There’s no brain scan or blood test for ADHD. It’s built almost entirely from what you and your child’s teacher see every day — so you can gather most of it yourself, before you spend a dime.
This one surprises parents most: an ADHD evaluation has no machine that decides it. A good clinician reaches the answer by gathering how your child actually behaves — at home, at school, over time — and checking it against a clear checklist. You and the teacher are the main instruments. Walk in with that organized, and you’ve done the heavy lifting — faster, cheaper, more accurate.
Pick your child’s age, then answer based on daily life. Under each question is what the professionals look for. The two things that matter most: does it show up in more than one place, and does it actually cause problems? At the end you get a printable summary to hand your doctor. Nothing you enter is saved or sent — not on our servers, not in your browser. Print it and it’s gone.
Let’s clear the fog before you spend anything.
Not a single one — and no blood test or brain scan diagnoses it. ADHD is a clinical diagnosis: the clinician gathers your child’s history, collects rating forms from you and the teacher, and confirms the pattern meets a defined checklist with real-life impact. Computer attention tests exist, but they only support the picture — they don’t decide it.
A pediatrician can often diagnose affordably using rating scales and a good history. A full psychologist evaluation costs more and is worth it when things are tangled (a possible learning disability, anxiety, or autism in the mix). Your school can evaluate free for educational support. You rarely need the priciest option to get a clear answer.
The clinician interviews you, has you and the teacher fill out rating scales (the cornerstone), maybe runs a computer attention task, and screens for look-alikes (sleep, anxiety, vision/hearing, learning struggles). Then they map it all onto the official checklist. Often there’s no dramatic “testing the child” at all — it’s mostly gathering and judging.
Of an ADHD diagnosis comes from rating scales and history — what you and the teacher report. The computer test and the brain are not the deciders. You and the teacher are. So the most powerful thing you can bring is good, organized, real-life evidence.