Free Adult ADHD Screening Tool | ADHD Symptoms & Criteria

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Adult ADHD Screening & Criteria

For adults age 17 and older, five symptoms within a symptom domain are required. Symptom count alone is not sufficient for diagnosis.

Part 1 · Inattention

Inattentive symptoms

Select symptoms that are persistent and familiar to you.

Why this part matters

Inattention in ADHD is more than occasionally getting distracted. The evaluation looks for a persistent group of attention and organization difficulties that occur often enough to form a recognizable pattern.

How to use this section: Think about your usual functioning over time rather than an unusually stressful day or week. For adults age 17 and older, five symptoms in this domain meet the symptom-count portion of the framework, but the other criteria still have to be considered.

1. Attention to detailsOften overlooks details or makes careless mistakes.Example: Missing an important detail in instructions or making avoidable errors despite understanding the task.

2. Sustaining attentionDifficulty maintaining focus during reading, conversations, lectures, or other activities.Example: Reaching the end of a page and realizing very little was absorbed, or losing the thread of a conversation.

3. ListeningMay seem not to listen even when spoken to directly; the mind may seem elsewhere.Example: Looking engaged in a conversation but realizing your attention drifted and you missed part of what was said.

4. Following throughStarts tasks but drifts away, becomes sidetracked, or has difficulty finishing.Example: Beginning one household or work task, noticing something else, switching to it, and leaving the first task unfinished.

5. OrganizationDifficulty organizing tasks, managing time, or meeting deadlines.Example: Knowing what needs to be done but struggling to sequence the steps, estimate time, or get everything completed by the deadline.

6. Sustained mental effortAvoids or dislikes tasks requiring prolonged mental effort, such as reports or forms.Example: Repeatedly putting off paperwork or a long report even when it is important.

7. Losing thingsFrequently loses items such as keys, wallet, or phone.Example: Regularly spending time searching for everyday items needed to leave the house or complete a task.

8. DistractibilityEasily distracted by external activity or unrelated internal thoughts.Example: A nearby conversation, notification, noise, or unrelated thought pulls attention away from what you intended to do.

9. ForgetfulnessForgets bills, calls, appointments, or everyday responsibilities.Example: Intending to return a call or pay a bill and then completely forgetting until much later.

Selected: 0 of 9

Part 2 · Hyperactivity / impulsivity

Hyperactive and impulsive symptoms

In adults, obvious motor hyperactivity may become less prominent and may feel more like internal restlessness.

Why this part matters

ADHD can involve difficulty regulating activity and impulses as well as attention. In adulthood, that may not look like obvious childhood hyperactivity. It can appear as restlessness, impatience, excessive talking, interrupting, or acting quickly without enough forethought.

How it relates to ADHD: For adults age 17 and older, five symptoms in this domain meet the symptom-count portion of the framework. Someone can have an inattentive presentation without reaching this threshold, a hyperactive/impulsive presentation, or a combined presentation when both symptom groups are present.

1. FidgetingFrequently fidgets or has difficulty remaining still.Example: Repeatedly moving your hands or feet or feeling uncomfortable staying physically still.

2. Difficulty remaining seatedMay have difficulty staying seated when remaining seated is expected.Example: Feeling a strong urge to get up during situations where other people remain seated.

3. RestlessnessMay experience physical or internal restlessness.Example: You may look calm externally but feel as though an internal motor never fully stops.

4. Difficulty with quiet activityMay have difficulty settling into quiet activities.Example: Finding it difficult to slow down and participate quietly even when the situation calls for it.

5. “On the go”Often feels driven to keep moving or doing something.Example: Filling available time with activity and having difficulty simply relaxing.

6. Excessive talkingMay talk more than intended.Example: Realizing afterward that you dominated a conversation or kept talking longer than you meant to.

7. Blurting outMay answer before a question is finished or finish other people's sentences.

8. WaitingDifficulty waiting for a turn or tolerating waiting.Example: Becoming unusually impatient while standing in line or waiting for your opportunity to speak.

9. Interrupting or intrudingMay interrupt, intrude, or take over what others are doing.Example: Entering conversations or activities before waiting for an appropriate opening.

Selected: 0 of 9

Part 3 · Childhood onset

Were several symptoms present before age 12?

The diagnostic framework requires evidence that several inattentive or hyperactive/impulsive symptoms were present before age 12.

Why childhood history is important

ADHD is understood as a longstanding pattern rather than an attention problem that suddenly begins in adulthood. That is why the evaluation asks whether several symptoms were already present before age 12.

Example: An adult may now struggle with deadlines and organization but remember frequently losing school materials, daydreaming, forgetting assignments, or needing unusually strong structure as a child.

If concentration problems truly appeared for the first time later in life, the evaluation needs to consider other explanations.

Yes

Unsure / I do not remember clearly

No / the difficulties seem to have started later

When available, old school records or information from family members can provide additional childhood context.

Part 4 · Two or more settings

Where are symptoms present?

The diagnostic framework requires several symptoms to be present in two or more settings.

Why more than one setting matters

ADHD is expected to affect functioning across different parts of life rather than appearing only in one very specific situation.

Example: Someone may miss deadlines and become distracted at work while also forgetting responsibilities at home or interrupting frequently in relationships.

A difficulty that happens only in one environment may still be important, but by itself it does not demonstrate the cross-setting pattern considered in ADHD diagnosis.

Work or school

Home

Relationships or social situations

Another important setting

Part 5 · Functional impact

Do the symptoms interfere with everyday functioning?

Diagnosis requires clear evidence that symptoms interfere with or reduce the quality of social, academic, or occupational functioning.

Why impairment matters

Having ADHD-like traits is not the same as having a disorder. The symptoms need to meaningfully interfere with functioning or reduce its quality.

Example: A student may still earn good grades but need twice as much time as equally capable peers, repeatedly work through the night, or sacrifice social life and wellbeing just to keep up. A professional may appear successful while relying on constant over-preparation and self-monitoring.

The evaluation therefore considers the real-life cost of maintaining performance, not just whether someone is technically succeeding.

Yes, they meaningfully interfere with my functioning.

I'm unsure how much they interfere.

No, I do not notice meaningful interference.

Good grades or career success do not necessarily show how much effort someone uses to compensate. Some high-functioning adults maintain performance through intense effort, routines, perfectionism, or constant self-monitoring.

Part 6 · Other explanations

Could another condition better explain the symptoms?

Attention problems, restlessness, and emotional dysregulation are not specific to ADHD.

Why alternative explanations matter

Many experiences associated with ADHD can also occur for other reasons. A symptom checklist cannot determine what is causing the symptoms.

Example: Difficulty concentrating may occur alongside anxiety, depression, sleep problems, medication effects, thyroid dysfunction, substance use, bipolar disorder, or prior traumatic brain injury.

These conditions can sometimes coexist with ADHD, so this step is not simply about “ruling ADHD out.” It explains why the complete clinical picture matters.

Overlapping considerations from the information provided for this site include anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, substance use, sleep disorders, thyroid dysfunction, prior traumatic brain injury, and medication effects. These can also occur alongside ADHD.

I am not aware of another explanation.

I am unsure whether another condition could explain these symptoms.

Another condition or factor may explain some or all of these symptoms.

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