The Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS) is a short screening tool for adults who are wondering about ADHD.
It is not a diagnostic test.
It can help you notice whether you are reporting enough ADHD-related difficulties that a fuller evaluation may be worth considering.
What the ASRS Can and Cannot Tell You
A positive screen does not mean you have ADHD.
A negative screen does not automatically mean you do not.
The ASRS is brief. It does not capture every way ADHD can show up in an adult woman's life, and it may not capture all of the work you do to compensate.
A clinician still needs to look at your history, childhood patterns, how difficulties show up across your life, how much they interfere, and whether something else may better explain them.
Taking the ASRS
Answer based on how things have actually been for you, not how you think you should be functioning.
It can also help to notice what sits behind your answer.
Do you remember because you use five reminders?
Do you meet deadlines because panic finally gets you moving?
Do you stay organized because you check everything repeatedly?
Do you keep up because someone else helps hold the system together?
Those details can be important in an assessment.
Open the WHO/Harvard ASRS-v1.1 Screener →
A Note About the Version
The commonly used ASRS-v1.1 screener was developed before the current DSM-5 criteria. A newer six-item DSM-5 ASRS screening scale was published in 2017.
Read about the DSM-5 ASRS screening scale →
If the Screener Raises Questions
You do not need a positive screening score before asking for an ADHD evaluation.
If you have longstanding difficulties with attention, working memory, task starting, organization, time, restlessness, impulsivity, or the amount of effort it takes to manage everyday life, those patterns are worth discussing with a clinician who understands adult ADHD.
The ASRS is one piece of information. It is not the whole picture.