8 ms·

A One-Minute ADHD Test

65 points by eatitraw 11mo ago

satisfice 11mo ago
I read “one minute” and thought, ugh who has that kind of time. Do I pass?
deleted 11mo ago
[deleted]
cristea 11mo ago
My gripe with some of these simple questions is that they do not provide a framework to answer the questions within. "How often do you feel X?" With answers as "very often" means very different things to different people. For one person once a month could be very often since they expect this to never happen, while for another person a few times a day might be expected. The problem here is that if people think that they might have a condition or be sick, it has been shown time and time again that this might emphasize the symptoms and make a person "sicker". In addition these general questions that a lot of people can relate to will cause a lot of people to get unneeded screening, thereby straining an overloaded health service (it might be different in the US, I'm in Europe).
- desert_rue 11mo ago
  It’s different in the US- it is worse.
  - 0xAFFFF 11mo ago
    This might depend on the country for EU. In France especially if you're an adult, getting an appointment for a diagnosis is either extremely long (public health sector delays regularly exceed one year), very expensive (over a 100€ out-of-pocket) or downright impossible (if you're in a big city you're fine, some places don't have anyone available at all). Sometimes it's a combination of those (yay). And then if you're getting medicated, another whole world of fun begins (restricted prescriptions, shortages, etc)
    - jampekka 11mo ago
      > over a 100€ out-of-pocket My understanding is that you typically pay something like this in the US for a specialist visit even if you have insurance, especially if you haven't already paid the year's deductibles.
    - orwin 11mo ago
      You're talking about Paris here, not France. Even 'big' cities like Rennes or Nantes I never had to wait more than a week or two, and in the small city I live in I usually get appointments within a week (but I'm in a high QOL area so we might have a large concentration of specialists), and never out of pocket. But yes, in some areas you will have to drive up to two hours before finding a specialist.
    - bestouff 11mo ago
      Hey this is not my experience. Getting an appointment for my daughter - in France - was a few weeks wait. But also the whole diagnostic was around 500€, barely touched by the Sécurité Sociale and totally reimbursed by the insurance (mutuelle). This was in a minor city.
- __alexs 11mo ago
  Did you know that ADHD is more common among people on the autism spectrum?
  - naruhodo 11mo ago
    And up until about ten years ago, the psychiatric profession considered ASD and ADHD to be mutually exclusive conditions.
- eatitraw 11mo ago
  > With answers as "very often" means very different things to different people. Agree, I think it's certainly a problem and I too wish it was more defined, but alas. Related, Literal Banana on surveys: https://carcinisation.com/2020/12/11/survey-chicken/ https://carcinisation.com/2020/12/11/survey-chicken/ > In addition these general questions that a lot of people can relate to will cause a lot of people to get unneeded screening Yes, a lot of people have ADHD. I link to the study that shows high specificity in the general population. Empirically, the tool works. You gotta start getting concerned about your symptoms from somewhere.
- viraptor 11mo ago
  > it has been shown time and time again that this might emphasize the symptoms and make a person "sicker". While that's true, for ADHD self description it's common to under estimate the impact. That's why you typically get asked for someone who knows you to join the diagnosis visit - because they're likely to say you're actually doing worse than you think.
- exitb 11mo ago
  Yes, it's even worse when you're diagnosing a child, as you will have to answer these questions for them, which puts your parental expectations into the mix. In the end however, people get diagnosed, get medication and start to feel a little better, so maybe it's all worth it.
- otikik 11mo ago
  I "muddled through life" until I got diagnosed at 42 with inattentive ADHD. At that age the brain has already developed and meds are less helpful than when you are young. Even taking meds out of the picture, a diagnosis would have helped me a lot and not being diagnosed had very negative consequences. I was told to "brighten up" my whole life while growing up. My parents well not abusive - it's just that I had good grades at school, so they didn't understand why I struggled with tasks that were "simpler than school". I also struggled with social interactions. I ended up with very low self-esteem, thinking I was just "slower" or "more stupid" than others. Most teenagers try to find and define the final shape of their mind. I though the "real me" was an embarrassment that needed to be hidden. So during my teenage years I built a "mask" instead. ("Masking" is a psychological phenomenon, I have now learned) I am very good at "faking" not having ADHD now. Most of my friends and coworkers don't know. I can't mask all of my symptoms, though, nor all of the time. I can't "fake" not forgetting my car keys, or doing my taxes. I still wear my mask most of the time. Sometimes I don't know whether my wife got in love with me, or with the image I project of myself. I don't know if there's a "myself" any more. Also, ADHD has a genetic component. Having a diagnose for myself would have been useful before I had my son, who turned to have hyperactive ADHD. I love him to bits and I would not change him, but he's a handful. When he's off-meds he's almost intolerable. I would have had him nevertheless, but I would have had the right expectations.
  - squigz 11mo ago
    > Also, ADHD has a genetic component. Having a diagnose for myself would have been useful to have before I had my son, who turned to have hyperactive ADHD. I love him to bits and I would not change him, but he's a handful. When he's off-meds he's almost intolerable. I would have had him nevertheless, but I would have had the right expectations. This seems like an underappreciated side-effect of awareness of these things. I can't imagine what some parents must feel - about themselves, and their kid - when raising a child with ADHD and not knowing much or anything about it.
    - bestouff 11mo ago
      This is my case. Undiagnosed, not knowing much about this condition (but with a great score at TFA's test), and struggling with one of my kids which has some symptoms I recognize. And I know why she struggles in the school system, and how she will struggle later in life, but I don't know how to help her. I'm lucky enough to live somewhere where healthcare is a given and she's currently in the diagnostics phase (for the second time), but I'm still scared for her future. Even with help and meds and whatnot, life won't be easy I guess.
- sceptic123 11mo ago
  This is a screener questionnaire, not a diagnosis tool. If you answer "very often" to enough of them then it's the author's suggestion that you should look into it, not that you have ADHD. I wonder if finding it hard to answer these kind of questions could be an indicator for some other kind of neurodiversity.
  - karmakaze 11mo ago
    It's hard to not self-diagnose using this screener when it says: > So if you score 4 out of 6, the chance you actually have ADHD is: 3.5% / (3.5% + 0.5%) = 87.5%. Judging by the questions and responses though I find that hard to believe. Questions: 2 and 3 almost seem like a 'gimme' to answer 'Sometimes', and 4 to answer 'Often' isn't a stretch. I also find question 1 to be frequently 'Sometimes' or more unless a type-A personality. Only questions 5 & 6 seem to be directly associated (IANAD). As another comment mentions, I wonder how that percentage changes if the person is already on the autstic spectrum.
    - sceptic123 11mo ago
      If you trust that math, sure but they also don't say you have ADHD, just that > you have a strong reason to seek a full assessment
drops 11mo ago
thought the test was finishing the article in itself
mkl 11mo ago
Am I missing something, or do they not actually say how to score the test? From playing with another version [1], any answer in a grey box counts for 1 point. [1] https://psychology-tools.com/test/adult-adhd-self-report-scale https://psychology-tools.com/test/adult-adhd-self-report-sca...
- eatitraw 11mo ago
  Thanks for the catch! I updated the text in the first paragraph below.
- jeffbee 11mo ago
  I don't see how anyone could get a valid result from self-administering the test if they see the white/grey boxes and especially if they know in advance how the test is scored.
throwaway81523 11mo ago
Interesting. I'd give it a try but I don't think I can focus on it for a whole minute. j/k
- Diti 11mo ago
  You say that like it’s a joke, but the huge wall of text did that for me. Unless I was being forced to take the test, I’d just have given up on doing it.
p0w3n3d 11mo ago
I scored 7... Sorry, joking but yes - I can relate to all the questions there. Some of those (like appointments) I learned to cope with. I just schedule everything in my phone and have 20 alarms throughout the day, which I enable to remind be about certain events. I wonder however, how many people would pass this test in this world of distractions. When I was young I used to look at the watch compulsively to check what time it is and I never went late to an appointment. Is this ADHD too? Or maybe just depression that I procrastinate everything nowadays? Or maybe effect of extensive usage of technology?
- sgt 11mo ago
  I scored 6 out of 6 although I highly doubt I have ADHD. Those are pretty normal things. You learn to deal with it and try again. Technology, alarms, calendar events come to your aid. Or I unplug something to force myself to deal with a thing. One thing I'm bad with those is locking things, I leave the key in the ignition, leave doors open...
- eatitraw 11mo ago
  It could very well be ADHD. Depression is certainly another possibility, but if your symptoms are more or less consistent throughout life, then it makes ADHD much more likely. It's definitely a bit tricky. Depression can cause problems with attention. But also: ADHD people have depression at much higher rate. > When I was young I used to look at the watch compulsively to check what time it is and I never went late to an appointment. Lots of ADHDers come up with all sorts of coping mechanisms. It's one of the reasons the test misses a significant chunk of ADHD population.
puika 11mo ago
unless I misunderstood what little I know of ADHD, shouldn't these symptoms have been there all your life, not just 6 months prior? I score 4/6 on the scale without question, but I wasn't functioning like this before (maybe 2/6), only these last few years, with no change in environment or routine
- eatitraw 11mo ago
  6 months is a reasonable cutoff for a screening tool because it allows for changes in the environment. E.g. you might cope well in high school, but you move to university and suddenly your old strategies don't work anymore and your life is falling apart. For the full assessment with a psychiatrist, they do look at one's entire life history.
- dns_snek 11mo ago
  > shouldn't these symptoms have been there all your life, not just 6 months prior Yes. If you're getting diagnosed as an adult the general guidelines are that symptoms should be clearly traceable to teenage years and the earlier it is, the stronger the evidence is. People experience ADHD-like symptoms later in life for any number of reasons, like anxiety and stress at work, home, or school. That's one of my peeves with how short the diagnostic process seems to be in certain countries (US and UK specifically), they don't seem to be particularly thorough when it comes to those things.
  - never_inline 11mo ago
    > People experience ADHD-like symptoms later in life for any number of reasons, like anxiety and stress at work, home, or school. Can you provide some research on this?
    - dns_snek 11mo ago
      For a start there's diagnostic criteria "E" in the DSM-5: > E. The symptoms do not occur exclusively during the course of schizophrenia or another psychotic disorder and are not better explained by another mental disorder (e.g., mood disorder, anxiety disorder, dissociative disorder, personality disorder, substance intoxication or withdrawal). Or equivalent from ICD-11: > Symptoms are not better accounted for by another mental disorder (e.g., an Anxiety or Fear-Related Disorder, a Neurocognitive Disorder such as Delirium). As well as the long differential diagnosis sections in the DSM-5 and ICD-11 [1], for example: > Boundary with Mood Disorders and Anxiety or Fear-Related Disorders: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder can co-occur with Mood Disorders and Anxiety or Fear-Related Disorders, but inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity can also be features of these disorders in individuals without Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. For example, symptoms such as restlessness, pacing, and impaired concentration can be features of a Depressive Episode, and should not be considered as part of the diagnosis of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder unless they have been present since childhood and persist after the resolution of the Depressive Episode. Inattention, impulsivity, and hyperactivity are typical features of Manic and Hypomanic Episodes. At the same time, mood lability and irritability may be associated features of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Late adolescent or adult onset, episodicity, and intensity of mood elevation characteristic of Bipolar Disorders are features that assist in differentiation from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Fidgeting, restlessness, and tension in the context of Anxiety or Fear-Related Disorders may resemble hyperactivity. Furthermore, anxious preoccupations or reaction to anxiety-provoking stimuli in individuals with Anxiety or Fear-Related Disorders can be associated with difficulties concentrating. To qualify for an Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder diagnosis in the presence of a Mood Disorder or Anxiety or Fear-Related Disorder, inattention and/or hyperactivity should not be exclusively associated with Mood Episodes, be solely attributable to anxious preoccupations, or occur specifically in response to anxiety-provoking situations. > Boundary with attentional symptoms due to other medical conditions: A variety of other medical conditions may influence attentional processes (e.g., hypoglycemia, hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism, exposure to toxins, Sleep-Wake Disorders), resulting in temporary or persistent symptoms that resemble or interact with those of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. As a basis for appropriate management, it is important to evaluate in such cases whether the symptoms are secondary to the medical condition or are more indicative of comorbid Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. [1] https://icd.who.int/browse/2025-01/mms/en#821852937 https://icd.who.int/browse/2025-01/mms/en#821852937
SanjayMehta 11mo ago
Stopped reading at "treatable with meds." I'm old enough to remember when ADHD was invented. To sell meds. Granted some people have difficulty concentrating, I'm one of them. But I've only heard of people in the US getting medications for something which is basically a lack of discipline.
- matheusmoreira 11mo ago
  ADHD was not "invented". It is a neurodevelopmental disorder. The stimulant medications are effective at treating the symptoms when compared to placebo.
  - u12 11mo ago
    And compare to therapy, meditation, lifestyle changes... etc etc?
    - protocolture 11mo ago
      Much more effective.
  - SanjayMehta 11mo ago
    Explain why it only occurs in the "first world."
    - protocolture 11mo ago
      It occurs everywhere, its only diagnosed where people have access to suitable methods, and only treated where treatments are available.
    - matheusmoreira 11mo ago
      There's no need to explain when you're factually wrong. I'm brazilian and I have been diagnosed with ADHD by a neurologist. My existence falsifies your entire comment.
eamonnsullivan 11mo ago
I worry about all of this labelling that we apply to various ends of the "normal" spectrum. Where does it lead us? Is it actually helping? I easily score as ADHD, but I'm in my 60s now and have never been diagnosed or treated. I have muddled through all my life. Yes, I often self-medicated unhealthily (cigarettes, various over-the-counter uppers), but also relatively healthily (I've been practicing meditation for decades). I managed to have two, long, fruitful careers (20 years of journalism, coming up to 20 years of software engineering) that (I'm betting) was at least partly attributable to me being on the outer edges of normal. I think that's OK. I'm not looking to be "treated" because I'm a bit different.
- danparsonson 11mo ago
  On the other hand for me, these discussions help me to frame my challenges in a productive way that gives me a chance to make useful changes to my life to accomodate them, instead of blaming myself when I struggle to do something that seems like it should be easy. So I guess the answer is, YMMV.
- cybrox 11mo ago
  I think there is value in knowing a term for the symptoms one might experience because it provides the ability to connect with like-minded people and potentially look into useful strategies to mitigate those symptoms, if they become problematic. However, I do strongly agree with you that setting a boundary to "normal" and therefore implying these states to be abnormal and something that needs to be fixed is not helpful. We should be able to label a wide spectrum of neurological wiring quirks without nudging people towards changing them, unless it actually negatively impacts their ability to live a fulfilling life.
  - shalmanese 11mo ago
    > However, I do strongly agree with you that setting a boundary to "normal" and therefore implying these states to be abnormal and something that needs to be fixed is not helpful. We should be able to label a wide spectrum of neurological wiring quirks without nudging people towards changing them, unless it actually negatively impacts their ability to live a fulfilling life. Except I don't buy this framing that the two are in conflict. The more general awareness there is in the general population around neurodiversity, simultaneously the less shame there is about medicating and also, the greater willingness there is to accommodate each person's individual diversity. Accomodations initially rolled out for diagnosed neurodiverse people: Like being able to control the lighting in your workspace, or being issued noise cancelling headphones no questions asked, also benefit neurotypical people who are also on the further end of the bell curve for things like that.
TrackerFF 11mo ago
That - or a very similar one that is used where I live - was the very first screener I took. It's basically just part of the initial assessment with your GP, before you see a specialist. The interview you have with your GP should also be taken into consideration.
pesro 11mo ago
I sometimes wonder if I have ADHD or something, but I’d only score myself 1 / 6 on this test. “Trouble wrapping up the final details of a project” describes me perfectly, but I wouldn’t say I’m in the grey for any of the others. Maybe that’s because I’ve developed coping mechanisms though. I don’t miss appointments because I scrupulously write everything down, and I don’t fidget with things sitting down because I don’t put myself in positions where I can’t get up and walk around.
a5c11 11mo ago
I passed the test at 100%. Still, I had gone through a professional assessment not that long ago, and I wasn't diagnosed with ADHD because I lack hyper motion activity. I compensate it with ultra-hyper brain activity, but that doesn't qualify for ADHD. However, they've found some trails of ASD in turn.
- torben-friis 11mo ago
  >and I wasn't diagnosed with ADHD because I lack hyper motion activity. That sounds a bit weird, ADHD is known to have hyperactive and inattentive variants; and the lack of a single symptom does not lead to a negative diagnosis.
  - a5c11 11mo ago
    I've scored pretty high on the "inattentive scale", but got only a few points on the "hyperactive" one. I was told that both scales must be high to be diagnosed with ADHD.
    - torben-friis 11mo ago
      >I was told that both scales must be high to be diagnosed with ADHD. My understanding is that this is not the case, that ADD (without the hyperactive part) used to be considered a separate diagnosis but this is no longer the case, and one of the scales qualifies. I am not a proffessional though, so take it with a grain of salt, but it might be worth double checking just in case.
    - taegee 11mo ago
      That doesn't sound right. The hyperactivity can express itself in many ways, as you say – not necessarily physically. Is your practitioner maybe really old? They changed the definition in 1987. According to DSM‑5‑TR and ICD-11, ADHD is subdivided into three presentations: predominantly inattentive, predominantly hyperactive-impulsive, and combined.
AceJohnny2 11mo ago
Tangentially, I am so glad they talked about the Sensitivity and Specificity of the test, and how those values combined to actually affect the result of the test. These are such basic and yet important metrics for statistics.
throwaway152021 11mo ago
Anyone tried to get diagnosed after 50? I'm 50+, I believe I have the symptoms. I have coped basically all my life but the cost was (and still is) pretty high. Lots of stress and probably a lot of missed opportunities too. Getting diagnosed is somewhere on my "maybe to do" list but I'm not sure it's even worth to try.
- torben-friis 11mo ago
  I’m younger at mid thirties, but I was recently diagnosed with a career and personal life already “in check” so my experience might be useful. I’d 100% recommend you go for a check. For me, the main outcome has been getting rid of the nagging feeling that my potential is wasted in making up for shortcomings. Now it’s no longer “I am bright and curious, and this compensates my {lack of consistency, periods of “writers block”, reduced attention to detail}”. It’s hard to explain without direct experience how cleanly those problems you’ve been trying to white knuckle all your life just… stop. It’s not a personality change, it’s much closer to allergy meds letting you breathe, the bad symptom goes away. The only con is that once you get the meds there’s work to be done. The productivity tips and books you’ve likely heard all your life and were unusable now can actually be put to practice… but you haven’t done it yet. So it’s like you stop being bedridden but if you want to be fit you still have to go the gym. It’s just that now going to the gym is a task you can realistically approach, and that in itself is a game changer.
  - throwaway152021 11mo ago
    Thank you. The part about the work to be done doesn't seem like a con to me. I'm alread doing the work, just more often in a deadline panic mode.
    - torben-friis 11mo ago
      No problem! >I'm alread doing the work, just more often in a deadline panic mode. Yup, that's the right mindset. Figuring out proper time management as an adult is non-ideal, but it is a _much_ better problem to have than working always in a panicky rush or not at all.
anotheryou 11mo ago
Good coping mechanisms easily mask those answers though, no? And some questions feel true for everyone *looking around*. I don't think I have ADHD, but could go either way on half the questions based on whether I include my helpers or not.
d--b 11mo ago
I score 6 out of 6. Meanwhile, I have a wife and two kids, live in a nice house. I did well at school. I have no problem landing jobs that pay really well. I have lots of friends. I have many hobbies I like. I can play music decently well. I like 3d modelling. I am writing screenplays. I did the startup thing. I am not depressed, I am not anxious, I feel fine, I feel smart, I feel able. I have no particular "strategy" to "cope" with my "disorder". I am just disordered, and I don't care. Does it get me in trouble? Not really. The worst I got is my brother telling me he can't count on me cause I am mostly MIA. I can live with that. Sometimes I think that if I was more ordered, I would have a better career. But the reality is that I don't even want to have a better career. Which is probably the main reason why I don't have a better career. I am not sick. I don't have ADHD. Not the way people who have ADHD describe it. People with ADHD forget a lot of stuff all the time. They can't function properly at all. It's nothing to do with "finishing projects". It's about finding ways not to lose your car keys every day. In the US, ADHD is way over-diagnosed. It's over diagnosed because US society makes you believe that "success" is a question of "willpower", and that if you can't gather enough "willpower", it's because you're somehow broken. It's over diagnosed, because the health system is incentivized to over-diagnosed. It's over diagnosed because they create 1 minute tests that are made to make people feel like they have it. It's over diagnosed because it's one of the only mental conditions that can be treated with pills, which means it's monetizable. It's overdiagnosed, because it's not a condition people feel ashamed of (unlike depression). I know a lot of people on HN are diagnosed and treated for it. But you guys need to really ask yourself whether the way you felt before being diagnosed was so bad that you need to take brain-altering drugs to "fix" it.
- windup-bird 11mo ago
  If you can manage your symptoms and don't suffer, you don't have ADHD. ADHD has a huge impact, not only mentally but also physically and on others. For example much higher risk for Alzheimer's and accidents. It's not as great as it might sound to you to take stimulants. I wish I didn't need to take them. Yes, there are surely people diagnosed with ADHD who could do without diagnosis, but having ADHD and not being diagnosed is horrible for most people. And there are groups who suffer, because their ADHD is less obvious, such as women and older people. ADHD is much more complex and devastating than you suggest. You can't fix it with strategies, many people feel ashamed all the time, because they can't function like a "normal" person
deleted 11mo ago
[deleted]
bentobean 11mo ago
I can still remember what my fourth grade teacher once told my parents: > Your son could do anything he wants if he’d just sit down and shut up.
LocalH 11mo ago
For those who may want to avoid influencing their answers by seeing the gray boxes, I found what seems to be a simple online version of the test. https://psychology-tools.com/test/adult-adhd-self-report-scale https://psychology-tools.com/test/adult-adhd-self-report-sca...
sieep 11mo ago
This is the exact test that I took. I found the results and subsequent treatment based on those results to be highly beneficial to my life & career.
jrs235 11mo ago
Regarding #4, does thinking about it count as starting? Or do they me starting to put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard?

65 points by eatitraw 11mo ago

satisfice 11mo ago

I read “one minute” and thought, ugh who has that kind of time. Do I pass?

deleted 11mo ago

[deleted]

cristea 11mo ago

My gripe with some of these simple questions is that they do not provide a framework to answer the questions within. "How often do you feel X?" With answers as "very often" means very different things to different people. For one person once a month could be very often since they expect this to never happen, while for another person a few times a day might be expected. The problem here is that if people think that they might have a condition or be sick, it has been shown time and time again that this might emphasize the symptoms and make a person "sicker". In addition these general questions that a lot of people can relate to will cause a lot of people to get unneeded screening, thereby straining an overloaded health service (it might be different in the US, I'm in Europe).

desert_rue 11mo ago
It’s different in the US- it is worse.
- 0xAFFFF 11mo ago
  This might depend on the country for EU. In France especially if you're an adult, getting an appointment for a diagnosis is either extremely long (public health sector delays regularly exceed one year), very expensive (over a 100€ out-of-pocket) or downright impossible (if you're in a big city you're fine, some places don't have anyone available at all). Sometimes it's a combination of those (yay). And then if you're getting medicated, another whole world of fun begins (restricted prescriptions, shortages, etc)
  - jampekka 11mo ago
    > over a 100€ out-of-pocket My understanding is that you typically pay something like this in the US for a specialist visit even if you have insurance, especially if you haven't already paid the year's deductibles.
  - orwin 11mo ago
    You're talking about Paris here, not France. Even 'big' cities like Rennes or Nantes I never had to wait more than a week or two, and in the small city I live in I usually get appointments within a week (but I'm in a high QOL area so we might have a large concentration of specialists), and never out of pocket. But yes, in some areas you will have to drive up to two hours before finding a specialist.
  - bestouff 11mo ago
    Hey this is not my experience. Getting an appointment for my daughter - in France - was a few weeks wait. But also the whole diagnostic was around 500€, barely touched by the Sécurité Sociale and totally reimbursed by the insurance (mutuelle). This was in a minor city.
__alexs 11mo ago
Did you know that ADHD is more common among people on the autism spectrum?
- naruhodo 11mo ago
  And up until about ten years ago, the psychiatric profession considered ASD and ADHD to be mutually exclusive conditions.
eatitraw 11mo ago
> With answers as "very often" means very different things to different people. Agree, I think it's certainly a problem and I too wish it was more defined, but alas. Related, Literal Banana on surveys: https://carcinisation.com/2020/12/11/survey-chicken/ https://carcinisation.com/2020/12/11/survey-chicken/ > In addition these general questions that a lot of people can relate to will cause a lot of people to get unneeded screening Yes, a lot of people have ADHD. I link to the study that shows high specificity in the general population. Empirically, the tool works. You gotta start getting concerned about your symptoms from somewhere.
viraptor 11mo ago
> it has been shown time and time again that this might emphasize the symptoms and make a person "sicker". While that's true, for ADHD self description it's common to under estimate the impact. That's why you typically get asked for someone who knows you to join the diagnosis visit - because they're likely to say you're actually doing worse than you think.
exitb 11mo ago
Yes, it's even worse when you're diagnosing a child, as you will have to answer these questions for them, which puts your parental expectations into the mix. In the end however, people get diagnosed, get medication and start to feel a little better, so maybe it's all worth it.
otikik 11mo ago
I "muddled through life" until I got diagnosed at 42 with inattentive ADHD. At that age the brain has already developed and meds are less helpful than when you are young. Even taking meds out of the picture, a diagnosis would have helped me a lot and not being diagnosed had very negative consequences. I was told to "brighten up" my whole life while growing up. My parents well not abusive - it's just that I had good grades at school, so they didn't understand why I struggled with tasks that were "simpler than school". I also struggled with social interactions. I ended up with very low self-esteem, thinking I was just "slower" or "more stupid" than others. Most teenagers try to find and define the final shape of their mind. I though the "real me" was an embarrassment that needed to be hidden. So during my teenage years I built a "mask" instead. ("Masking" is a psychological phenomenon, I have now learned) I am very good at "faking" not having ADHD now. Most of my friends and coworkers don't know. I can't mask all of my symptoms, though, nor all of the time. I can't "fake" not forgetting my car keys, or doing my taxes. I still wear my mask most of the time. Sometimes I don't know whether my wife got in love with me, or with the image I project of myself. I don't know if there's a "myself" any more. Also, ADHD has a genetic component. Having a diagnose for myself would have been useful before I had my son, who turned to have hyperactive ADHD. I love him to bits and I would not change him, but he's a handful. When he's off-meds he's almost intolerable. I would have had him nevertheless, but I would have had the right expectations.
- squigz 11mo ago
  > Also, ADHD has a genetic component. Having a diagnose for myself would have been useful to have before I had my son, who turned to have hyperactive ADHD. I love him to bits and I would not change him, but he's a handful. When he's off-meds he's almost intolerable. I would have had him nevertheless, but I would have had the right expectations. This seems like an underappreciated side-effect of awareness of these things. I can't imagine what some parents must feel - about themselves, and their kid - when raising a child with ADHD and not knowing much or anything about it.
  - bestouff 11mo ago
    This is my case. Undiagnosed, not knowing much about this condition (but with a great score at TFA's test), and struggling with one of my kids which has some symptoms I recognize. And I know why she struggles in the school system, and how she will struggle later in life, but I don't know how to help her. I'm lucky enough to live somewhere where healthcare is a given and she's currently in the diagnostics phase (for the second time), but I'm still scared for her future. Even with help and meds and whatnot, life won't be easy I guess.
sceptic123 11mo ago
This is a screener questionnaire, not a diagnosis tool. If you answer "very often" to enough of them then it's the author's suggestion that you should look into it, not that you have ADHD. I wonder if finding it hard to answer these kind of questions could be an indicator for some other kind of neurodiversity.
- karmakaze 11mo ago
  It's hard to not self-diagnose using this screener when it says: > So if you score 4 out of 6, the chance you actually have ADHD is: 3.5% / (3.5% + 0.5%) = 87.5%. Judging by the questions and responses though I find that hard to believe. Questions: 2 and 3 almost seem like a 'gimme' to answer 'Sometimes', and 4 to answer 'Often' isn't a stretch. I also find question 1 to be frequently 'Sometimes' or more unless a type-A personality. Only questions 5 & 6 seem to be directly associated (IANAD). As another comment mentions, I wonder how that percentage changes if the person is already on the autstic spectrum.
  - sceptic123 11mo ago
    If you trust that math, sure but they also don't say you have ADHD, just that > you have a strong reason to seek a full assessment

drops 11mo ago

thought the test was finishing the article in itself

mkl 11mo ago

Am I missing something, or do they not actually say how to score the test? From playing with another version [1], any answer in a grey box counts for 1 point. [1] https://psychology-tools.com/test/adult-adhd-self-report-scale https://psychology-tools.com/test/adult-adhd-self-report-sca...

eatitraw 11mo ago
Thanks for the catch! I updated the text in the first paragraph below.
jeffbee 11mo ago
I don't see how anyone could get a valid result from self-administering the test if they see the white/grey boxes and especially if they know in advance how the test is scored.

throwaway81523 11mo ago

Interesting. I'd give it a try but I don't think I can focus on it for a whole minute. j/k

Diti 11mo ago
You say that like it’s a joke, but the huge wall of text did that for me. Unless I was being forced to take the test, I’d just have given up on doing it.

p0w3n3d 11mo ago

I scored 7... Sorry, joking but yes - I can relate to all the questions there. Some of those (like appointments) I learned to cope with. I just schedule everything in my phone and have 20 alarms throughout the day, which I enable to remind be about certain events. I wonder however, how many people would pass this test in this world of distractions. When I was young I used to look at the watch compulsively to check what time it is and I never went late to an appointment. Is this ADHD too? Or maybe just depression that I procrastinate everything nowadays? Or maybe effect of extensive usage of technology?

sgt 11mo ago
I scored 6 out of 6 although I highly doubt I have ADHD. Those are pretty normal things. You learn to deal with it and try again. Technology, alarms, calendar events come to your aid. Or I unplug something to force myself to deal with a thing. One thing I'm bad with those is locking things, I leave the key in the ignition, leave doors open...
eatitraw 11mo ago
It could very well be ADHD. Depression is certainly another possibility, but if your symptoms are more or less consistent throughout life, then it makes ADHD much more likely. It's definitely a bit tricky. Depression can cause problems with attention. But also: ADHD people have depression at much higher rate. > When I was young I used to look at the watch compulsively to check what time it is and I never went late to an appointment. Lots of ADHDers come up with all sorts of coping mechanisms. It's one of the reasons the test misses a significant chunk of ADHD population.

puika 11mo ago

unless I misunderstood what little I know of ADHD, shouldn't these symptoms have been there all your life, not just 6 months prior? I score 4/6 on the scale without question, but I wasn't functioning like this before (maybe 2/6), only these last few years, with no change in environment or routine

eatitraw 11mo ago
6 months is a reasonable cutoff for a screening tool because it allows for changes in the environment. E.g. you might cope well in high school, but you move to university and suddenly your old strategies don't work anymore and your life is falling apart. For the full assessment with a psychiatrist, they do look at one's entire life history.
dns_snek 11mo ago
> shouldn't these symptoms have been there all your life, not just 6 months prior Yes. If you're getting diagnosed as an adult the general guidelines are that symptoms should be clearly traceable to teenage years and the earlier it is, the stronger the evidence is. People experience ADHD-like symptoms later in life for any number of reasons, like anxiety and stress at work, home, or school. That's one of my peeves with how short the diagnostic process seems to be in certain countries (US and UK specifically), they don't seem to be particularly thorough when it comes to those things.
- never_inline 11mo ago
  > People experience ADHD-like symptoms later in life for any number of reasons, like anxiety and stress at work, home, or school. Can you provide some research on this?
  - dns_snek 11mo ago
    For a start there's diagnostic criteria "E" in the DSM-5: > E. The symptoms do not occur exclusively during the course of schizophrenia or another psychotic disorder and are not better explained by another mental disorder (e.g., mood disorder, anxiety disorder, dissociative disorder, personality disorder, substance intoxication or withdrawal). Or equivalent from ICD-11: > Symptoms are not better accounted for by another mental disorder (e.g., an Anxiety or Fear-Related Disorder, a Neurocognitive Disorder such as Delirium). As well as the long differential diagnosis sections in the DSM-5 and ICD-11 [1], for example: > Boundary with Mood Disorders and Anxiety or Fear-Related Disorders: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder can co-occur with Mood Disorders and Anxiety or Fear-Related Disorders, but inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity can also be features of these disorders in individuals without Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. For example, symptoms such as restlessness, pacing, and impaired concentration can be features of a Depressive Episode, and should not be considered as part of the diagnosis of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder unless they have been present since childhood and persist after the resolution of the Depressive Episode. Inattention, impulsivity, and hyperactivity are typical features of Manic and Hypomanic Episodes. At the same time, mood lability and irritability may be associated features of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Late adolescent or adult onset, episodicity, and intensity of mood elevation characteristic of Bipolar Disorders are features that assist in differentiation from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Fidgeting, restlessness, and tension in the context of Anxiety or Fear-Related Disorders may resemble hyperactivity. Furthermore, anxious preoccupations or reaction to anxiety-provoking stimuli in individuals with Anxiety or Fear-Related Disorders can be associated with difficulties concentrating. To qualify for an Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder diagnosis in the presence of a Mood Disorder or Anxiety or Fear-Related Disorder, inattention and/or hyperactivity should not be exclusively associated with Mood Episodes, be solely attributable to anxious preoccupations, or occur specifically in response to anxiety-provoking situations. > Boundary with attentional symptoms due to other medical conditions: A variety of other medical conditions may influence attentional processes (e.g., hypoglycemia, hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism, exposure to toxins, Sleep-Wake Disorders), resulting in temporary or persistent symptoms that resemble or interact with those of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. As a basis for appropriate management, it is important to evaluate in such cases whether the symptoms are secondary to the medical condition or are more indicative of comorbid Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. [1] https://icd.who.int/browse/2025-01/mms/en#821852937 https://icd.who.int/browse/2025-01/mms/en#821852937

SanjayMehta 11mo ago

Stopped reading at "treatable with meds." I'm old enough to remember when ADHD was invented. To sell meds. Granted some people have difficulty concentrating, I'm one of them. But I've only heard of people in the US getting medications for something which is basically a lack of discipline.

matheusmoreira 11mo ago
ADHD was not "invented". It is a neurodevelopmental disorder. The stimulant medications are effective at treating the symptoms when compared to placebo.
- u12 11mo ago
  And compare to therapy, meditation, lifestyle changes... etc etc?
  - protocolture 11mo ago
    Much more effective.
- SanjayMehta 11mo ago
  Explain why it only occurs in the "first world."
  - protocolture 11mo ago
    It occurs everywhere, its only diagnosed where people have access to suitable methods, and only treated where treatments are available.
  - matheusmoreira 11mo ago
    There's no need to explain when you're factually wrong. I'm brazilian and I have been diagnosed with ADHD by a neurologist. My existence falsifies your entire comment.

eamonnsullivan 11mo ago

I worry about all of this labelling that we apply to various ends of the "normal" spectrum. Where does it lead us? Is it actually helping? I easily score as ADHD, but I'm in my 60s now and have never been diagnosed or treated. I have muddled through all my life. Yes, I often self-medicated unhealthily (cigarettes, various over-the-counter uppers), but also relatively healthily (I've been practicing meditation for decades). I managed to have two, long, fruitful careers (20 years of journalism, coming up to 20 years of software engineering) that (I'm betting) was at least partly attributable to me being on the outer edges of normal. I think that's OK. I'm not looking to be "treated" because I'm a bit different.

danparsonson 11mo ago
On the other hand for me, these discussions help me to frame my challenges in a productive way that gives me a chance to make useful changes to my life to accomodate them, instead of blaming myself when I struggle to do something that seems like it should be easy. So I guess the answer is, YMMV.
cybrox 11mo ago
I think there is value in knowing a term for the symptoms one might experience because it provides the ability to connect with like-minded people and potentially look into useful strategies to mitigate those symptoms, if they become problematic. However, I do strongly agree with you that setting a boundary to "normal" and therefore implying these states to be abnormal and something that needs to be fixed is not helpful. We should be able to label a wide spectrum of neurological wiring quirks without nudging people towards changing them, unless it actually negatively impacts their ability to live a fulfilling life.
- shalmanese 11mo ago
  > However, I do strongly agree with you that setting a boundary to "normal" and therefore implying these states to be abnormal and something that needs to be fixed is not helpful. We should be able to label a wide spectrum of neurological wiring quirks without nudging people towards changing them, unless it actually negatively impacts their ability to live a fulfilling life. Except I don't buy this framing that the two are in conflict. The more general awareness there is in the general population around neurodiversity, simultaneously the less shame there is about medicating and also, the greater willingness there is to accommodate each person's individual diversity. Accomodations initially rolled out for diagnosed neurodiverse people: Like being able to control the lighting in your workspace, or being issued noise cancelling headphones no questions asked, also benefit neurotypical people who are also on the further end of the bell curve for things like that.

TrackerFF 11mo ago

That - or a very similar one that is used where I live - was the very first screener I took. It's basically just part of the initial assessment with your GP, before you see a specialist. The interview you have with your GP should also be taken into consideration.

pesro 11mo ago

I sometimes wonder if I have ADHD or something, but I’d only score myself 1 / 6 on this test. “Trouble wrapping up the final details of a project” describes me perfectly, but I wouldn’t say I’m in the grey for any of the others. Maybe that’s because I’ve developed coping mechanisms though. I don’t miss appointments because I scrupulously write everything down, and I don’t fidget with things sitting down because I don’t put myself in positions where I can’t get up and walk around.

a5c11 11mo ago

I passed the test at 100%. Still, I had gone through a professional assessment not that long ago, and I wasn't diagnosed with ADHD because I lack hyper motion activity. I compensate it with ultra-hyper brain activity, but that doesn't qualify for ADHD. However, they've found some trails of ASD in turn.

torben-friis 11mo ago
>and I wasn't diagnosed with ADHD because I lack hyper motion activity. That sounds a bit weird, ADHD is known to have hyperactive and inattentive variants; and the lack of a single symptom does not lead to a negative diagnosis.
- a5c11 11mo ago
  I've scored pretty high on the "inattentive scale", but got only a few points on the "hyperactive" one. I was told that both scales must be high to be diagnosed with ADHD.
  - torben-friis 11mo ago
    >I was told that both scales must be high to be diagnosed with ADHD. My understanding is that this is not the case, that ADD (without the hyperactive part) used to be considered a separate diagnosis but this is no longer the case, and one of the scales qualifies. I am not a proffessional though, so take it with a grain of salt, but it might be worth double checking just in case.
  - taegee 11mo ago
    That doesn't sound right. The hyperactivity can express itself in many ways, as you say – not necessarily physically. Is your practitioner maybe really old? They changed the definition in 1987. According to DSM‑5‑TR and ICD-11, ADHD is subdivided into three presentations: predominantly inattentive, predominantly hyperactive-impulsive, and combined.

AceJohnny2 11mo ago

Tangentially, I am so glad they talked about the Sensitivity and Specificity of the test, and how those values combined to actually affect the result of the test. These are such basic and yet important metrics for statistics.

throwaway152021 11mo ago

Anyone tried to get diagnosed after 50? I'm 50+, I believe I have the symptoms. I have coped basically all my life but the cost was (and still is) pretty high. Lots of stress and probably a lot of missed opportunities too. Getting diagnosed is somewhere on my "maybe to do" list but I'm not sure it's even worth to try.

torben-friis 11mo ago
I’m younger at mid thirties, but I was recently diagnosed with a career and personal life already “in check” so my experience might be useful. I’d 100% recommend you go for a check. For me, the main outcome has been getting rid of the nagging feeling that my potential is wasted in making up for shortcomings. Now it’s no longer “I am bright and curious, and this compensates my {lack of consistency, periods of “writers block”, reduced attention to detail}”. It’s hard to explain without direct experience how cleanly those problems you’ve been trying to white knuckle all your life just… stop. It’s not a personality change, it’s much closer to allergy meds letting you breathe, the bad symptom goes away. The only con is that once you get the meds there’s work to be done. The productivity tips and books you’ve likely heard all your life and were unusable now can actually be put to practice… but you haven’t done it yet. So it’s like you stop being bedridden but if you want to be fit you still have to go the gym. It’s just that now going to the gym is a task you can realistically approach, and that in itself is a game changer.
- throwaway152021 11mo ago
  Thank you. The part about the work to be done doesn't seem like a con to me. I'm alread doing the work, just more often in a deadline panic mode.
  - torben-friis 11mo ago
    No problem! >I'm alread doing the work, just more often in a deadline panic mode. Yup, that's the right mindset. Figuring out proper time management as an adult is non-ideal, but it is a _much_ better problem to have than working always in a panicky rush or not at all.

anotheryou 11mo ago

Good coping mechanisms easily mask those answers though, no? And some questions feel true for everyone *looking around*. I don't think I have ADHD, but could go either way on half the questions based on whether I include my helpers or not.

d--b 11mo ago

I score 6 out of 6. Meanwhile, I have a wife and two kids, live in a nice house. I did well at school. I have no problem landing jobs that pay really well. I have lots of friends. I have many hobbies I like. I can play music decently well. I like 3d modelling. I am writing screenplays. I did the startup thing. I am not depressed, I am not anxious, I feel fine, I feel smart, I feel able. I have no particular "strategy" to "cope" with my "disorder". I am just disordered, and I don't care. Does it get me in trouble? Not really. The worst I got is my brother telling me he can't count on me cause I am mostly MIA. I can live with that. Sometimes I think that if I was more ordered, I would have a better career. But the reality is that I don't even want to have a better career. Which is probably the main reason why I don't have a better career. I am not sick. I don't have ADHD. Not the way people who have ADHD describe it. People with ADHD forget a lot of stuff all the time. They can't function properly at all. It's nothing to do with "finishing projects". It's about finding ways not to lose your car keys every day. In the US, ADHD is way over-diagnosed. It's over diagnosed because US society makes you believe that "success" is a question of "willpower", and that if you can't gather enough "willpower", it's because you're somehow broken. It's over diagnosed, because the health system is incentivized to over-diagnosed. It's over diagnosed because they create 1 minute tests that are made to make people feel like they have it. It's over diagnosed because it's one of the only mental conditions that can be treated with pills, which means it's monetizable. It's overdiagnosed, because it's not a condition people feel ashamed of (unlike depression). I know a lot of people on HN are diagnosed and treated for it. But you guys need to really ask yourself whether the way you felt before being diagnosed was so bad that you need to take brain-altering drugs to "fix" it.

windup-bird 11mo ago
If you can manage your symptoms and don't suffer, you don't have ADHD. ADHD has a huge impact, not only mentally but also physically and on others. For example much higher risk for Alzheimer's and accidents. It's not as great as it might sound to you to take stimulants. I wish I didn't need to take them. Yes, there are surely people diagnosed with ADHD who could do without diagnosis, but having ADHD and not being diagnosed is horrible for most people. And there are groups who suffer, because their ADHD is less obvious, such as women and older people. ADHD is much more complex and devastating than you suggest. You can't fix it with strategies, many people feel ashamed all the time, because they can't function like a "normal" person

deleted 11mo ago

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bentobean 11mo ago

I can still remember what my fourth grade teacher once told my parents: > Your son could do anything he wants if he’d just sit down and shut up.

LocalH 11mo ago

For those who may want to avoid influencing their answers by seeing the gray boxes, I found what seems to be a simple online version of the test. https://psychology-tools.com/test/adult-adhd-self-report-scale https://psychology-tools.com/test/adult-adhd-self-report-sca...

sieep 11mo ago

This is the exact test that I took. I found the results and subsequent treatment based on those results to be highly beneficial to my life & career.

jrs235 11mo ago

Regarding #4, does thinking about it count as starting? Or do they me starting to put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard?