Adult ADHD Evaluation for Accommodations in New Jersey

Many adults first seek an ADHD evaluation because a deadline forces the question: a bar exam application, a graduate program, a licensing test or a job where the old workarounds have stopped working. This page explains what reviewers in New Jersey actually ask for, what rights New Jersey law gives you, and where a psychiatric evaluation fits. It is general information, not legal advice.

Your rights under New Jersey law

Two layers of law apply. The federal Americans with Disabilities Act covers testing bodies; the NJ Board of Bar Examiners, for example, describes itself as a public entity covered by the ADA. New Jersey's Law Against Discrimination (LAD) adds its own protections, and it reaches further in one important way. According to the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights, the LAD defines disability more broadly than the ADA and does not require a condition to significantly limit a major life activity. A mental or developmental condition that prevents the typical exercise of any function and can be confirmed by a medical professional can qualify.

• Testing organizations. Under N.J.A.C. 13:13-4.2, places of public accommodation include entities that offer examinations related to licensing, certification or credentialing for post-secondary education, professional or trade purposes. Under N.J.A.C. 13:13-4.11, they must make reasonable accommodations unless doing so would impose an undue burden.
• Federal testing guidance. The U.S. Department of Justice says documentation requests must be reasonable and limited to the need for the accommodation, that proof of past accommodations in similar test settings is generally sufficient, and that testing entities should defer to documentation from a qualified professional who made an individualized assessment.
• Deadlines to complain. The Division on Civil Rights takes complaints about events within the past 180 days. A lawsuit in Superior Court has a two-year limit.

Workplace accommodations follow the same LAD definition. See ADHD workplace accommodations in New Jersey.

The New Jersey bar exam

The New Jersey Board of Bar Examiners calls its process Non-Standard Testing Accommodations (NTA). As of October 2026, its published instructions say:

Plan backward from the deadline. An evaluation, any records you need to collect and the written report all take time, and the Board will not process an incomplete file. The guide to the NJ bar exam and licensing exams goes further, and the New York bar and licensing exam guide covers the other side of the river.

New Jersey colleges and graduate schools

Each school sets its own documentation standards through its disability office. Read the office's guidelines before you book an evaluation, so the report answers the questions that office asks.

• Rutgers University, Office of Disability Services. Its ADHD guidelines ask for a specific diagnosis with its DSM code, evidence of childhood and current impairment, other explanations ruled out, whether you were evaluated on medication and how the condition limits you in an academic setting. It states that a diagnosis alone is not enough, and that checklists supplement but do not replace clinical observation.
• Princeton University, Office of Disability Services. Publishes separate documentation requirements for learning disabilities and ADHD. Check them early, because campus offices that ask for adult-normed test scores need a psychologist's testing, which a psychiatric evaluation does not include.
• Stevens Institute of Technology, Office of Disability Services. Accepts documentation such as recent evaluations and letters from doctors or psychologists, describing the diagnosis, how it affects you and recommended accommodations. Documentation supports the conversation and does not decide it.
• NJIT, Office of Accessibility Resources and Services (OARS). Asks students to submit documentation of the disability and the accommodations requested, along with a request form.
• Montclair State University, Disability Resource Center. Students register through the AIM portal and upload their documentation.

Accommodations at college do not carry over automatically to graduate school or a licensing exam, so keep copies of every approval letter. More on campus life is in ADHD accommodations at New Jersey colleges.

Where a psychiatric evaluation fits, and where it does not

Dr. Shershow's evaluation is a psychiatric diagnostic evaluation. It covers current symptoms, childhood, school and work history, health, sleep, medications and substances, and other explanations such as anxiety or depression, and it ends with what it found and the treatment options that fit. Reviewers often want this kind of clinical history: Rutgers' ADHD guidelines, for example, start with a clinical interview covering childhood and current impairment and other explanations ruled out.

What the practice does not do is psychological or neuropsychological testing. If a reviewer asks for standardized cognitive or achievement scores, or if a learning disability is also a question, you will need a licensed psychologist for that part. The difference is explained in ADHD testing vs a psychiatric evaluation in New Jersey.

Two more honest limits. An evaluation may or may not result in an ADHD diagnosis. And even with a diagnosis, the testing body or school decides on accommodations. Whether Dr. Shershow can complete a particular form depends on what the evaluation finds and what the form asks, so bring the form and call the office to ask.

What to bring

1. The exact documentation guidelines and forms from your testing body or school.
2. Any prior evaluations, testing reports, IEPs or 504 plans.
3. Letters showing accommodations you received in college, law school or on earlier exams.
4. School records from childhood, if available.
5. Your deadline, so the timeline can be discussed honestly at the first contact.

How to start

Call Dr. Shershow's office or use the call-back form on this page. Say which exam or school the evaluation is for and when the deadline falls. The office can answer questions about fees, insurance and scheduling, which change and are not listed here. To understand the full process first, see the adult ADHD evaluation page.