Adult ADHD Screener

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in adults shows up as long-standing patterns of inattention, restlessness, and impulsivity that get in the way of everyday life - losing track of tasks, struggling to finish what you start, fidgeting, or acting before thinking. This self-assessment is based on the Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS-v1.1), a screening questionnaire developed with the World Health Organization to flag symptoms that may be worth a closer look.

This is a screening tool, not a diagnosis. It screens for ADHD symptoms; it does not, and cannot, diagnose ADHD. Only a qualified health professional can diagnose ADHD, through a thorough evaluation that considers your history, rules out other explanations, and looks at how symptoms affect your life. An elevated result here means your answers resemble those of people who go on to be assessed for ADHD - a reason to consider seeking an evaluation, not a conclusion.

The questionnaire has 18 items and takes about 6 minutes. It asks how often, over the past six months, you have experienced common ADHD symptoms. Your answers are summarized across two symptom areas - inattention and hyperactivity-impulsivity - and compared against established screening thresholds, so you see where your symptoms sit rather than a raw number in isolation.

The ASRS covers the two symptom domains that define ADHD in adults. Inattention is difficulty sustaining focus, following through, organizing tasks, and remembering routine obligations. Hyperactivity-impulsivity is restlessness, difficulty settling, talking or acting before thinking, and a sense of being driven. People can lean toward one domain, show both, or show neither; reporting them separately makes your pattern clearer than a single total would.

Each domain is summed and read against established screening cut-offs rather than population percentiles, because the ASRS is designed to flag a likelihood, not to rank you. A result at or above the threshold means your symptoms are frequent enough that a professional evaluation would be reasonable; a result below it makes clinically significant ADHD less likely but does not rule it out. Because symptoms must be long-standing and impairing to matter clinically, the questionnaire cannot see that context, which is exactly why a screen is a starting point and not a verdict.

The Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale was developed by Kessler and colleagues in 2005 in collaboration with the World Health Organization, as a short screening instrument for use in the general population. Its shorter screening version showed good sensitivity and specificity against clinical assessment, and subsequent studies confirmed its reliability and validity as a screen across settings. It is widely used in research and practice as a first step, not a final word.

What it is not is a diagnostic test. ADHD is diagnosed by a clinical evaluation that considers a long-standing history, impairment across areas of life, and the exclusion of other explanations - none of which a short questionnaire can capture. A high score is an invitation to consider talking to a professional, not a diagnosis; a low score does not rule out ADHD if you are still struggling. Used here as an educational self-assessment, it is best treated as a starting point for reflection and, where warranted, for professional evaluation.