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Child ADHD Assessment in Bella Vista

Dr Vivek Akkera is an ADHD paediatrician in Sydney. He assesses and manages ADHD in children and teenagers at Medivik Paediatrics in Bella Vista, in Sydney’s Hills District.

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Child ADHD Assessment with Dr Akkera

Dr Vivek Akkera, consultant paediatrician at Medivik Paediatrics in Bella Vista
Dr Vivek Akkera Consultant Paediatrician, FRACP

He is a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (FRACP) and spent nearly 10 years in the Sydney Children's Hospitals Network.

A child ADHD assessment at Medivik starts with a GP referral and involves three appointments with Dr Akkera. Most new patients at Bella Vista are seen within about a week.

Dr Akkera also consults at West Gosford and Singleton, and holds visiting sessions at Doonside Medical Centre in Western Sydney. Appointments are available in person or by telehealth.

The assessment at a glance

Who it is for
Children and teenagers from birth to 16 years
First step
A referral from your GP
Appointments
Three: an initial assessment and two reviews
New-patient wait
About one week at Bella Vista
Initial assessment
$650 fee, $272.50 Medicare rebate, $377.50 out of pocket
Where
Bella Vista, Doonside, West Gosford, Singleton or telehealth

Who a Child ADHD Assessment Is For

Dr Akkera sees children and teenagers from birth to 16 years of age. ADHD can be diagnosed in preschool, but it is most often picked up in the primary school years, when classroom demands increase. Some teenagers are assessed for the first time because their difficulties become clearer as high school gets harder.

An assessment is worth considering when problems with attention, activity or impulse control happen often, have lasted at least six months and show up in more than one setting.

At home, parents often notice a child who cannot follow a sequence of instructions, loses belongings and struggles to start or finish tasks. Interrupting, acting without thinking and big reactions to small setbacks are also common.

At school, teachers often report unfinished written work, difficulty staying seated, calling out and careless mistakes. Some children struggle to keep friendships. Others, often girls, have mainly inattentive symptoms. These children can be quiet in class and are often identified later.

These signs alone do not mean a child has ADHD. Anxiety, sleep problems, hearing difficulties, learning disorders and autism can look similar, so a full assessment checks for these as well. To understand the questionnaires used, read our guide to the ADHD test for kids. Our article Can a Paediatrician Diagnose ADHD? explains who can make the diagnosis in Australia.

How a Child ADHD Assessment Works, Step by Step

A child ADHD assessment at Medivik has six steps. Three of them are appointments with Dr Akkera: an initial assessment and two reviews.

Before the first appointment
Preparation before you see Dr Akkera

  1. Step 1: Get a GP Referral

    Ask your GP for a referral to Dr Vivek Akkera. You can book without one, but you need a referral to claim the Medicare rebate. A GP referral to a specialist is valid for 12 months.

  2. Step 2: Book Your Appointment

    Book online or call 02 8530 8312. We charge a 50% deposit when you book and the balance on the day of the appointment. If you cancel with at least one week's notice, we refund the deposit. If you cancel with less than one week's notice, the deposit is not refunded. Appointments at Doonside are booked and paid through Doonside Medical Centre.

  3. Step 3: Complete the Questionnaires

    After you book, we email you parent and teacher rating scales, such as the Vanderbilt Assessment Scales. Give the teacher version to your child's class teacher. Return both before the first appointment so Dr Akkera can score them.

Three appointments with Dr Akkera
In person or by telehealth
Dr Vivek Akkera

  1. Step 4: Attend the Initial Assessment

    Dr Akkera takes a detailed history of your child's development, behaviour, learning, sleep and family background. He also checks for other conditions that can look like ADHD. The appointment can be held in person or by telehealth, depending on your family's needs. An in-person appointment also includes a physical examination and a growth check.

  2. Step 5: Attend the First Review

    About four to six weeks after the initial assessment, Dr Akkera goes through the questionnaire scores and any test results with you. He explains whether the findings fit ADHD, another condition, or more than one condition.

  3. Step 6: Attend the Second Review

    Dr Akkera sets out a management plan for home and school. The plan may include classroom strategies, referrals to other professionals and whether medication is worth discussing. He sends a letter to your GP and, with your consent, a support letter to your child's school.

What to Bring

Bring the following to the first appointment. Information from home, school and other professionals shows Dr Akkera how your child manages in different settings, not just on the day.

Short phone videos of the behaviour that concerns you can also help.

Fees and Medicare Rebates

Your out-of-pocket cost for the initial assessment
$377.50

The initial assessment costs $650, and with a valid GP referral the Medicare rebate is $272.50, so you pay $377.50 out of pocket. We lodge your Medicare claim at the clinic on the day, and review and follow-up appointments cost less.

For a breakdown of each appointment, the rebate and the typical first-year total, see our ADHD assessment cost page.

Where and When

Dr Akkera provides ADHD assessments in Sydney at Bella Vista and Doonside, and in regional NSW at West Gosford and Singleton. Families looking for an ADHD assessment near them can choose the closest location below or book by telehealth. New-patient waits are shortest at Bella Vista.

Reception at Doonside Medical Centre, Knox Road, Doonside
Western Sydney

Doonside (visiting sessions)

Address
Doonside Medical Centre, Shop 1/185 Knox Road, Doonside NSW 2767
Consulting days
Alternate Thursdays, 2:30pm to 7pm
Typical new-patient wait
Book through Doonside Medical Centre
Directions to Doonside (opens in a new tab)
Telehealth
Secure video
Consulting days
By appointment

Telehealth suits families who live far from a clinic or find travel difficult. It can be used for the initial assessment and for reviews, including between visits to West Gosford and Singleton. Waits change through the year. Call 02 8530 8312 for the current wait at Bella Vista or West Gosford.

Clinic details are on our pages for a paediatrician in Bella Vista, a paediatrician in Blacktown covering Doonside, a Central Coast paediatrician at West Gosford, a paediatrician in Singleton and a telehealth paediatrician.

Dr Vivek Akkera, consultant paediatrician, in scrubs
Dr Vivek AkkeraConsultant Paediatrician, FRACP

After the Assessment: Support and Medication

A diagnosis is the start of a plan. Dr Akkera's plan covers strategies at home, adjustments in the classroom, and referrals to psychology, speech pathology or occupational therapy where needed. His letter to the school can support adjustments to learning and assessment.

Medication is one option, and it is not right for every child. If medication is part of the plan, Dr Akkera explains the options and starts treatment. He then sees your child about once a month until the dose is settled. At these follow-ups he checks appetite, sleep, growth, heart rate and blood pressure, and reviews feedback from home and school. Read more about ADHD medication for kids in NSW.

Once a child is stable, a GP who has completed NSW Health training may be able to continue the prescription, and Dr Akkera and your GP can then share care. You can book an ADHD medication review if the medicine wears off before school ends, causes side effects or needs to change.

Example: From GP Referral to an ADHD Plan

Composite example

This example combines common situations and does not describe a real patient.

  1. Concern and referral

    An eight-year-old's teacher notices that he rarely finishes written work and is often out of his seat. His parents see their GP, who writes a referral to Dr Akkera.

  2. Booking

    When they book, the clinic emails parent and teacher rating scales to complete before the first appointment. The clinic also asks them to bring his last two school reports.

  3. Initial assessment

    At the first appointment, Dr Akkera takes a full history, reviews development, sleep and hearing, and examines him.

  4. First review

    At the first review, he goes through the questionnaire results with the family and explains whether the picture fits ADHD or something else.

  5. Second review and plan

    At the second review, he sets out a plan covering classroom strategies, any referrals, and whether medication is worth discussing. A letter goes to the GP and, with the parents' consent, a support letter goes to the school.

Tell Us How We Can Help
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After Hours

Medivik is a specialist clinic and does not provide emergency care. For urgent medical concerns, please contact your GP, visit your nearest hospital emergency department, or call 000.

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Doctor Referral Form

Contact Information

After Hours

Medivik is a specialist clinic and does not provide emergency care. For urgent medical concerns, please contact your GP, visit your nearest hospital emergency department, or call 000.

Upload Referral Document/PDF*