About & methodology

Our mission

We believe that ADHD screening should be accessible to everyone, regardless of income, insurance status, or proximity to specialized care. Millions of people live with undiagnosed ADHD -- experiencing chronic difficulties with attention, organization, impulsivity, or emotional regulation without understanding why. For many, the path to professional evaluation begins with a moment of recognition: reading about symptoms and thinking, "That sounds like me."

Our free self-assessment is designed to facilitate that moment. It provides a structured, evidence-based framework for evaluating your own experiences against the same DSM-5 criteria that clinicians use, and it gives you clear, actionable results you can bring to a healthcare provider. We do not charge for the assessment, we do not require an account, and we do not sell your data. The tool exists to help people take a meaningful first step toward understanding their own minds.

Methodology: how the assessment was built

DSM-5 foundation

Every question in our assessment maps directly to one of the 18 symptom criteria defined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5). The DSM-5 organizes ADHD symptoms into two clusters:

Inattention (9 symptoms): Difficulty sustaining attention, following through on tasks, organizing activities, and managing daily responsibilities. Questions 1 through 9 in our assessment correspond to these symptoms.
Hyperactivity-Impulsivity (9 symptoms): Restlessness, excessive talking, difficulty waiting, impulsive actions, and a feeling of being driven by a motor. Questions 10 through 18 correspond to these symptoms.

Each question was written to capture the essence of its corresponding DSM-5 criterion in accessible, everyday language that resonates across different age groups and life contexts. For more detail on each symptom with real-life examples, see our full DSM-5 ADHD criteria guide.

ASRS influence

Our question design and scoring approach are influenced by the Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS), a screening tool developed by the World Health Organization in collaboration with leading ADHD researchers. The ASRS is one of the most widely used and validated ADHD screening instruments in clinical practice. While our assessment is not a direct reproduction of the ASRS, it follows similar principles in translating clinical criteria into self-report questions with graduated frequency responses.

Question design principles

Each question in our assessment was designed with several principles in mind:

Behavioral specificity. Questions describe observable behaviors rather than abstract traits, making it easier for respondents to evaluate their own experience accurately.
Contextual relevance. Questions are framed in contexts that apply to both adults and teens, covering work, school, home, and social situations.
Neutral language. Questions avoid leading language that might bias responses. They describe experiences without labeling them as problems, allowing respondents to report honestly.
Frequency-based responses. Rather than asking "Do you have this symptom?" (yes/no), each question asks how often the experience occurs, providing a more nuanced picture of symptom severity.

How scoring works

5-point Likert scale

Each of the 18 questions is answered on a 5-point frequency scale:

Never (0 points)
Rarely (1 point)
Sometimes (2 points)
Often (3 points)
Very Often (4 points)

This produces a raw score range of 0-36 for each symptom cluster and 0-72 overall. These raw scores give you a sense of overall symptom severity.

Clinical threshold scoring

In addition to raw scores, our assessment applies a clinical threshold analysis that mirrors how clinicians interpret standardized rating scales. For each question, a response of "Often" or "Very Often" counts as one clinically relevant symptom. This is consistent with how the ASRS and similar instruments determine whether a symptom is present at a clinically significant level.

The DSM-5 specifies different thresholds based on age:

Adults (age 17+): 5 or more clinically relevant symptoms in either cluster meets the threshold.
Adolescents (under age 17): 6 or more clinically relevant symptoms in either cluster meets the threshold.

Dual-axis scoring

Your results are reported separately for the inattention and hyperactivity-impulsivity clusters, allowing you to see your symptom profile across both dimensions. This dual-axis approach reveals whether your symptoms are:

Primarily inattentive -- elevated inattention scores with lower hyperactivity-impulsivity scores
Primarily hyperactive-impulsive -- elevated hyperactivity-impulsivity scores with lower inattention scores
Combined -- elevated scores in both clusters
Below threshold -- scores in both clusters fall below the clinical threshold

This mirrors the three ADHD presentations recognized by the DSM-5. For more on what these presentations mean, visit our guide on inattentive vs. hyperactive ADHD. For a detailed guide to understanding your specific scores, see our results explained page.

Scientific basis and validation context

Our assessment is grounded in several well-established scientific principles:

DSM-5 criteria represent the current consensus of the psychiatric community on what constitutes ADHD. These criteria have been refined over decades of research and clinical observation.
Self-report screening is an accepted first step in ADHD identification. The ASRS, which informs our approach, has demonstrated good sensitivity and specificity in research settings, meaning it correctly identifies most people with ADHD while minimizing false positives.
Frequency-based scaling has been shown to provide more reliable self-report data than simple yes/no responses, as it captures the dimensional nature of ADHD symptoms.

It is important to note that our specific assessment has not undergone independent psychometric validation in a published clinical study. It is an educational tool built on validated principles and established criteria, not a clinically validated instrument in its own right. This distinction matters and is part of why we consistently recommend professional evaluation as the next step. For more on how clinical evaluation works, read our article on how clinicians diagnose ADHD.

Who this tool is for

Adults who suspect they may have undiagnosed ADHD and want to organize their observations before seeking professional evaluation.
Teens (approximately age 13+) who are struggling with attention, organization, or impulse control and want to understand whether ADHD might be a factor.
Parents who want to evaluate their child's or teen's symptoms in a structured format.
College students facing new academic and organizational demands that may be exposing previously compensated symptoms.
Previously diagnosed individuals who want to track how their symptoms change over time or in response to treatment.
Anyone curious about ADHD who wants to learn more about the condition through a hands-on, self-reflective experience.

Who this tool is NOT for

Young children. Our questions are written for teens and adults. Child ADHD evaluation requires direct observation, parent and teacher input, and developmental context that a self-report tool cannot provide.
Anyone seeking a diagnosis. This tool does not diagnose ADHD. It cannot. Diagnosis requires a qualified clinician who can evaluate onset age, symptom duration, pervasiveness, functional impairment, and alternative explanations. Read our article on why self-tests are not diagnoses.
Anyone in crisis. If you are experiencing a mental health emergency, please contact a crisis service, your healthcare provider, or the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline immediately.

Privacy and data handling

We take your privacy seriously. Here is how we handle your information:

No server-side storage of responses. Your answers and results are processed entirely in your browser. We do not transmit your assessment data to our servers or any third party.
No account required. You do not need to create an account, provide your name, or enter any identifying information to take the assessment.
No selling of data. We do not sell, share, or monetize user data in any way.
Optional sharing. If we offer features that allow you to share or save your results (such as emailed summaries), these are always opt-in actions initiated by you.

Editorial standards

All content on this site -- including assessment questions, educational pages, and blog posts -- is written with the following standards:

Evidence-based. Claims are grounded in published research, established clinical guidelines, and the DSM-5. We do not promote unproven treatments or make claims unsupported by evidence.
Accessible. Medical and psychological concepts are explained in plain language without sacrificing accuracy. We aim to make ADHD information understandable to anyone, regardless of their medical background.
Empathetic. We write with awareness that our readers may be in a vulnerable moment -- confronting difficult questions about their own mental health or that of someone they love. Our tone is supportive, non-judgmental, and respectful.
Honest about limitations. We are transparent about what our tool can and cannot do. We do not overstate the significance of self-assessment results or minimize the importance of professional evaluation.

Comprehensive limitations

It is important to understand what this assessment does not do:

It is not a diagnosis. No self-assessment, regardless of how well-designed, can replace the clinical judgment of a trained professional.
It does not evaluate onset age. The DSM-5 requires that symptoms were present before age 12. Our assessment measures current symptom frequency and cannot evaluate whether symptoms were present in childhood.
It does not assess pervasiveness. The DSM-5 requires symptoms in two or more settings. Our assessment captures self-reported frequency but does not independently verify that symptoms occur across different contexts.
It does not measure functional impairment. Meeting a symptom count threshold is not sufficient for diagnosis. A clinician must also determine that symptoms cause meaningful impairment in social, academic, or occupational functioning.
It does not evaluate co-occurring conditions. Anxiety, depression, sleep disorders, thyroid conditions, trauma, and other conditions can mimic or coexist with ADHD. Only a clinician can perform the differential diagnosis necessary to untangle these overlaps. See our articles on ADHD vs. anxiety and ADHD vs. depression.
It does not account for situational factors. Stress, sleep deprivation, major life changes, and other temporary factors can inflate symptom scores without indicating ADHD.
Self-report has inherent limitations. People may over- or under-report symptoms depending on their self-awareness, current mood, desire for a specific outcome, or understanding of the questions.

How to use your results productively

The most productive way to use this assessment is as a structured conversation starter. Here is what we recommend:

Take the assessment honestly. Answer based on your typical experience, not your best or worst days. Do not try to achieve a particular result. Take the test here.
Review your results carefully. Look at both your inattention and hyperactivity-impulsivity scores. Note which specific symptoms you rated as "Often" or "Very Often." Our results explained page provides a detailed guide to interpretation.
Reflect on your history. Think about whether the patterns you identified have been present since childhood, occur in multiple areas of your life, and cause meaningful difficulty in your daily functioning.
Bring your results to a professional. Whether your scores are elevated or not, if ADHD symptoms are causing difficulty in your life, a conversation with a qualified provider is worthwhile. Your self-assessment results give you and the clinician a concrete starting point.
Learn more. Use the educational resources on this site to deepen your understanding. Explore how ADHD presents in adults and teens, learn about the different presentation types, and read about next steps after taking an ADHD test.

Professional evaluation: the essential next step

We cannot emphasize this enough: a self-assessment is not a substitute for professional evaluation. If your results suggest elevated symptoms, or if you are experiencing significant difficulty with attention, organization, impulse control, or emotional regulation, please seek evaluation from a qualified healthcare provider. This might be:

A psychiatrist with experience in ADHD
A clinical psychologist specializing in ADHD assessment
A neuropsychologist who can conduct comprehensive testing
Your primary care physician, who can screen for ADHD and provide referrals

To learn what the evaluation process involves, read our guides on how clinicians diagnose ADHD and what to expect at an ADHD evaluation. And for answers to other common questions, visit our FAQ page.

This content is educational and does not constitute medical advice. Our self-assessment is an educational tool, not a clinical instrument. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider for diagnosis and treatment decisions.