SELF-ASSESSMENT vs DIAGNOSIS

If you’re experiencing negative ADHD-like symptoms and want to alleviate or end them, taking a self-assessment is a good first step to getting help. Coping strategies may sufficiently address your problems in the short term, but they typically change and get worse over time. While you are unable to self-diagnose for ADHD, you can do a self-assessment to determine if you should seek a comprehensive evaluation to properly identify the root condition(s) causing your symptoms with a medical diagnosis from a licensed medical or mental health professional. To arrive at an ADHD diagnosis, it takes a trained professional to rule out other conditions that have similar symptoms and to identify if you have multiple conditions such as obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD).

You’ll also need a medical diagnosis to get medication, request educational accommodations, or receive support services,

ADHD SYMPTOMS BY TYPE

ADHD is characterized by inattention and hyperactive-impulse behavior, and the behaviors present in these ways:

• Inattention: easily distracted, poor concentration and organizational skills
• Hyperactivity: never seeming to slow down, talking and fidgeting, difficulty persisting in or completing tasks
• Impulsivity: interrupting, taking risks

As such, the 3 main types of ADHD are:

• inattentive type
• hyperactive-impulsive type
• combination type

People who have predominantly ADHD inattentive type experience the following inattention symptoms more often than others:

• miss details and are distracted easily
• get bored quickly
• have trouble focusing on a single task
• have difficulty organizing thoughts and learning new information
• lose pencils, papers, or other items needed to complete a task
• don’t seem to listen
• move slowly and appear as if they’re daydreaming
• process information more slowly and less accurately than others
• have trouble following directions

People who have ADHD hyperactive-impulsive type, more often exhibit these behaviors:

• squirm, fidget, or feel restless
• have difficulty sitting still
• talk constantly
• touch and play with objects, even when inappropriate to the task at hand
• have trouble engaging in quiet activities
• are constantly “on the go”
• are impatient
• act out of turn and don’t think about consequences of actions
• blurt out answers and inappropriate comments