ADHD: 19 questionnaires and rating scales

The Brown Executive Function/Attention Scales are standardized scales designed to identify and quantify the attention and executive function difficulties frequently associated with ADHD. They explore, in particular, activation and organization, maintaining attention, sustained effort, working memory, and emotional regulation in daily life. Used in clinical psychology and neuropsychology, the tool is available in self-report and observer-rated forms depending on age. It is useful for screening, assisting with differential diagnosis, and clinical monitoring, but must be interpreted together with the clinical interview, the history, and other psychometric data.

The Conners 3 is a multidimensional questionnaire designed to assess the symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), as well as other behavioral and emotional problems in children and adolescents. It offers different versions depending on the informant: parent, teacher, and self-report by the young person (adolescent). It provides detailed profiles that help refine diagnosis and intervention.

The ADHD-RS is a standardized rating scale that measures the severity of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms in children and adolescents, based on DSM-5 criteria. It is usually completed by a parent or teacher and is used for diagnosis, monitoring, and evaluating the effectiveness of interventions.

The Conners Comprehensive Behavior Rating Scales (CBRS) are used to identify and assess attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children and adolescents. The test helps estimate the severity and frequency of ADHD symptoms as well as other emotional and behavioral problems.

The DIVA is a semi-structured interview for diagnosing attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in adults, based on DSM-IV-TR criteria. It provides a detailed analysis of symptoms and of their impact across the areas of daily life.

The SDQ is a behavioral screening tool designed to assess strengths and difficulties in children and adolescents (aged 4 to 17). This questionnaire is completed by parents or guardians. It covers several dimensions: emotional symptoms, conduct, hyperactivity/attention, peer relationships and prosocial behavior.

The CAARS-2 is a standardized assessment tool designed to measure ADHD symptoms in adults according to DSM-5 criteria. It includes self-report and observer-report questionnaires, available in short or full formats, allowing for quick screening or in-depth analysis. The test provides norm-referenced scores, helps identify clinical profiles, and includes validity indices to strengthen interpretation. It fits easily into a clinical assessment or psychotherapeutic follow-up process.

The ASRS is designed to identify symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in adults. It was developed in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Workgroup on Adult ADHD.

The ADHD Rating Scale-IV Preschool Version is an observer-rated scale for screening and quantifying ADHD symptoms in preschool children, generally between 3 and 5 years of age. It covers the 18 DSM-IV symptoms, worded with examples better suited to young children's everyday functioning, to improve the clinical relevance of the observations gathered from parents and teachers. The tool provides separate estimates of inattention and hyperactivity-impulsivity, as well as a total severity score. It is useful in outpatient practice, child psychiatry, developmental psychology, and intervention monitoring, particularly to compare how symptoms manifest across settings. Its main advantages are its ease of administration, good acceptability, and the availability of preschool standardization data. It is a screening tool and an aid to clinical assessment, and is not sufficient on its own to make a diagnosis.

The PARS is an assessment tool for professionals that measures symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in preschool children, based on observations and reports from parents or teachers.

CADDRA's ADHD Assessment Checklist is a clinical tool for identifying attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and structuring its assessment. Used within the framework of the Canadian guidelines, it helps the psychologist or clinician review the core symptoms of ADHD according to current diagnostic criteria, as well as their functional impact in different life settings. The tool fits into a multimodal approach that includes the clinical interview, the developmental history, screening for comorbidities and, if possible, information from relatives, teachers or other professionals. It is particularly useful for standardizing the examination of inattention and hyperactivity-impulsivity symptoms, but it should not be interpreted as a stand-alone diagnostic instrument. In clinical practice, the CADDRA checklist is mainly used to support the initial assessment and the structured documentation of ADHD in children, adolescents and adults.

The WURS-25 is a self-report questionnaire that allows an adult to retrospectively assess the ADHD symptoms present during their childhood. It covers inattention, impulsivity, and emotion regulation, as well as academic and relationship difficulties. Often used alongside the ASRS, it helps establish that the symptoms began in childhood, a necessary condition for diagnosing ADHD in adults.

The Barkley School Situations Questionnaire (BSSQ) is a behavioral assessment tool that measures the frequency and severity of behavior problems in children across different school situations. This questionnaire is mainly intended to gather teachers' observations of attention, impulsivity, and oppositional difficulties, and helps document the diagnosis of ADHD and associated behavioral disorders in the school setting.

The WFIRS-P is an observer-rated questionnaire completed by a parent or caregiver to assess the functional impact of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, or more broadly of emotional and behavioral difficulties, on the daily life of the child or adolescent. It explores the concrete repercussions on family life, school, life skills, self-concept, social relationships, and risky behaviors. The tool is particularly useful in clinical assessment and treatment monitoring, and for objectively documenting functional impairment as distinct from symptoms alone. It helps identify the most affected domains and track their changes over time.

The SNAP-IV is a behavioral rating scale used mainly to screen for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and oppositional defiant disorder in children. It collects information from teachers and parents on the frequency and severity of symptoms related to ADHD and other behavioral disorders.

The preschool version of the SWAN scale (Strengths and Weaknesses of ADHD Symptoms and Normal behavior Rating Scale) is an observational tool completed by adults in the child's environment (teachers, parents) to assess the spectrum of behaviors related to attention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity, ranging from problematic to optimal functioning, in young preschool-aged children. It provides a more nuanced perspective on ADHD symptoms by integrating both strengths and difficulties.

The Vanderbilt ADHD Diagnostic Rating Scale (VADRS) is a structured questionnaire used mainly in school and clinical settings to assess the presence of symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children and adolescents, according to DSM criteria. It can also screen for other co-occurring disorders (oppositional behavior, anxiety, depression). There is a parent version and a teacher version.

The ACE+ is a semi-structured clinical interview designed for the diagnostic assessment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in adults. Used by psychologists and other clinicians trained in ADHD, it systematically explores current symptoms of inattention and hyperactivity-impulsivity, their retrospective presence in childhood, their persistence over the course of development and their functional impact. The tool helps verify the DSM diagnostic criteria, document the impact across several life settings and support differential diagnosis. The ACE+ is particularly useful as part of an in-depth clinical assessment of adult ADHD, especially when the interview, the clinical history, collateral information and the examination of comorbidities need to be brought together.

The Barkley Home Situations Questionnaire is a self-report scale designed to collect information from parents about the frequency and severity of the child's behavior problems in various situations at home. It is one of the recommended tools for assessing behavioral disorders, particularly ADHD, and makes it possible to observe how behavior varies across home contexts.