Adult ADHD screening instruments

The ADHD Rating Scale-5 is a parent and teacher rating scale for children and adolescents aged 5 to 17, keyed to DSM-5 criteria and published by Guilford Press in 2016. It covers inattention and hyperactive-impulsive symptoms plus impairment. It is not for adults; clinicians and schools use it as one part of a child or teen evaluation.

The BRIEF-A (Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function, Adult Version) is a rating scale published by PAR for ages 18 to 90. You and someone who knows you rate everyday self-regulation and executive function. It is not specific to ADHD, it is sold only to qualified professionals, and PAR now recommends its newer edition, the BRIEF2A.

The Conners Adult ADHD Rating Scales are licensed questionnaires for adults 18 and older, published by MHS. The current edition, CAARS 2, has self-report and observer forms in full, short and index versions. MHS describes it as a tool used with other verified information to aid diagnosis and monitoring. It is purchased and interpreted by qualified professionals.

A continuous performance test (CPT) is a computer task that asks you to keep responding to simple targets for a stretch of time, sampling attention and impulse control. Examples include the Conners CPT, the T.O.V.A. and QbTest. Research reviews and NICE agree that CPT results support a clinical assessment but should never be used alone to diagnose ADHD.

DIVA-5 is a semi-structured diagnostic interview for ADHD in adults, based on DSM-5 criteria and published by the DIVA Foundation. A clinician walks through symptoms in adulthood and in childhood, with concrete examples, and asks how they affect daily life. The foundation says it usually takes an hour or more and covers only core ADHD symptoms.

QbTest, made by Qbtech, is a clinic-based computer test of about 20 minutes: you respond to an on-screen task while a camera tracks your movement. It measures attention, impulsivity and activity against reference data. Qbtech and NICE both say it should be used only alongside a full clinical assessment, never as a diagnosis on its own.

The ASRS-5, also called the ASRS DSM-5, is a self-report questionnaire for adults that Lenard Adler and Ronald Kessler updated to DSM-5 criteria. It has its own six-question screener, a symptom checklist and proprietary scoring. It is a separate instrument from the ASRS v1.1 screener on this site, and NYU licenses it separately.

The Barkley Adult ADHD Rating Scale-IV (BAARS-IV) is a set of rating forms by Russell A. Barkley, published by Guilford Press in 2011 for adults 18 to 89. It has self-report and other-report forms for current and childhood symptoms, linked to DSM-IV criteria, plus a quick screen. Clinicians buy the manual and interpret the results.

The T.O.V.A., or Test of Variables of Attention, is a computerized attention test from The TOVA Company in Washington State. Healthcare professionals use it to measure attention and inhibitory control, with visual and auditory formats. It is FDA-cleared as an aid in assessment, and research reviews say task tests like it should never be used alone to diagnose ADHD.

The Weiss Functional Impairment Rating Scale (WFIRS), developed by Margaret D. Weiss and shared by the Canadian ADHD Resource Alliance, measures how emotional or behavioral problems affect daily functioning rather than counting symptoms. It has a self-report and a parent form. Clinicians use it to see which life areas are affected and to track change.

The Wender Utah Rating Scale (WURS) is a questionnaire adults fill out about their own childhood behavior. Ward, Wender and Reimherr published it in 1993 to help clinicians judge whether ADHD symptoms were present in childhood when school records are missing. It is a retrospective self-report aid for an evaluation, not a diagnosis.