Resources

What happens during an adult ADHD assessment?

An adult ADHD assessment is a structured clinical conversation, delivered online. It looks at how you function now and how you functioned as a child, because ADHD is a developmental condition rather than something that begins in adulthood.

What the assessment covers

You will be asked about attention, organisation, restlessness and impulsivity, and about how those show up at work, at home and in relationships. You will also be asked about your childhood, your education, your general health and your mood, because several other things can look like ADHD and need to be separated from it.

What you get at the end

You get a clear clinical opinion and an explanation of the reasoning behind it. That opinion may or may not be a diagnosis of ADHD. An assessment does not guarantee a diagnosis, and a thorough assessment that concludes ADHD is not present is a useful result rather than a failed one.

What happens afterwards

If ADHD is diagnosed, treatment is discussed as a separate stage rather than decided in the same appointment. That separation is deliberate: a considered decision about treatment needs the assessment to be finished first.

Where to go next

Keep reading

Related articles