ADHD Test for Kids and Teens

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, can be hard to spot and easy to misunderstand. Our free ADHD test, the Symptom Checker, can help you determine if your child might have ADHD.

To take the test, you mark the symptoms that you’re worried about by answering a series of questions. The quiz uses your answers to give you a list of disorders that are associated with those symptoms.

The Symptom Checker was developed in partnership with expert clinicians and is aligned with the Child Mind Institute’s rigorous editorial standards.

Individual symptoms can reflect more than one mental health or learning disorder. That’s why our Symptom Checker gives you a range of possible disorders and points you toward next steps.

The free ADHD test cannot diagnose your child. But it can help you know if your child’s symptoms could be signs of ADHD, or of another disorder. You’ll learn about possible diagnoses, find links to articles where you can learn more, and gain information you can use to facilitate a conversation with a mental health professional.

The Symptom Checker quiz can help you spot possible signs of ADHD in your child. If you think your child might have ADHD, it’s important to get them a thorough evaluation from a professional.

The first signs of ADHD are often hyperactive or impulsive behaviors. They usually show up in children between three and six years old. Hyperactive or impulsive behaviors include: 

• Having a lot of energy and struggling to sit still 
• Fidgeting all the time 
• Often running around and climbing on things  
• Constantly talking or interrupting others 
• Being very impatient 

The other symptoms of ADHD are inattentive behaviors. These usually show up once the child starts school. Inattentive behaviors include:  

• Being easily distracted  
• Making careless mistakes 
• Having a hard time following instructions 
• Often forgetting or losing things 
• Having trouble staying organized  
• Appearing not to listen when someone speaks to them  
• Avoiding things that involve a lot of thinking or effort 
• Seeming unaware of what’s going on around them 

Not all kids with ADHD have both kinds of symptoms. Some have only hyperactive symptoms, and others have only inattentive symptoms.

About twice as many boys as girls are diagnosed with ADHD. But that is partly because girls may be more likely to have inattentive symptoms of ADHD. For example, they might get distracted easily and struggle to pay attention in class, but their teacher might not notice or else dismiss them as just spacey. A child who has hyperactive symptoms, like getting up and running around the classroom, is much harder to miss or ignore.

If you think your daughter might have ADHD, the Symptom Checker can give you more information and next steps.

The best thing to do if you think your child might have ADHD is get them an evaluation by a professional who is skilled in diagnosing ADHD.

Not all attention problems are ADHD, so it’s important to rule out other possible causes of your child’s symptoms. For example, kids with anxiety are sometimes so preoccupied with worry that they seem very distracted in school. Or kids with learning disorders might disrupt class in order to avoid schoolwork that they’re not able to complete.

The Symptom Checker test can gather information about your child’s symptoms and give you a list of possible disorder to consider. An accurate diagnosis is the key to getting your child the right support.

ADHD can be diagnosed by a number of different professionals, including pediatricians, psychiatrists, and clinical psychologists.

There is no blood test or brain scan that can tell whether or not a child has ADHD. Instead, the professional evaluating the child relies on information about the child’s behavior in order to make an accurate diagnosis. This includes reports from their parents, teachers, and other adults who know them well. It also includes evaluating the child in person and using standardized measurements that measure their ability to do certain tasks.

Kids should never be diagnosed with ADHD just because a parent or teacher says that they are hyperactive or distracted.

The Symptom Checker is a free to use ADHD test. It cannot diagnose your child with ADHD, but it can help you identify possible signs of ADHD.