Neurodiversity-Affirming
Autism Diagnostic/Identification Interview (NAADII)
FRAMEWORK:
The Neurodiversity-Affirming Autism Diagnostic/Identification Interview (NAADII) is built upon
a framework designed to capture the core neurodevelopmental constructs required
for a comprehensive DSM-5-TR formulation
For use by: Psychologists, Psychiatrists, Paediatricians, and other qualified health professionals with existing competency in Autism assessment.
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Clinical Context
The Neurodiversity-Affirming Autism Diagnostic/Identification Interview (NAADII) is a semi-structured interview developed by psychologist Kathleen Cleland. Grounded in lived experience and clinical expertise, it informs comprehensive autism diagnostic assessment through a narrative-based, trauma-informed, sensory-first approach. While aligning with neurodiversity-affirming assessment practices, the NAADII has been independently conceptualised, developed, and iteratively refined through extensive clinical use and interdisciplinary feedback.
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The development of the NAADII has been informed by the collective clinical insights and peer consultation of multiple practitioners who have used the interview across more than 300 formal autism assessments. This collaborative refinement process focused on the tool's alignment with structured clinical judgment in accordance with DSM-5-TR criteria, ensuring high clinical utility and cross-disciplinary rigor.
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The NAADII facilitates the collection of rich, narrative data aligned with DSM-5-TR criteria while affirming neurodivergent identities and minimising bias through its sensory-first and trauma-informed structure. In practice, these qualitative insights provide a distinct contextual foundation that, alongside psychometric results, informs a comprehensive and nuanced diagnostic formulation.
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Refinement efforts are active and ongoing through structured clinical implementation, internal quality analysis, and interdisciplinary review. The interview is freely shared with clinicians on the understanding that collaborative feedback and applied clinical use contribute to its continuous refinement.
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The NAADII demonstrates strong clinical utility within a multi-method, neurodiversity-affirming framework, and reflects emerging best practices in affirming autism assessment, grounded in extensive applied clinical practice.
Update 13/03/2026
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To ensure clarity and ethical transparency, the description of the NAADII tool's development has been updated.
Feedback indicated that the previous wording was potentially ambiguous, so it has been revised to reflect that the tool was refined using clinician insights and professional feedback, not direct client data.
This update clarifies that client privacy has always been, and will remain, a core priority of this tool's development.
Copyright Statement
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© Kathleen Cleland, 2025.
The Neurodiversity-Affirming Autism Diagnostic/Identification Interview (NAADII) is the original intellectual property of Kathleen Cleland and is protected by copyright. It has been independently conceptualised, developed, and iteratively refined using neurodiversity-affirming and trauma-informed principles for use in clinical autism assessment.
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Permitted Use: Qualified clinicians are granted a non-exclusive license to use and adapt this framework within their personal, non-automated clinical practice, provided that authorship is clearly acknowledged.
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Prohibited Use: Redistribution, publication, or incorporation into other published materials, training programs, or commercial products is strictly prohibited without express written permission.
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Software & AI Restrictions: Integration of the NAADII (including its structure, questions, or logic) into third-party software, digital assessment platforms, or AI-automated systems - including use as training data or system prompts for Large Language Models (LLMs) - is strictly prohibited without a commercial license. The author reserves all rights to the digital automation and algorithmic representation of this framework.
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Declaration of Interests
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Kathleen Cleland is the independent author and developer of the NAADII. She is also the founder and director of KASKAI Pty Ltd, a research and development company engaged in the creation of clinical assessment software and related products, as well as MindScope Pty Ltd, a clinical assessment and therapy service.
The NAADII is provided as a free, open-access resource for the clinical community. Clinicians who choose to submit feedback on this tool should note that their professional insights may inform broader neurodiversity-affirming research and product development initiatives at KASKAI Pty Ltd.
All feedback utilised for R&D purposes will be strictly aggregated and de-identified. Clinicians are explicitly advised not to include any identifying patient or client information in their feedback submissions.
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Developer Reference:
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Cleland, K. (2026). The Neurodiversity-Affirming Autism Diagnostic/Identification Interview (NAADII) (March 2026 Revision). MindScope Pty Ltd.
(Note: This March 2026 edition supersedes all previous frameworks).
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