relevant recommendations based on the evaluation.
Feedback Session
The findings are reviewed with you so you can understand what the results mean, ask questions, and discuss possible next steps.
Help & Healing Center recognizes that neurodevelopmental differences do not always present in obvious or stereotypical ways.
Our approach focuses on understanding the individual rather than forcing their experiences into a predetermined presentation. This is particularly important when evaluating people who have spent years masking, adults seeking answers later in life, or individuals whose demand-avoidant patterns have previously been misunderstood.
For Des Plaines-area families and adults, available evaluation services include:
Nearby communities
Explore psychological testing details for communities near Des Plaines.
Wilmette, IL
Psychological testing and autism evaluations for Wilmette families.
Explore
Glenview, IL
In-person appointments at our Glenview office, plus telehealth statewide.
Explore
Skokie, IL
Local psychological testing support for Skokie and nearby communities.
Explore
Evanston, IL
Neurodiversity-affirming evaluations for Evanston adults, teens, and children.
Explore
Northbrook, IL
Convenient North Shore access for Northbrook families seeking testing.
Explore
Winnetka, IL
Psychological testing and autism evaluations for Winnetka and nearby North Shore families.
Explore
Help & Healing Center provides psychological testing for Des Plaines-area residents from its nearby Glenview office at 2700 Patriot Blvd, Suite 250, Glenview, IL 60026. Evaluations are available for children, teens, and adults depending on the assessment needs.
Yes. Adult autism evaluations are available for people who have questions about lifelong social communication, sensory, behavioral, developmental, or executive functioning patterns. Adults who were not identified during childhood or who have spent years masking may also seek an evaluation later in life.
Yes. Help & Healing Center provides evaluations for children and teens when families have concerns involving autism, ADHD, learning, attention, behavior, development, social interaction, or emotional functioning.
An autism second opinion may be appropriate if you continue to have questions about a previous evaluation or feel that important aspects of your presentation were not considered. This can be particularly relevant when high masking or PDA characteristics may not have been fully explored.
Yes. High-masking presentations are an area of particular clinical focus. The evaluation considers how an individual may have learned to camouflage or compensate for autistic characteristics and how those strategies may affect their current functioning.
Yes. PDA characteristics can be considered as part of a comprehensive autism evaluation when clinically appropriate. The assessment looks at the broader pattern rather than treating demand avoidance as simply a behavioral problem.
Telehealth may be available for certain evaluations. Eligibility depends on the assessment type, clinical requirements, and individual circumstances.
Google Reviews
2 months ago
Everything about the process was great, regardless of the diagnosis. All of the communication, your approach, and your demeanor. I really commend you.
3 months ago
Dr. Jessica made me feel at ease throughout the consultation and assessments. It has changed almost every aspect of my life – relationships, self esteem, how I view myself.
4 months ago
We brought our son to Dr. Myszak recently; she was patient, flexible and kind and helped him feel comfortable. At first he was very anxious but she was willing to meet him where he was.
5 months ago
The experience felt validating, compassionate, and non-judgmental. I was able to reveal information that I wasn’t comfortable revealing to previous psychologists.
6 months ago
I felt heard, understood, and not judged. It totally changed my life. It validated my experiences and took away the guilt and shame that my challenges were just character flaws.
7 months ago
I was really intimidated to start this process but you made it easy and comfortable, so thank you. This was a 10 out of 10.
Compassionate care. Expert insight.
If you are looking for psychological testing in Des Plaines, an adult autism evaluation, child or teen assessment, ADHD testing, high-masking autism evaluation, PDA evaluation, or an autism second opinion, Help & Healing Center provides specialized assessment services from its nearby Glenview office.
Dr. Jessica Myszak Licensed Psychologist — free phone consultations availableGet started
Tell us a bit about what you need in Des Plaines — we will follow up soon.
Glenview office
