ADHD Screening Tools
What are ADHD screening tools?
Screening tools are questionnaires designed to help identify whether someone may have ADHD. They are not diagnostic tests - they cannot confirm or rule out ADHD on their own. But they can be a useful starting point, both for the person completing them and for the clinician considering whether a full assessment is appropriate.
Screening is not diagnosis
NICE guideline NG87 is clear: ADHD should only be diagnosed by a specialist on the basis of a full clinical and psychosocial assessment. A diagnosis should not be made solely on the basis of rating scale or observational data.1
Screening tools can help in several ways. They can help you organise your thoughts before speaking to your GP. They can provide your GP with structured evidence to support a referral. And they can help clinicians during assessment to systematically evaluate symptoms.
The ASRS (Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale)
The ASRS is the most widely used screening tool for adult ADHD worldwide. It was developed in partnership with the World Health Organization and is freely available in the public domain.2
How it works
The full ASRS contains 18 questions based on the DSM diagnostic criteria for ADHD. Each question asks how often you experience a specific symptom, rated on a scale from “never” to “very often.”
The first 6 questions form Part A - a shorter screener that is designed to be as effective as the full 18-item scale for initial screening purposes. In validation studies, Part A achieved a sensitivity of 90% and specificity of 88% when using a score of 14 or above as the threshold.2
What it covers
The ASRS asks about difficulties with:
- Finishing tasks and paying attention to details
- Keeping things organised
- Remembering appointments and obligations
- Avoiding or delaying tasks that require sustained thinking
- Fidgeting or feeling restless
- Feeling overly active or driven
Strengths
- Free and publicly available
- Quick to complete (5-10 minutes for Part A)
- Well-validated with good sensitivity and specificity
- Useful to bring to a GP appointment as supporting evidence for a referral
- Available in multiple languages
Limitations
- It is a self-report tool, so it relies on the person’s own assessment of their symptoms
- It does not assess childhood symptoms, which are required for diagnosis
- It can produce false positives - some people who score above the threshold will not meet diagnostic criteria on full assessment3
- It does not distinguish between ADHD and other conditions that can cause similar symptoms (such as anxiety, depression, or sleep disorders)
The ASRS is a useful first step
The Royal College of Psychiatrists in Scotland recommends that the ASRS can be a helpful tool to take to your GP appointment when discussing a possible ADHD assessment.3
The DIVA (Diagnostic Interview for ADHD in Adults)
The DIVA is a structured clinical interview used by specialists during ADHD assessment. Unlike the ASRS, the DIVA is not a self-report questionnaire - it is completed with a clinician.4
How it works
The DIVA walks through each of the DSM diagnostic criteria for ADHD systematically. For each symptom, it evaluates:
- Whether the symptom is present now (in adulthood)
- Whether the symptom was present in childhood
- Developmentally appropriate examples are provided for both time periods
It also assesses impairment across five areas of everyday life: work and education, relationships and family life, social contacts, free time and hobbies, and self-confidence and self-image.
Why collateral information matters
The DIVA is ideally completed with a partner or family member present. This is because ADHD diagnosis requires evidence that symptoms began in childhood. Having someone who knew you as a child can provide valuable information that you may not remember or recognise.
Strengths
- Highly structured and comprehensive
- Covers both current and childhood symptoms
- Includes impairment assessment across multiple life domains
- Freely available for clinical use
- Widely used across Europe
Limitations
- Must be administered by a trained clinician - it is not a self-screening tool
- Requires time (typically 60-90 minutes)
- Relies on retrospective recall for childhood symptoms, which can be unreliable
The CAARS (Conners’ Adult ADHD Rating Scale)
The CAARS is a standardised assessment tool with several versions, from a brief screening form to a comprehensive long version.5
How it works
The CAARS includes self-report and observer-report versions. The self-report version asks you to rate how well various statements describe your behaviour. The observer version asks someone who knows you well to rate the same behaviours.
It provides normative data adjusted for age and gender, which means your scores are compared against what would be expected for someone of your demographic. It also includes an inconsistency index that flags if your responses contain notable contradictions.
Strengths
- Available in both self-report and observer-report versions
- Age and gender-adjusted norms
- Includes subscales for specific symptom domains (inattention, hyperactivity, impulsivity, self-concept)
- Well-established in research and clinical practice
Limitations
- Not freely available - it is a commercial product that must be purchased
- Typically used by specialists as part of a broader assessment, not as an initial screener
- Like all rating scales, it captures a snapshot and should not be used in isolation
Other tools used in the UK
QbTest
NICE has evaluated digital technologies for ADHD assessment, including the QbTest - a computerised test that measures attention, impulsivity, and motor activity. NICE guidance (DG60) recommends that the QbTest can be used as part of the diagnostic process for children and young people, but it should not be used as a standalone diagnostic tool.6
Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ)
The SDQ is a brief behavioural screening questionnaire commonly used in children and young people. It is not ADHD-specific but can flag hyperactivity and concentration difficulties that may warrant further investigation.1
Weiss Functional Impairment Rating Scale (W-FIRS)
The W-FIRS measures how symptoms affect functioning across different life areas. It is sometimes used alongside the DIVA to assess the impact of ADHD symptoms on daily life.
Using screening tools effectively
Before seeing your GP
If you think you may have ADHD, completing the ASRS Part A before your GP appointment can be helpful. It gives your GP structured information to consider alongside your description of your difficulties. It is not a requirement for referral, but it can strengthen the conversation.
What a screening score means
A high score on a screening tool means that your pattern of symptoms is consistent with ADHD and that a full specialist assessment is likely warranted. It does not mean you have ADHD.
A low score does not necessarily mean you do not have ADHD. Screening tools can miss people whose symptoms present differently, particularly women and those with the predominantly inattentive presentation.
Your experience matters more than a score
If you recognise yourself in descriptions of ADHD but do not score highly on a screening questionnaire, your experience is still valid. Screening tools are imperfect. What matters is how these difficulties affect your life - and a specialist assessment can explore that in depth.
What screening tools cannot do
Screening tools cannot diagnose ADHD. They cannot distinguish ADHD from other conditions with overlapping symptoms. They cannot assess the full picture - childhood history, developmental trajectory, impairment, and co-occurring conditions - that a specialist assessment covers.
They are a useful starting point, not the final word.
Getting support
If you want to be assessed
- Speak to your GP about a referral for specialist ADHD assessment
- Consider completing the ASRS Part A to bring to your appointment
- In England, you have the legal Right to Choose your assessment provider
- Use our Local Services directory to find ADHD services near you
neurobetter resources
- ADHD - understanding ADHD as a whole
- Getting assessed - what to expect from the assessment process
- Getting a diagnosis - the broader diagnostic landscape
- Gender differences in ADHD - why screening tools may miss women and girls
- Our online community - connect with others who understand
- Ask a Counsellor - private, confidential guidance
In crisis?
If you are in crisis or need immediate support, please visit our Get Help Now page.
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National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. (2018, updated 2019). Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: diagnosis and management. NICE guideline NG87. https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng87 ↩
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Kessler, R.C., Adler, L., Ames, M. et al. (2005). The World Health Organization Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS): a short screening scale for use in the general population. Psychological Medicine, 35(2), 245-256. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291704002892 ↩
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Royal College of Psychiatrists Scotland. (2017). ADHD in adults: good practice guidelines. https://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/docs/default-source/members/divisions/scotland/adhd_in_adultsfinal_guidelines_june2017.pdf ↩
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Kooij, J.J.S. & Francken, M.H. (2010). Diagnostic Interview for ADHD in Adults (DIVA). DIVA Foundation. https://www.divacenter.eu/ ↩
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Conners, C.K., Erhardt, D. & Sparrow, E. (1999). Conners’ Adult ADHD Rating Scales (CAARS). Multi-Health Systems. ↩
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National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. (2023). Digital technologies for assessing attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. NICE diagnostics guidance DG60. https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/dg60 ↩
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