ADHD assessment. Understanding the whole picture.

Clinical experience. Personal understanding.

Charlotte trained in assessing children with Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust. Her nursing and clinical education background informs a thoughtful, evidence-led approach to understanding individual needs.

As a parent of neurodivergent children, I understand how much energy can go into navigating school, appointments, everyday routines and support systems. I know that families can feel overwhelmed or unheard. Every person and family is different; my aim is to listen without judgement and help you feel better informed about your next steps.

Charlotte · Willoway Medical Clinic

Lived experience informs our compassion; it does not replace individual clinical assessment. Training with an NHS organisation does not imply its endorsement of Willoway. Please confirm the assessing clinician, current service scope and age eligibility before booking. The questionnaire on this page remains for adults aged 18 and over only.

What a thorough assessment considers.

Understanding ADHD takes more than recognising a few familiar traits. NICE guideline NG87 describes a specialist assessment that considers your history, everyday functioning, health and individual support needs. The guide below summarises its care pathway; the full recommendations remain the authoritative source.

NICE NG87 refers to DSM-5 or ICD-11 diagnostic criteria. These are clinical frameworks, not an online pass/fail checklist. The symptom-count summary below describes DSM-5 specifically; it should not be applied as an ICD-11 scoring rule. A clinician interprets criteria in context, with age-appropriate examples.

A specialist-led assessment

Diagnosis should be made only by a specialist psychiatrist, paediatrician or another appropriately qualified healthcare professional with training and expertise in diagnosing ADHD. NICE calls for a full clinical and psychosocial assessment, developmental and psychiatric history, observer reports and assessment of mental state.

Symptoms, duration and development

DSM-5 considers persistent inattention and/or hyperactivity–impulsivity for at least six months, inconsistent with developmental level. It requires at least five symptoms in a domain for people aged 17 and over, or six for children aged 16 and under. Several symptoms should have been present before age 12. A childhood diagnosis is not required. NICE advises against excluding someone simply because the exact age of onset is uncertain.

More than one setting, meaningful impact

Symptoms should occur often in two or more important settings, such as home, work, education or social life. NICE also requires at least moderate psychological, social, educational or occupational impairment. Common traits or a high questionnaire score without this wider evidence are not enough for diagnosis.

Other explanations and coexisting conditions

The assessment considers whether sleep problems, anxiety, depression, trauma, substance use, physical illness or other factors could better explain the difficulties, and whether conditions such as autism or learning difficulties coexist with ADHD. Having another condition does not automatically exclude ADHD. Physical health, circumstances, strengths and support needs matter too.

History and observations, with consent

Examples from daily life, previous reports and accounts from someone who knows you can help. Childhood school reports or family observations may be useful where available, but missing records do not alone prove or rule out ADHD. Children and young people’s views should be considered, with parent/carer and school information where appropriate. Clinical information should be shared only through agreed confidential channels.

A considered conclusion and next steps

Rating scales can support an interview but must not be the sole basis of diagnosis. The outcome may be ADHD, a different explanation, coexisting needs or a need for further evaluation. Discuss the findings, support and onward care; a diagnosis does not automatically mean medication or NHS GP acceptance of private shared care.

Inattention

Examples include persistent difficulty sustaining attention, organising tasks, following through, remembering commitments or keeping track of belongings. A clinician considers frequency, context and impact—not simply whether these experiences ever happen.

Hyperactivity and impulsivity

Examples include persistent fidgeting or restlessness, difficulty waiting, interrupting or acting before considering consequences. Adult hyperactivity may be experienced as internal restlessness rather than obvious running or climbing.

From recognition to ongoing support.

Where do digital tests fit?

NICE HTG729 supports QbTest as an optional aid for ages 6–17, only alongside a standard clinical assessment. It calls for more research on adult use, other listed technologies and treatment-response monitoring. It does not make a digital test—or this adult questionnaire—a standalone diagnosis, and does not imply Willoway offers QbTest.

A little preparation can help.

• Think of examples from more than one setting and how difficulties affect your life.
• Consider when difficulties started; bring previous reports if you have them.
• Discuss relevant health, sleep, medicines and other circumstances confidentially with the clinician.
• Ask about assessor qualifications, age eligibility, assessment/report format, fees and follow-up.
• Ask how ongoing care and any NHS GP/shared-care arrangements would be agreed; acceptance is not automatic.

NICE and related assessment sources

Sources checked 10 October 2026

Adult pre-screening questionnaire

This evidence-based questionnaire is for adults aged 18 and over. It is a pre-screening aid, not a diagnosis, a full assessment or a test of treatment eligibility. NICE advises that ADHD must not be diagnosed from rating scales alone; NICE does not endorse this website or this particular screener.

Your answers and result stay in this page’s temporary browser memory. They are not saved, sent to Willoway, added to your enquiry or used to create a clinical record. Reset or reload this page to clear them. Do not send answers or health details through the general enquiry form, text or WhatsApp.

Adult Self-Report Scale-V1.1 (ASRS-V1.1) Screener

Check the box that best describes how you have felt and conducted yourself over the past 6 months. Please give the completed questionnaire to your healthcare professional during your next appointment to discuss the results.

Response options: Never · Rarely · Sometimes · Often · Very Often

1. How often do you have trouble wrapping up the final details of a project, once the challenging parts have been done?
2. How often do you have difficulty getting things in order when you have to do a task that requires organization?
3. How often do you have problems remembering appointments or obligations?
4. When you have a task that requires a lot of thought, how often do you avoid or delay getting started?
5. How often do you fidget or squirm with your hands or feet when you have to sit down for a long time?
6. How often do you feel overly active and compelled to do things, like you were driven by a motor?

Add the number of checkmarks that appear in the darkly shaded area. Four (4) or more checkmarks indicate that your symptoms may be consistent with Adult ADHD. It may be beneficial for you to talk with your healthcare provider about an evaluation.

Confirm you are aged 18 or over and answer all six questions in the interactive tool. Four or more shaded-range responses meet the screening threshold, not diagnostic criteria. A lower score does not rule out ADHD. Persistent difficulties should be discussed with a GP or qualified specialist at any score.

Enable JavaScript to use the private interactive questionnaire on this page. No answers are entered or submitted in this initial view.

The 6-question Adult Self-Report Scale-Version1.1 (ASRS-V1.1) Screener is a subset of the 18-question Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale-Version1.1 (Adult ASRSV1.1) Symptom Checklist. © New York University and the President and Fellows of Harvard College. All rights reserved.

Support beyond the assessment.

Understanding your needs is one part of the journey. Putting those needs into words for education or disability-support applications can be another challenge. Willoway offers practical help around DLA, PIP and EHCP applications, with the scope, format, availability and any fees agreed before work begins.

What we can help you prepare

• Understanding what a form or request asks, and planning manageable next steps.
• Helping you describe genuine day-to-day needs and the support already required, in your own words.
• Organising existing, relevant evidence and identifying information you may want to request from clinicians or education settings.
• Preparing questions and draft statements for you to check, and signposting to free independent benefits or SEND advice.

This is practical application support, not a promise of a benefit award, an EHC plan, a particular school placement or NHS acceptance of a report. DWP and the local authority make their respective decisions. We do not claim legal representation or tribunal advocacy. You remain in control of checking and submitting your application; any professional statement must be factual and within the clinician’s knowledge. Support is separate from diagnosis, and an adult screening result is not application evidence of a diagnosis.

The EHC plan information here relates to England. Benefits and education-support arrangements differ elsewhere in the UK; Scotland uses Child Disability Payment and Adult Disability Payment. Use guidance for where you live.

Use the general enquiry form for availability, format and fees only. Do not send children’s names, diagnoses, screening answers, medical or school reports, National Insurance/NHS numbers, benefit letters or other sensitive documents. If we agree to work together, confidential evidence-sharing arrangements will be discussed separately.

Free, independent help is available too

When another service may be the right next step

If assessment identifies needs beyond our scope, we can discuss appropriate onward referral or signposting, and liaise with your GP or other professionals where appropriate and with consent. Any referral follows the receiving service’s criteria and triage. It does not guarantee acceptance, priority, adoption of a private diagnosis or transfer of medication care. Urgent mental health concerns need an urgent NHS pathway, not a routine website enquiry.