ADHD Test for Kids and Teens

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, can be hard to spot and easy to misunderstand. If you’re looking for a free ADHD test, you can use our Symptom Checker to help you determine if your child might have ADHD.  

The Symptom Checker gives you a list of behaviors and issues and invites you to mark the ones you are seeing in your child. If they correspond with the symptoms and behaviors associated with ADHD, it will let you know. If your answers to the quiz suggest another disorder, you’ll see that too.

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 orlearning disorder. That’s why our Symptom Checker gives you a range of possible disorders and points you toward next steps.

It’s a free ADHD test that will also highlight other issues your child might have. No online test can diagnose your child. But it can help you know if your child’s symptoms could be signs of ADHD, or of another disorder, such a anxiety or a learning disorder. You’ll also find links to articles where you can learn more, and help you prepare for 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. Does your child:

• Have a lot of energy and struggle to sit still 
• Fidget all the time 
• Often run around and climb on things  
• Constantly talk or interrupt others 
• Seem very impatient 

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

• Get distracted easily
• Make careless mistakes 
• Have a hard time following instructions 
• Often forget or lose things 
• Have trouble staying organized  
• Appear not to listen when someone speaks to them  
• Avoid things that involve a lot of thinking or effort 
• Seem unaware of what’s going on around them 

Not all kids with ADHD have both kinds of symptoms. Some 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 only 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, such as being unable to stay in their seat in 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.