Free Adult ADHD Screening Questionnaire

In brief

• The ASRS v1.1 asks about experiences during the past six months.
• Four or more responses in its published scoring ranges constitute a positive screen.
• A positive screen means further discussion may be worthwhile. It does not confirm ADHD.
• A result below the cutoff does not rule out ADHD or make your concerns unimportant.

What should you know before completing it?

Try to answer according to your usual experience over the past six months, rather than one unusually easy or difficult week. Choose the closest response even if the pattern changes across home, work, study or relationships.

Attention, organisation and restlessness can be affected by several things. Sleep difficulties, stress, anxiety, low mood, trauma, physical health and other neurodevelopmental differences may produce overlapping experiences. This is one reason a questionnaire cannot replace a fuller assessment.

WHO ASRS v1.1 six-question screener

Over the past six months, how often…

0 of 6 answered

These shaded responses count toward the published screening cutoff.

1How often do you have trouble wrapping up the final details of a project, once the challenging parts have been done?

Never Rarely Sometimes Often Very Often

2How often do you have difficulty getting things in order when you have to do a task that requires organization?

Never Rarely Sometimes Often Very Often

3How often do you have problems remembering appointments or obligations?

Never Rarely Sometimes Often Very Often

4When you have a task that requires a lot of thought, how often do you avoid or delay getting started?

Never Rarely Sometimes Often Very Often

5How often do you fidget or squirm with your hands or feet when you have to sit down for a long time?

Never Rarely Sometimes Often Very Often

6How often do you feel overly active and compelled to do things, like you were driven by a motor?

Never Rarely Sometimes Often Very Often

View my screening result Clear answers

Please answer all six questions before viewing the result.

A positive or negative screen is not a diagnosis. A comprehensive assessment considers developmental history, daily functioning, other possible explanations and information from other sources where appropriate.

Adult ADHD assessment Psychologist or psychiatrist?

What does the screening result mean?

Four or more responses in the shaded scoring ranges constitute a positive ASRS v1.1 screen. This suggests that an adult ADHD evaluation may be worth discussing. It does not estimate your chance of having ADHD, measure severity or confirm a diagnosis.

A result below the cutoff does not close the question. Screening tools can miss people, and adults may interpret questions differently depending on their circumstances, coping strategies and reference points. If the experiences concern you or interfere with daily life, you can still raise them with your GP or another qualified health professional.

What could you do next?

What does a fuller ADHD assessment consider?

An assessment should not rest on one questionnaire or score. It generally considers whether the pattern began during childhood, appears across more than one setting and affects everyday functioning. Health, developmental and psychological factors also need consideration.

The appropriate professional depends partly on what you want from the process. The guide to choosing an ADHD psychologist, psychiatrist or GP explains their different roles in Australia.

About the ASRS v1.1 questionnaire

The Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale v1.1 six-question screener is intended for adults aged 18 and over. It is freely available for clinical, non-clinical and commercial use with attribution. The questions, response options, scoring and shaded categories must remain unchanged.

Instrument attribution: The six-question Adult Self-Report Scale-Version 1.1 (ASRS-v1.1) Screener is a subset of the 18-question Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale-Version 1.1 Symptom Checklist. © New York University and the President and Fellows of Harvard College.

Reference: Kessler RC, 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.

Official ASRS information · NYU reproduction information · Validation study

Common questions

Can this questionnaire diagnose ADHD?

No. It is a brief screener. Diagnosis requires a broader clinical assessment, and the result should not be used by itself to make treatment or medication decisions.

Does a positive result mean I have ADHD?

No. It means that the response pattern meets the screener’s threshold and that further discussion may be useful. Other explanations and overlapping conditions still need consideration.

Does a result below the cutoff rule out ADHD?

No. If attention, organisation, restlessness or related concerns affect daily life, you can discuss them with a qualified professional regardless of the score.

Have an administrative question about assessment?

Call 0431 828 769 or email reception@breathe-n-smile.com. You can also use the contact form to ask about availability, fees or how the assessment process works.

Please avoid including sensitive clinical information in ordinary email or website messages.