Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsFidgetingTrouble With OrganizationBeing LateBeing ForgetfulTrouble ListeningTrouble ConcentratingTasks Are IncompleteImpulse Control Is DifficultTrouble With EmotionsBehavioral IssuesGetting a DiagnosisNext in Adult ADHD Guide4 Types of Adult ADHD Therapy
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Fidgeting
Trouble With Organization
Being Late
Being Forgetful
Trouble Listening
Trouble Concentrating
Tasks Are Incomplete
Impulse Control Is Difficult
Trouble With Emotions
Behavioral Issues
Getting a Diagnosis
Next in Adult ADHD Guide
People with ADHD typically present symptoms either predominantly related to inattention or predominantly associated with hyperactivity. Or, if enough symptoms from both the inattention and hyperactivity-impulsivity criteria are present, theADHD diagnosisis considered a “combined presentation.”
The 18-item ADHD Self-Report Scale, also known as theASRS-v1.1 Symptom Checklist, asks nine screening questions assessing inattention criteria and nine addressing hyperactivity and impulsivity.Self-tests are a worthwhile place to start to determine if you have ADHD, but they cannot give you an official diagnosis.
Read on to learn what you need to know about 10 ways to tell if you have ADHD based on the most common ADHD symptoms, why online ADHD tests are often the first step towards answering the question, “Do I have ADHD?” and how to go about getting an official diagnosis.
3 Types of ADHDAccording to the DSM-5 diagnostic criteria, there are 3 ADHD types, or presentations, which are:PredominantlyInattentivePresentation (ADHD-I)PredominantlyHyperactive-ImpulsivePresentation (ADHD-HI)CombinedPresentation (ADHD-C)
3 Types of ADHD
According to the DSM-5 diagnostic criteria, there are 3 ADHD types, or presentations, which are:PredominantlyInattentivePresentation (ADHD-I)PredominantlyHyperactive-ImpulsivePresentation (ADHD-HI)CombinedPresentation (ADHD-C)
According to the DSM-5 diagnostic criteria, there are 3 ADHD types, or presentations, which are:
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You Fidget
You Have Trouble With Organization
Do you have difficulty getting things in order when it’s time to do something that requires organizational skills? Under the inattention criteria, regularly having trouble organizing tasks and activities is a sign of ADHD. Diminished organizational skills may be linked to a lack of perseverance and focus.
You’re Often Late
People with ADHD are often forgetful of daily activities and can lose track of time, which leads to tardiness and frequently being late. ADHD is associated with impaired time perception. A 2023 review of a decade’s worth of research concluded that in addition to having difficulty with time perception, adults with ADHD also have trouble with time estimation and time management.
Other People Say You’re Forgetful
Do you often misplace or lose things? Do you need to remember where you put items necessary for specific activities or tasks? Do you need help remembering appointments or obligations? Have people started to comment on your forgetfulness? Under the inattention criteria, being forgetful and misplacing or losing everyday objects is a sign of ADHD.
From a scientific perspective,working memorydeficits are linked to forgetfulness in ADHD. Cognitive working memory training (CWMT) may have therapeutic benefits.
People Complain That You Don’t Listen
Not listening and talking excessively are both signs of ADHD. One sign of ADHD is not seeming to listen when being spoken to directly. Under the hyperactive/impulsive criteria, excessive talking or blurting out an answer or response before someone else is finished speaking are both signs of ADHD. Slower speech processing is also linked to ADHD.
You Have Trouble Concentrating
People with ADHD often have difficulty paying close attention to details without getting distracted. How often do you struggle to hold your attention when doing boring or repetitive work? Do you make careless mistakes due to a lack of concentration and getting easily distracted?
Spontaneous mind-wandering and trouble concentrating often cause people with ADHD to get easily distracted and not complete tasks.
You Leave Tasks Unfinished
Do you often fail to finish something you started because you lost focus and got sidetracked? Struggling to wrap up a project’s final details and habitually leaving tasks unfinished is a sign of ADHD. Attentional lapses make it especially difficult for people with ADHD to finish lengthy projects or complete tedious tasks.
You Lack Impulse Control
A lack of impulse control can also make someone more likely to take dangerous risks and act daredevilishly.
You Have Trouble Controlling Your Emotions
Emotion dysregulation, or the inability to control one’s emotions, is a core ADHD symptom.People with ADHD often have trouble taking part in quiet leisure activities. Irritability, aggression, uncontrollable anger,emotional outbursts, or temper tantrums may also be signs of ADHD.
You Had Behavioral Issues as a Child
Under the DSM-5 criteria, adults diagnosed with ADHD typically had ADHD-related behavioral issues before the age of 12.
ADHD in Adults: Getting a Diagnosis
Foradults who might have ADHD, taking anADHD testis the first step toward seeking a diagnosis. Online self-tests can shed light on symptoms but can’t provide an official diagnosis. To know if you have ADHD for certain, see a healthcare provider or trained mental health professional who can give you an official diagnosis.
TheDSM-5requires at least five inattention symptoms and/or five symptoms of hyperactivity/impulsivity lasting for a minimum of six months when making a clinical ADHD diagnosis for adults over age 17.
Summary
An ADHD diagnosis is based on the prevalence of certain symptoms relating to each category. For some people with ADHD, paying attention is the most significant problem. For others, sitting still is the predominant symptom. Although self-testing can highlight which ADHD symptoms someone’s experiencing, the only way to know for sure if you have ADHD is to consult with a healthcare provider or mental health professional.
15 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.CDC,Symptoms and Diagnosis of ADHD.Adler LA, Faraone SV, Sarocco P, Atkins N, Khachatryan A.Establishing US norms for the Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS-v1.1) and characterising symptom burden among adults with self-reported ADHD.Int J Clin Pract. 2019;73(1):e13260. doi:10.1111/ijcp.13260de la Peña IC, Pan MC, Thai CG, Alisso T.Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder predominantly inattentive subtype/presentation: Research progress and translational studies.Brain Sciences. 2020;10(5):292. doi:10.3390/brainsci10050292Canela C, Buadze A, Dube A, Eich D, Liebrenz M.Skills and compensation strategies in adult ADHD – A qualitative study. Chao L, ed.PLoS ONE. 2017;12(9):e0184964. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0184964Durand G, Arbone IS, Wharton M.Reduced organizational skills in adults with ADHD are due to deficits in persistence, not in strategies.PeerJ. 2020;8:e9844. doi:10.7717/peerj.9844Mette C.Time perception in adult adhd: findings from a decade—a review.IJERPH. 2023;20(4):3098 doi:10.3390/ijerph20043098Al-Saad MSH, Al-Jabri B, Almarzouki AF.A review of working memory training in the management of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.Front Behav Neurosci. 2021;15:686873. doi:10.3389/fnbeh.2021.686873Lemel R, Shalev L, Nitsan G, Ben-David BM.Listen up! ADHD slows spoken-word processing in adverse listening conditions: Evidence from eye movements.Research in Developmental Disabilities. 2023;133:104401. doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2022.104401Osborne JB, Zhang H, Carlson M, Shah P, Jonides J.The association between different sources of distraction and symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.Front Psychiatry. 2023;14:1173989. doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1173989Gmehlin D, Fuermaier ABM, Walther S, et al.Attentional lapses of adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in tasks of sustained attention.Arch Clin Neuropsychol. 2016;31(4):343-357. doi:10.1093/arclin/acw016Shoham R, Sonuga-Barke EJS, Aloni H, Yaniv I, Pollak Y.ADHD-associated risk taking is linked to exaggerated views of the benefits of positive outcomes.Sci Rep. 2016;6(1):34833. doi:10.1038/srep34833Soler-Gutiérrez AM, Pérez-González JC, Mayas J.Evidence of emotion dysregulation as a core symptom of adult ADHD: A systematic review. Tachibana Y, ed.PLoS ONE. 2023;18(1):e0280131. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0280131Sukhodolsky DG, Smith SD, McCauley SA, Ibrahim K, Piasecka JB.Behavioral interventions for anger, irritability, and aggression in children and adolescents.Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology. 2016;26(1):58-64. doi:10.1089/cap.2015.0120Cabral MDI, Liu S, Soares N.Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: diagnostic criteria, epidemiology, risk factors and evaluation in youth.Transl Pediatr. 2020;9(S1):S104-S113. doi:10.21037/tp.2019.09.08American Psychiatric Association.Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th ed. Washington, DC; 2013.
15 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.CDC,Symptoms and Diagnosis of ADHD.Adler LA, Faraone SV, Sarocco P, Atkins N, Khachatryan A.Establishing US norms for the Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS-v1.1) and characterising symptom burden among adults with self-reported ADHD.Int J Clin Pract. 2019;73(1):e13260. doi:10.1111/ijcp.13260de la Peña IC, Pan MC, Thai CG, Alisso T.Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder predominantly inattentive subtype/presentation: Research progress and translational studies.Brain Sciences. 2020;10(5):292. doi:10.3390/brainsci10050292Canela C, Buadze A, Dube A, Eich D, Liebrenz M.Skills and compensation strategies in adult ADHD – A qualitative study. Chao L, ed.PLoS ONE. 2017;12(9):e0184964. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0184964Durand G, Arbone IS, Wharton M.Reduced organizational skills in adults with ADHD are due to deficits in persistence, not in strategies.PeerJ. 2020;8:e9844. doi:10.7717/peerj.9844Mette C.Time perception in adult adhd: findings from a decade—a review.IJERPH. 2023;20(4):3098 doi:10.3390/ijerph20043098Al-Saad MSH, Al-Jabri B, Almarzouki AF.A review of working memory training in the management of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.Front Behav Neurosci. 2021;15:686873. doi:10.3389/fnbeh.2021.686873Lemel R, Shalev L, Nitsan G, Ben-David BM.Listen up! ADHD slows spoken-word processing in adverse listening conditions: Evidence from eye movements.Research in Developmental Disabilities. 2023;133:104401. doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2022.104401Osborne JB, Zhang H, Carlson M, Shah P, Jonides J.The association between different sources of distraction and symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.Front Psychiatry. 2023;14:1173989. doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1173989Gmehlin D, Fuermaier ABM, Walther S, et al.Attentional lapses of adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in tasks of sustained attention.Arch Clin Neuropsychol. 2016;31(4):343-357. doi:10.1093/arclin/acw016Shoham R, Sonuga-Barke EJS, Aloni H, Yaniv I, Pollak Y.ADHD-associated risk taking is linked to exaggerated views of the benefits of positive outcomes.Sci Rep. 2016;6(1):34833. doi:10.1038/srep34833Soler-Gutiérrez AM, Pérez-González JC, Mayas J.Evidence of emotion dysregulation as a core symptom of adult ADHD: A systematic review. Tachibana Y, ed.PLoS ONE. 2023;18(1):e0280131. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0280131Sukhodolsky DG, Smith SD, McCauley SA, Ibrahim K, Piasecka JB.Behavioral interventions for anger, irritability, and aggression in children and adolescents.Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology. 2016;26(1):58-64. doi:10.1089/cap.2015.0120Cabral MDI, Liu S, Soares N.Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: diagnostic criteria, epidemiology, risk factors and evaluation in youth.Transl Pediatr. 2020;9(S1):S104-S113. doi:10.21037/tp.2019.09.08American Psychiatric Association.Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th ed. Washington, DC; 2013.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
CDC,Symptoms and Diagnosis of ADHD.Adler LA, Faraone SV, Sarocco P, Atkins N, Khachatryan A.Establishing US norms for the Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS-v1.1) and characterising symptom burden among adults with self-reported ADHD.Int J Clin Pract. 2019;73(1):e13260. doi:10.1111/ijcp.13260de la Peña IC, Pan MC, Thai CG, Alisso T.Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder predominantly inattentive subtype/presentation: Research progress and translational studies.Brain Sciences. 2020;10(5):292. doi:10.3390/brainsci10050292Canela C, Buadze A, Dube A, Eich D, Liebrenz M.Skills and compensation strategies in adult ADHD – A qualitative study. Chao L, ed.PLoS ONE. 2017;12(9):e0184964. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0184964Durand G, Arbone IS, Wharton M.Reduced organizational skills in adults with ADHD are due to deficits in persistence, not in strategies.PeerJ. 2020;8:e9844. doi:10.7717/peerj.9844Mette C.Time perception in adult adhd: findings from a decade—a review.IJERPH. 2023;20(4):3098 doi:10.3390/ijerph20043098Al-Saad MSH, Al-Jabri B, Almarzouki AF.A review of working memory training in the management of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.Front Behav Neurosci. 2021;15:686873. doi:10.3389/fnbeh.2021.686873Lemel R, Shalev L, Nitsan G, Ben-David BM.Listen up! ADHD slows spoken-word processing in adverse listening conditions: Evidence from eye movements.Research in Developmental Disabilities. 2023;133:104401. doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2022.104401Osborne JB, Zhang H, Carlson M, Shah P, Jonides J.The association between different sources of distraction and symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.Front Psychiatry. 2023;14:1173989. doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1173989Gmehlin D, Fuermaier ABM, Walther S, et al.Attentional lapses of adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in tasks of sustained attention.Arch Clin Neuropsychol. 2016;31(4):343-357. doi:10.1093/arclin/acw016Shoham R, Sonuga-Barke EJS, Aloni H, Yaniv I, Pollak Y.ADHD-associated risk taking is linked to exaggerated views of the benefits of positive outcomes.Sci Rep. 2016;6(1):34833. doi:10.1038/srep34833Soler-Gutiérrez AM, Pérez-González JC, Mayas J.Evidence of emotion dysregulation as a core symptom of adult ADHD: A systematic review. Tachibana Y, ed.PLoS ONE. 2023;18(1):e0280131. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0280131Sukhodolsky DG, Smith SD, McCauley SA, Ibrahim K, Piasecka JB.Behavioral interventions for anger, irritability, and aggression in children and adolescents.Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology. 2016;26(1):58-64. doi:10.1089/cap.2015.0120Cabral MDI, Liu S, Soares N.Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: diagnostic criteria, epidemiology, risk factors and evaluation in youth.Transl Pediatr. 2020;9(S1):S104-S113. doi:10.21037/tp.2019.09.08American Psychiatric Association.Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th ed. Washington, DC; 2013.
CDC,Symptoms and Diagnosis of ADHD.
Adler LA, Faraone SV, Sarocco P, Atkins N, Khachatryan A.Establishing US norms for the Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS-v1.1) and characterising symptom burden among adults with self-reported ADHD.Int J Clin Pract. 2019;73(1):e13260. doi:10.1111/ijcp.13260
de la Peña IC, Pan MC, Thai CG, Alisso T.Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder predominantly inattentive subtype/presentation: Research progress and translational studies.Brain Sciences. 2020;10(5):292. doi:10.3390/brainsci10050292
Canela C, Buadze A, Dube A, Eich D, Liebrenz M.Skills and compensation strategies in adult ADHD – A qualitative study. Chao L, ed.PLoS ONE. 2017;12(9):e0184964. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0184964
Durand G, Arbone IS, Wharton M.Reduced organizational skills in adults with ADHD are due to deficits in persistence, not in strategies.PeerJ. 2020;8:e9844. doi:10.7717/peerj.9844
Mette C.Time perception in adult adhd: findings from a decade—a review.IJERPH. 2023;20(4):3098 doi:10.3390/ijerph20043098
Al-Saad MSH, Al-Jabri B, Almarzouki AF.A review of working memory training in the management of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.Front Behav Neurosci. 2021;15:686873. doi:10.3389/fnbeh.2021.686873
Lemel R, Shalev L, Nitsan G, Ben-David BM.Listen up! ADHD slows spoken-word processing in adverse listening conditions: Evidence from eye movements.Research in Developmental Disabilities. 2023;133:104401. doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2022.104401
Osborne JB, Zhang H, Carlson M, Shah P, Jonides J.The association between different sources of distraction and symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.Front Psychiatry. 2023;14:1173989. doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1173989
Gmehlin D, Fuermaier ABM, Walther S, et al.Attentional lapses of adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in tasks of sustained attention.Arch Clin Neuropsychol. 2016;31(4):343-357. doi:10.1093/arclin/acw016
Shoham R, Sonuga-Barke EJS, Aloni H, Yaniv I, Pollak Y.ADHD-associated risk taking is linked to exaggerated views of the benefits of positive outcomes.Sci Rep. 2016;6(1):34833. doi:10.1038/srep34833
Soler-Gutiérrez AM, Pérez-González JC, Mayas J.Evidence of emotion dysregulation as a core symptom of adult ADHD: A systematic review. Tachibana Y, ed.PLoS ONE. 2023;18(1):e0280131. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0280131
Sukhodolsky DG, Smith SD, McCauley SA, Ibrahim K, Piasecka JB.Behavioral interventions for anger, irritability, and aggression in children and adolescents.Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology. 2016;26(1):58-64. doi:10.1089/cap.2015.0120
Cabral MDI, Liu S, Soares N.Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: diagnostic criteria, epidemiology, risk factors and evaluation in youth.Transl Pediatr. 2020;9(S1):S104-S113. doi:10.21037/tp.2019.09.08
American Psychiatric Association.Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th ed. Washington, DC; 2013.
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