ADHD test for adults: a free, private self-check

What this ADHD test is, and what it is not

This is a self-check for adults. It asks about the two groups of signs used in the official diagnostic criteria for ADHD: difficulty with attention, and restlessness with impulsivity.¹ It then asks four questions that most online ADHD tests skip, about childhood, how many parts of your life are affected, how much it gets in the way, and how long it has lasted. Those four matter as much as the signs themselves.²

What it is not:

• It is not a diagnosis. Only a qualified professional can diagnose ADHD.
• It is not a validated clinical instrument. We wrote the questions ourselves, in plain words, to follow the criteria. They have not been tested in a study. The validated screener that clinicians use is described further down.
• It does not ask for anything. You get the full result without giving an email address. We make a task manager called NoRush and mention it further down. What the page suggests is the same whatever you score.

ADHD is common. An estimated 15.5 million adults in the US have a current diagnosis, and about half of them were diagnosed as adults.³ If you are asking the question in your thirties or fifties, you are in large company.

How the scoring works

Nothing is hidden. This is the whole method:

Your answers "fit the pattern" only if you have 5 or more signs in either group and all four bigger-picture answers point the same way. The number 5 comes from the diagnostic criteria, which ask for five signs in adults and six in children.²

These cut-offs mirror the criteria. They are not proven screening thresholds, and we do not claim they are.

What your result means

• Your answers fit the pattern. You report enough signs, going back to childhood, in more than one part of life, with real impact. That is a good reason to ask for an assessment. It is not a diagnosis.
• Many signs, but part of the pattern is missing. You report enough signs, but something a diagnosis depends on is absent or unclear, such as childhood history. The result tells you which part.
• Some signs. Fewer than a clinician looks for. This does not rule ADHD out, especially if you have learned to compensate.
• Few signs. ADHD looks unlikely on these answers. If focus is still a struggle, something else may be going on, and that deserves attention too.

A result that fits the pattern is not proof

This is the most important thing to know about any online ADHD test, and most of them do not say it.

Researchers gave a widely used, validated ADHD screener to two general population samples in the UK and the US. It flagged 26 percent and 17 percent of people as probably having ADHD, against an expected rate of about 2.5 percent. They estimated that only around 1 in 9 people who screened positive actually had ADHD.⁴

A long-term study found the same thing from another angle. Among young adults without childhood ADHD who screened positive on symptom checklists, about 95 percent were ruled out once clinicians looked at their full history. The usual explanations were substance use, another mental health condition, or ordinary ups and downs in concentration.⁵

So a result that fits the pattern means "this is worth checking properly". It does not mean "you have ADHD".

A low result is not proof either

Self-report depends on noticing your own behavior. People who have spent years building workarounds often under-report. This is a known reason ADHD is missed in women and girls, whose signs tend to be less visible and are often put down to anxiety or depression.^{6 7}

What a real ADHD assessment involves

There is no blood test, brain scan or single questionnaire that diagnoses ADHD.⁸ According to the National Institute of Mental Health, an adult evaluation can include:²

• a clinical interview about your current difficulties,
• rating scales or symptom checklists,
• questions about your childhood, and sometimes old school reports,
• the view of someone who knows you well,
• tests of memory, planning and decision-making,
• a review of mood and medical history to rule out other explanations.

Who can assess you in the US

A primary care provider or a mental health professional, such as a psychiatrist or psychologist, can diagnose ADHD in adults.² Starting with your primary care provider is usually the simplest route. CHADD and ADDA keep directories of professionals who work with adult ADHD.

What to bring

1. Your answers

   Use "Print or save my answers" after the test. It gives the clinician a quick picture.

2. Real examples

   Three or four specific situations from work and from home. "I missed two deadlines last month because I lost track of the dates" is more useful than "I am disorganized".

3. Something from childhood

   School reports, or what a parent or older relative remembers. Comments like "bright but does not apply himself" or "daydreams" are exactly what clinicians look for.

4. Your health picture

   How you sleep, your mood, any medication, and how much caffeine and alcohol you use. These all affect attention.

What else can look like ADHD

Many things affect attention. The CDC notes that sleep disorders, anxiety, depression and some learning disabilities can produce similar signs.⁸ It also works the other way: ADHD often comes together with other conditions. In a large US survey, adult ADHD frequently occurred alongside mood and anxiety disorders,⁹ and sleep problems affect up to 70 percent of adults with ADHD.²

This is why timing matters so much. Difficulties that have been there since childhood point one way. Difficulties that began after a bad year, a new job, a new baby or a stretch of poor sleep point another. A clinician's job is to tell them apart, and it is not something a questionnaire can do.

ADHD in adults does not look like ADHD in children

ADHD shows up as mostly inattentive, mostly hyperactive and impulsive, or a combination of both.¹ In adults, attention difficulties tend to persist while visible hyperactivity fades.² The child who could not stay in a chair becomes an adult who feels restless inside, takes on too much, and cannot switch off.

That is why many adults do not recognize themselves in the usual picture. What they notice is the result: missed deadlines, lost keys, unfinished projects, a sense of working twice as hard to stay level. Worldwide, an estimated 2.6 percent of adults have ADHD that has persisted from childhood, and more report the symptoms.¹⁰

The validated screener your doctor may use

The best-known screening questionnaire is the Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale, or ASRS, developed with the World Health Organization. Its short version has six questions. In the original study it identified about 69 percent of adults with ADHD and correctly cleared more than 99 percent of those without it.¹¹ A later study in a health plan found strong agreement with clinician diagnoses.¹² A version updated for the current diagnostic criteria was published in 2017.¹³

We have not reproduced it here because it is copyrighted. If you want a validated screening result, ask your doctor to go through it with you. And remember the caveat above: even validated screeners over-identify ADHD when given to the general public.⁴

While you wait: what helps day to day

Getting assessed can take time. Meanwhile, the practical strategies used for ADHD are safe to try and helpful for most people who find focus hard. They are the same skills taught in cognitive behavioral therapy for adult ADHD, which has good evidence behind it.¹⁴

• Get tasks out of your head the moment you think of them. See help with forgetfulness.
• Keep today's list to three things. See the ADHD to-do list.
• Make the first step tiny. See help with task paralysis.
• Make time visible. See help with time blindness.

The full method is in our guide to ADHD task management. We also make NoRush, a task manager for Chrome built on these ideas. It is a productivity tool. It does not diagnose or treat ADHD, and you do not need a diagnosis to use it.

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