Key Takeaways
- Willow & Stone sees patients 10 and older; that is the practice’s policy, not a limit of Creyos, which is age-normed from age 6.
- Kids are compared with their own age band (10–12, 13–15 or 16–17), not with adults.
- For ADHD questions, parents complete the questionnaire: the Vanderbilt scale for ages 6–11 and the SWAN for 12–17.
- Creyos is not psychological testing, so it usually won’t satisfy a school that requires a psychologist’s evaluation for accommodations.
- Who consents to care, and what stays private, depends on the state your teen is in.
If your child’s clinician suggests a Creyos assessment, you will probably want to know three things: is it appropriate for a child this age, what will they actually do, and what can the results tell you. In short: Creyos is age-normed from age 6, a session is a series of short computer tasks that feel more like puzzles than an exam, and the results describe how your child performed compared with peers their age. They do not diagnose ADHD or anything else. This guide walks parents of kids and teens 10 and older through the details.
Is Creyos appropriate for a 10-year-old?
What Creyos can and can’t do
It can
- Compare a child’s memory, attention and reasoning with others in their age band
- Add a parent-reported questionnaire to the picture for ADHD questions
- Give a baseline to compare with if the assessment is repeated later
It can’t
- Diagnose ADHD, autism, a learning disorder or depression
- Replace school psychological or neuropsychological testing
- Explain why a score is low (sleep, worry and effort all matter)
Creyos is a clinician-ordered set of short online cognitive tasks; the main Creyos guide describes them in full. For children, the key point is norms. Creyos’s normative database says it is age-normed from age 6, with 10–12, 13–15 and 16–17 bands. Your 11-year-old is compared with other 10- to 12-year-olds, which is what makes a score interpretable at all.
There are honest caveats. The original research behind the norms covered ages 12 to 70, with younger data added later, and Creyos notes that demographic detail is not characterized for children under 12. Published pediatric research is thin: a 2024 study found the tasks classified children with ADHD, autism or typical development correctly only about 53–60% of the time and described them as tests “developed for adults.” Age norms make the comparison fair; they do not make the tool diagnostic.
Willow & Stone sees patients 10 and older. That is practice policy. It is not a Creyos limit.
What your child will actually do
A session is a sequence of short tasks, each about two to three minutes: remembering where tiles were, solving small spatial puzzles, matching shapes quickly, holding back a fast response when a rule changes. Several have a time limit; others just get harder as your child succeeds, so nearly everyone reaches a point where it feels difficult. Tell your child that is by design.
For an ADHD question, the clinician may use Creyos’s ADHD protocol: four tasks plus a roughly six-minute attention task in which they respond to every number except one. It is deliberately boring, because staying on task when something is boring is what it measures. How Creyos fits an ADHD evaluation explains the 14 markers.
Attention span, fatigue and setup
- Use a laptop, desktop or a tablet with a screen of 8 inches or more. Creyos’s help center says phones are not recommended.
- A quiet room with the door closed matters more for a 10-year-old than an adult. Siblings and pets out.
- Creyos allows a support person, such as a parent, to be present at home. Help with the login, then step back; coaching or hints make the result meaningless.
- A child who is hungry, tired or upset after a hard school day will score lower. Pick a time when they are rested.
Whether your child takes it at home or in the Arlington office, and when in the visit sequence it happens, is something to ask our team when you book. The preparation guide covers browsers and interruptions.
The questionnaires parents fill in
Creyos bundles standardized questionnaires, and its own labels set the age for each. For ADHD questions, the protocol chooses a parent-report scale by age:
| Child’s age | ADHD questionnaire in the Creyos protocol | Who answers |
|---|---|---|
| 6–11 | VADRS (Vanderbilt ADHD Diagnostic Rating Scale) | Parent (Creyos also lists teachers for this scale) |
| 12–17 | SWAN rating scale | Parent |
| 18 and older | ASRS Part A | The patient |
Other questionnaires have their own age labels. Creyos lists the GAD-7 anxiety scale for ages 12 and up and labels the PHQ-9 depression questionnaire 18+; it does not offer the adolescent version (PHQ-A). So for a 10- or 11-year-old, mood questions are covered in the clinical interview rather than by a Creyos form. Which questionnaires your child’s clinician will use is something to ask our team. The full list is on the Creyos questionnaires page.
Answer about your child’s typical week, not their best or worst day. If parents disagree, that is useful information; tell the clinician rather than averaging it out.
How results are explained to you and your child
Scores are shown relative to the age band: around the middle, below, or above where most peers fall. A good clinician will explain what a pattern might mean, which alternative explanations are on the table, and what would help, in language your child can hear without feeling labeled. Creyos itself presents results as one input, to be read “in conjunction with other information and clinical judgement.”
Two things to keep in mind as a parent. A low score in one area is not a verdict on your child’s intelligence. And a typical score does not mean concerns at home or school are imagined; children often perform well in a short, novel, one-on-one task and struggle in a busy classroom. The guide to reading Creyos results explains standard scores.
For a sense of how a first visit with a teen is structured, including time alone with the clinician, see your teen’s first psychiatric evaluation.
School accommodations: what Creyos can’t provide
Many parents hope a test result will unlock a 504 plan, an IEP or extra time on exams. Schools set their own evaluation requirements, and many rely on their own evaluation team or ask for testing by a licensed psychologist. Creyos is a computerized cognitive assessment, not psychological or neuropsychological testing, and Willow & Stone does not provide psychological, neuropsychological, autism or school-eligibility evaluations.
What a psychiatric evaluation can provide is a clinical picture and, where appropriate, a diagnosis and treatment plan, which schools sometimes consider alongside their own evaluation. Ask the school, in writing, what documentation it accepts before you book anything for that purpose. The differences between the two kinds of assessment are covered in Creyos vs. neuropsychological testing.
Signs worth an evaluation, and when it’s more urgent
Attention problems in tweens and teens are easy to misread: as laziness, as normal adolescence, or as ADHD when anxiety or poor sleep is the real driver. Girls in particular are often missed. ADHD signs parents miss in teenagers describes what to watch for, and when to seek psychiatric help for your teen helps you decide whether it is time.
When not to wait for testing
If your child talks about wanting to die, hurts themselves, or seems unsafe, cognitive testing is not the next step. Call or text 988, or call 911 in an emergency.
Consent, privacy and the state you’re in
Who can consent to a minor’s mental health care, and what a teen can keep private, depends on state law. Generally a parent consents for a minor, with exceptions that differ by state. Read the page for the state your child will be in during the visit:
- Texas teen mental health consent
- New Mexico teen mental health consent
- Florida teen mental health consent
- Arizona teen mental health consent
- Colorado teen mental health consent
- Washington teen mental health consent
On data: Creyos’s website says its own site is not directed at children under 18, and that a patient’s health information is governed by the agreements between Creyos and the provider. If you want to know how your child’s results are stored, ask our team.
Booking for your child or teen
Families in North Texas can be seen in person; teen psychiatry in Arlington describes the office visit. Telehealth is available to patients physically located in the states where Dr. Forbes is licensed.
The 90-minute first evaluation is $300 and follow-ups are $150 (pricing). Insurance is accepted for Texas patients only, depending on the plan; elsewhere care is direct-pay with a superbill. Whether Creyos is included in the evaluation or charged separately, and whether a Texas plan covers it, is confirmed when you book. Start at the consultation page.
Common Questions
What is the youngest age for Creyos?
Creyos is age-normed from age 6, with separate bands for 10–12, 13–15 and 16–17. Willow & Stone sees patients 10 and older; that is the practice’s policy rather than a Creyos limit. Published research in children is limited, so results are read cautiously and alongside the clinical evaluation.
Can Creyos tell me if my child has ADHD?
No. Creyos describes its ADHD protocol as not a standalone diagnostic tool. It measures attention, inhibition, planning and working memory against age norms and adds a parent questionnaire. A diagnosis needs history from parents and often school, symptoms across settings, and ruling out other explanations.
Which ADHD questionnaire will I fill out as a parent?
In the Creyos ADHD protocol, parents of children 6–11 complete the Vanderbilt (VADRS), and parents of teens 12–17 complete the SWAN. Adults 18 and older answer the ASRS screener themselves. Which questionnaires are used for your child is something to ask our team.
Will Creyos results get my child a 504 plan or extra test time?
Usually not on their own. Schools set their own requirements and many want their own evaluation or testing by a licensed psychologist. Creyos is not psychological testing, and Willow & Stone does not do school-eligibility evaluations. Ask the school what it accepts before booking.
Can my child do Creyos on a phone?
Creyos’s help center says mobile phones are not recommended. Use a laptop, desktop or a tablet with a screen of at least 8 inches, in a quiet room. Whether your child takes it at home or in the office is something to ask our team.
Can I sit with my child during the assessment?
Creyos allows a support person, such as a parent, to be present for remote sessions. Help with setup, then stay quiet: hints, encouragement mid-task or reading questions aloud change the result. If your child needs breaks or has trouble with the screen, tell the clinician.
Part of our Creyos cognitive assessment guide
Sources & Further Reading
- Creyos — Understanding the Creyos Health Normative Database (PDF)
- Creyos — Standardized Questionnaires list (PDF)
- Creyos — ADHD Report Science Guide (PDF)
- Creyos — ADHD Report Interpretation Guide (PDF)
- Hennessy et al. 2024, Clin Child Psychol Psychiatry (PubMed 38282296)
- Al-Saoud et al. 2025, Child Neuropsychology (PubMed 38863216)
- FDA — Product classification PTY, computerized cognitive assessment aid, exempt
This article is general education, not a diagnosis or advice for your situation. Creyos results support, and never replace, a clinical evaluation; only a clinician who has evaluated you can diagnose a condition or recommend treatment. Do not start, stop, or change a medication without talking to the clinician who prescribes it.
If you need help right now
Willow & Stone is an outpatient practice and is not an emergency service. If you or someone you care about is in immediate danger, call 911.
For urgent mental health support at any hour, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, or text HOME to 741741 for the Crisis Text Line. Both are free, confidential, and available 24/7 nationwide.
Dr. Stacey Forbes, DNP, APRN, PMHNP-BC
Board-certified Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner and founder of Willow & Stone Integrative Mental Health. Nearly two decades of clinical experience; integrative, root-cause psychiatry in person in Arlington and by telehealth. Licensed in Texas, New Mexico, Florida, Alaska, Arizona, Colorado & Washington.
About Dr. Forbes →