Diagnosis
There is no single test for ADHD. Diagnosis usually involves a detailed clinical assessment, symptom history, questionnaires, and information from settings such as home, school, university, or work. It is very useful to get input from other family members, partners or friends. School reports, if available is very useful. A clinician will also consider whether symptoms could be better explained by other factors, such as sleep problems, anxiety, depression, trauma, learning difficulties, substance use, hearing or vision issues, or other health conditions. Often, these additional and related conditions co-exist with ADHD.
Questionnaires can be useful to rule in the diagnosis but is not fail proof. People who tick all the boxes for ADHD are very likely to have ADHD but those who tick some of the boxes, may still have ADHD.