About This ADHD Test
This free ADHD test is Part A of the Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS v1.1), created by researchers at Harvard and NYU with the World Health Organization. Its six questions were the ones that best predicted ADHD out of the full 18-question checklist (Kessler et al. 2005). It takes about two minutes and is scored in your browser. Your answers are never stored or sent anywhere.
The six questions, answer choices, and scoring are the published form's. A screening test is a starting point, not a diagnosis: a positive result means a full evaluation is warranted, and a low score doesn't rule ADHD out.
What Your ADHD Test Score Means
The ASRS counts an answer when it falls in the shaded range of the published form: Sometimes or more for questions 1 to 3, and Often or more for questions 4 to 6. Four or more counted answers is a positive screen, which the ASRS describes as symptoms highly consistent with ADHD in adults. A full evaluation is the next step.
Two or three counted answers is below the threshold. That middle band is our way of showing a near-miss; the ASRS itself only reads positive or negative. Zero or one is below the threshold too, but a low score doesn't rule ADHD out: in the original study, the six questions missed about 3 in 10 adults who had ADHD (Kessler et al. 2005). If focus problems affect work, school or relationships, an evaluation can still help.
ADHD often comes with anxiety, depression, or sleep problems, which can make each harder to sort out (NIMH). You can also take our free depression test or anxiety test and bring all your results to your visit.
Do I Have ADHD? Signs Adults Notice
In adults, ADHD often looks less like a hyperactive child and more like trouble staying organized, keeping appointments, managing time, finishing large projects, and sticking with tasks, along with restlessness or acting without thinking (NIMH). Hyperactivity may ease or show up as restlessness, and symptoms can get harder to manage as the demands of adult life grow (CDC).
What separates ADHD from ordinary distraction is the pattern. The symptoms are frequent, show up in more than one part of life, have lasted at least 6 months, cause real problems at home, work, or school, and started before age 12, even if no one noticed then. People 17 and older need five symptoms of inattention, or five of hyperactivity and impulsivity, instead of the six required for children (NIMH). Symptoms in girls and women are especially likely to have been missed in childhood (see ADHD in women).
From Screening to Diagnosis
A positive screen is the start of ADHD testing, not the end. The diagnosis comes from a clinical evaluation, where a licensed clinician reviews your symptoms now and in childhood, how they affect your life, and what else could explain them. Our guide to who can diagnose ADHD explains the steps, and you can book an online ADHD evaluation with a licensed psychiatric clinician (physician, nurse practitioner or physician assistant, depending on your state).
