How to tell if you have ADHD is second only to what is it like to have ADHD among the questions that rattle around the brain of those with ADHD. Unfortunately, the most common answers are either to check with a doctor or mental health professional because only they can make an actual diagnosis of ADHD, or to take a simplified, overly general, test. The test questions are often so broad and inane that they simply perpetuate the myth that the symptoms of ADHD are the same as things that happen to everyone. Ironically, both answers show a fundamental misunderstanding of the ADD/ADHD mentality.
Do I Have ADD or ADHD? Just Answer the Question!
People with ADHD, particularly adults with ADHD, are not prone to react well to either of the common answers to the query of whether or not they have ADD. Typically, a person with ADHD does not reach the conclusion that they do potentially have ADD after sitting in quiet reflection about their daily life. Rather, they are likely to have the thought pop into their head in the middle of doing something else.
One of the most common times to wonder if you have ADHD/ADD is when beating yourself up for a recent failure or shortcoming. “Maybe I have ADD,” is the kind of thought that many ADDers have right after thinking something like, “Why can’t you just get it together long enough to…” or maybe, “Why can’t you stay organized?”
For most adults with ADHD, the next stop is Google and a search for ADD. Ironically, such a search will likely be futile since ADD and the word ‘add’ are the same thing when typed into a search box. A search for ‘attention deficit disorder’ likely follows, and then perhaps after noticing another acronym, a search for ADHD which will yield better results.
Regardless, while the ADDer will read a dozen sites in a row – and indeed may enjoy doing so – to get the answer to their questions, they are not likely to stop and take a boring test, and are even less likely to call and schedule an appointment with a doctor or therapist. Thus, the most helpful scenario for someone with ADHD is to provide a real answer, and not a bunch of legally approved boilerplate language about getting an answer from someone else.
Unfortunately, I can’t tell if you have ADD/ADHD since I am sitting behind a keyboard, and quite possibly am nowhere near it while you are reading this, not that it matters because even if I were sitting at my computer, it’s not like I can see you through the Internet or anything.
If that sentence sounds like something you say, or something you write, or have to stop yourself from writing, then signs point to yes. If you read that sentence and started considering the possibility of video phones or video conferencing or some sort of online video conference, like Skype, then signs point even more so to yes. If you didn’t get to this paragraph despite it being in italics before opening a new window or tab in your browser to lookup something about video conferencing or other tool or method, then the signs really point to yes.
Test To Find Out If You Have ADHD / ADD
The official tests used to determine if you have ADD or ADHD aren’t much better than the ones that you find online. For the most part, they ask you to rank from 1 to 5 (Never through Always) if certain things happen to you.
As you take the test you’ll find yourself saying, “maybe” or “sort of” a lot. In those cases, I would encourage you to choose 4 or 5.
That aside, I’ve developed some of my own ADHD quizzes to help determine if someone has ADHD. These ADHD tests are not generic, are not boring, and are not official. They won’t give you anything more than a real answer to your question. THEN you can schedule an appointment with a professional or family doctor.
And that, is how the ADHD mind works.
Next Step —> ADHD Tests (In my next post coming as soon as I get it formatted.)
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