• @ricecake
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    8 days ago

    No. There are tests for the types of functional behavior differences that comprise ADHD, but they can’t really be administered outside of a moderately controlled setting.

    Stuff like saying a list of words and seeing how many you can recall in a fixed time can’t really be done reliably in a quiz.

    There are tools that can say “based on what you answered, there’s a high/low probability you’d benefit from further consultation”. They’re basically “how often do you interrupt?”, “how often do you zone out?”.
    Basically a structured way of “what I’m hearing you say is …”. “Based on how you describe yourself as ADHD as hell, you might benefit from asking someone about that”.

    Self assessments can be wrong about what they suggest you ask about. If you have a concern or behaviors that you do that upset you or cause problems, then that’s worth addressing and following until you get help, but it might not be what you thought. Or the doctor might have been mistaken, since they’re also fallible, but hopefully the more objective tests can lend objectively to their conclusions.