There is no “quick test” for ADHD. A significant part of the assessment for an ADHD-diagnosis involves self-evaluating and clinical interviews with experienced psychologists and doctors focusing on ADHD as well as on other somatic conditions and psychiatric diagnoses.
However, various tests may be included in an ADHD assessment, depending on the individual situation.
ADHD can almost be considered a diagnosis of exclusion.
This means that doctors need to conduct different tests to rule out other causes of the symptoms, for example: thyroid issues or anemia (which can be checked with a blood test), alcohol or drug use (checked via a urine test), or other neurological conditions (checked by a neurological examination with a doctor).
In rare cases, when symptoms are difficult to interpret or don’t fit together with what’s expected, doctors may want to check for genetic abnormalities (via a blood test) or rule out rare neurological diseases or tumors (with a brain scan).
During the assessment, a medical examination is always performed, focusing on somatic health (such as height, weight and overall health status), cardiac status (such as pulse and blood pressure), and neurological status as those diagnosed with ADHD might want to try ADHD medication later on.
Psychologists often also conduct tests to evaluate cognitive abilities. While these cognitive tests are not mandatory to diagnose ADHD, they can provide valuable insight into the brain’s strengths and vulnerabilities.
Results from a WISC (for children) or WAIS (for adults) test often make it easier to understand why certain tasks are so difficult while others are easily performed. This information is crucial for planning future support and treatment. Regardless of whether an ADHD diagnosis is made.
Even though it may feel reassuring to complete a “computer test” and receive a numerical likelihood of having ADHD. There’s no strong evidence that such tests contribute to the diagnostic process.
One of the most important parts of an ADHD assessment is “psychiatric differential diagnosis.”
In practice, this means that a psychiatrist conducts a thorough interview – to rule out any other potential diagnoses that could explain the reported symptoms.
In summary, a comprehensive and thorough ADHD assessment should not involve excessive testing for the sake of testing.
However, it must include certain basic elements to credibly determine whether someone has ADHD.
As many ADHD symptoms can be attributed to other factors that must be ruled out before making a diagnosis.
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