If your child has been referred for an ADHD assessment, knowing what to expect can make the process feel more manageable. Your specialist will look at your child’s attention, activity levels, impulse control, development and everyday functioning rather than trying to reach a diagnosis from one behaviour.
Your child’s assessment should bring together information from several sources, which may include you, your child, their school and previous health or developmental records. This helps the specialist determine whether your child’s difficulties are consistent with ADHD, another condition or a combination of needs.
What Is an ADHD Assessment?
Your child’s ADHD assessment explores whether persistent difficulties with inattention and/or hyperactivity and impulsivity meet recognised diagnostic criteria and how significantly they affect everyday functioning. Your specialist will consider these difficulties across important settings rather than concentrating on isolated behaviours.
The assessment should also consider your child’s strengths, developmental and mental-health history, physical health, educational circumstances and possible coexisting conditions. The aim is to understand your child’s complete needs rather than simply decide whether an ADHD label applies.
Who Carries Out the Assessment?
Your child’s ADHD diagnosis should be made by a specialist psychiatrist, paediatrician or another appropriately qualified healthcare professional with training and expertise in diagnosing ADHD. Other professionals may contribute information depending on the service and your child’s individual needs.
Your specialist should combine information from you, your child and relevant observers with their clinical assessment. Your child should not receive an ADHD diagnosis solely from a teacher report, questionnaire, computer test or brief observation.
What Happens at the First Consultation?
Your specialist will usually talk with you and your child about the difficulties that prompted the assessment and how they affect everyday life. You may discuss attention, activity levels, impulsivity, organisation, learning, relationships, emotions and situations in which your child finds things particularly difficult.
Your specialist may also ask about your child’s medical and mental-health history, development, sleep, school experience and family circumstances. You should share specific examples because understanding when and where difficulties occur can help your specialist assess their significance.
Why Is Developmental History Important?
Your specialist will usually ask about your child’s development from their early years onwards. This may include language, movement, learning, behaviour, social development and when you first became concerned about their attention, activity or impulse control.
Your child’s developmental history helps the specialist understand whether their current difficulties form part of a persistent childhood pattern. It can also identify developmental differences or other needs that should be considered alongside possible ADHD.
Will You Be Asked About Family Life?
Your specialist may ask how your child manages routines, relationships, instructions and everyday activities at home. They may also discuss relevant family circumstances and the mental health or wellbeing of parents or carers where this is relevant to understanding your child’s needs and the support available to them.
These questions do not mean that parenting or family life is assumed to have caused ADHD. They help your specialist understand your child in context, consider factors that may affect their wellbeing and identify any additional support that could be useful for your child or family.
What Questions Will Your Child Be Asked?
The specialist may speak with your child about school, friendships, concentration, emotions and situations they find difficult. The questions will be adapted to their age and understanding.
- School: Your child may describe their learning and classroom experiences.
- Friendships: They may discuss relationships and social situations.
- Concentration: They may explain difficulties with focus or completing tasks.
- Emotions: They may talk about feelings and situations they find challenging.
- Personal experience: Your child can describe their difficulties in their own words.
Your child’s perspective can provide useful information that may not be clear from adult observations alone. This helps the specialist build a more complete understanding of their needs.
Are ADHD Questionnaires Used?
You and other people who know your child well may be asked to complete questionnaires or rating scales covering areas such as attention, hyperactivity, impulsivity and behaviour. These tools can provide structured information about your child’s symptoms and how they may affect everyday life.
However, NICE advises that ADHD should not be diagnosed using rating scales alone. The specialist will consider questionnaire results alongside your child’s developmental history, clinical assessment and information from different areas of their life.
Why Is School Information Important?
With appropriate consent, your child’s teacher, SENCO or another professional who knows them well may be asked about concentration, organisation, activity levels, impulsivity, learning and relationships at school. Their observations give your specialist information about how your child manages demands that may be different from those at home.
Your child does not need to behave identically in every environment. Differences between home and school can themselves be useful, and your specialist should consider whether an underlying pattern of symptoms occurs across at least two important settings.
Does ADHD Need to Affect More Than One Setting?
Yes. For an ADHD diagnosis, your child’s relevant symptoms should occur frequently in at least two important settings, which can include family life, education and other social environments. The symptoms should also cause at least moderate psychological, social or educational impairment.
This does not mean your child must behave exactly the same everywhere. Different levels of structure, distraction and support can change how noticeable their difficulties are, so your specialist will consider the complete pattern across settings.
Will Your Child Have a Computer-Based Test?
Your child may be offered a computer-based assessment, but it is not required in every ADHD assessment. NICE recommends QbTest as an option to support diagnosis in children and young people aged 6 to 17.
QbTest measures aspects of your child’s attention, impulsivity and movement and provides additional information for the specialist. It must be used alongside a standard clinical assessment and cannot confirm or rule out ADHD by itself.
What Diagnostic Criteria Are Considered?
Your specialist will assess your child’s symptoms against recognised criteria such as DSM-5 or ICD-11, considering their persistence, frequency, presence across important settings and impact on daily functioning. A diagnosis is not based simply on being energetic or distracted, and your specialist will also consider other possible explanations.
ADHD Diagnostic Criteria
| Criterion | What Is Considered | Why It Matters | What Your Specialist Assesses |
| Type of symptoms | Inattention, hyperactivity and/or impulsivity | Helps identify the pattern of difficulties | Which symptoms your child experiences |
| Frequency | How often symptoms occur | Occasional behaviours may be developmentally typical | Whether symptoms are persistent |
| Duration | How long the difficulties have been present | ADHD symptoms are not usually short-term changes | Whether symptoms have persisted over time |
| Different settings | Symptoms should occur in two or more important settings | Helps show that difficulties are not limited to one environment | Reports from home, school or other settings |
| Functional impact | Effect on psychological, social or educational functioning | Significant impairment is important for diagnosis | How symptoms affect everyday life |
| Developmental expectations | Behaviour is compared with what is expected for your child’s age | Prevents normal childhood behaviour being mistaken for ADHD | Whether symptoms are unusually pronounced |
| Other explanations | Other conditions or circumstances that could cause similar difficulties | Helps ensure an accurate diagnosis | Sleep, anxiety, developmental or other relevant factors |
Are Other Conditions Considered?
Yes. Your child’s specialist should consider whether another developmental, emotional, educational or health difficulty may explain or contribute to the symptoms you have noticed. Your child may also have ADHD alongside another condition.
Possible considerations can include autism, anxiety, learning or communication difficulties, sleep problems, tic disorders and other mental-health or developmental concerns. Your specialist should assess the wider pattern of your child’s needs rather than treating every attention or behavioural difficulty as evidence of ADHD.
Is Your Child’s Physical Health Considered?
Yes. Physical health should form part of your child’s ADHD assessment. Your specialist may review relevant medical conditions, current medicines, sleep, neurological or developmental concerns and other physical-health factors that could contribute to the symptoms being assessed. Whether a particular physical examination or further investigation is needed will depend on your child’s history and clinical findings.
If ADHD medication is later being considered, a separate baseline assessment includes additional physical-health checks such as height, weight, pulse, blood pressure and an appropriate cardiovascular assessment. Receiving an ADHD diagnosis does not mean your child will automatically need medication.
How Long Does an ADHD Assessment Take?
The length of an ADHD assessment can vary between services because some may collect information before or after the main consultation. Your child’s assessment may therefore involve more than one appointment or stage, depending on their individual circumstances.
A thorough assessment can include questionnaires, school feedback and clinical review rather than being limited to a single conversation. Taking time to gather information from different sources helps the specialist develop a more complete understanding of your child’s difficulties and strengths.
How Can You Prepare for the Appointment?
Before your appointment, you may find it useful to write down specific examples of your child’s difficulties, when you first noticed them and how they affect learning, relationships, routines and everyday activities. You should also note whether particular environments make the problems better or worse.
You can bring relevant school reports, previous assessments, medical information and details of earlier developmental concerns when available. You do not need to prepare your child to perform in a particular way because the specialist is interested in understanding their usual experiences rather than whether they appear restless or distracted during one appointment.
What Happens If ADHD Is Diagnosed?
If your child receives an ADHD diagnosis, your specialist should explain what the diagnosis means and discuss their individual strengths, difficulties and support needs. You should have an opportunity to ask questions about how ADHD may affect home life, education and relationships.
Your child’s next steps may include environmental changes, support at home and school, ADHD-focused interventions and, when clinically appropriate, medication. A diagnosis does not mean that every child needs the same treatment.
Where Can You Arrange a Specialist Assessment?
If persistent difficulties with attention, impulsivity, hyperactivity or organisation are affecting your child’s daily life, you may consider arranging a specialist ADHD assessment for children in London. This can help you explore your child’s needs in more detail and understand how their difficulties affect different areas of everyday life.
A comprehensive assessment can consider your child’s developmental history, school feedback, behaviour and functioning across different environments. This broader understanding can help the specialist recommend appropriate next steps based on your child’s individual needs.
Myth vs Fact
| Myth | What You Should Know |
| Your child can be diagnosed during one short conversation. | Your specialist needs to consider your child’s history, symptoms, impairment and information from relevant settings. |
| Your child must behave hyperactively during the appointment. | Your specialist assesses your child’s usual pattern rather than relying on their behaviour during one consultation. |
| Your child’s questionnaire score can confirm ADHD. | Your rating scales provide useful information but cannot diagnose your child independently. |
| Your child must have identical problems at home and school. | Your child’s symptoms may appear differently while still occurring across important settings. |
| Your child must specifically have symptoms at home and school. | Your child’s symptoms need to occur in at least two important settings, which may include other social environments. |
| Your child’s teacher can diagnose ADHD. | Your teacher provides valuable information, but your child’s diagnosis requires an appropriately trained specialist. |
| QbTest can tell you definitively whether your child has ADHD. | Your child’s QbTest provides supplementary information and must be interpreted within a clinical assessment. |
| Your child cannot have ADHD if another condition is identified. | Your child may have ADHD alongside another developmental or mental-health condition. |
| Your child automatically needs medication after diagnosis. | Your child’s treatment depends on their age, needs and degree of impairment. |
Key Takeaways
- Your child cannot be diagnosed with ADHD from one symptom, questionnaire or computer test.
- Your child’s assessment should include their developmental and mental-health history.
- Your child should have an opportunity to describe their own experiences when appropriate for their age and understanding.
- Your child’s school may provide valuable information about attention, organisation, behaviour and learning.
- Your child’s ADHD symptoms should occur frequently in at least two important settings for diagnosis.
- Your child’s symptoms should cause meaningful impairment rather than simply being noticeable.
- Your child aged 6 to 17 may be offered QbTest as an additional assessment tool.
- Your child’s QbTest result cannot confirm or rule out ADHD by itself.
- Your specialist should consider other or coexisting developmental, emotional and health conditions.
- Your child can still receive useful recommendations even if ADHD is not diagnosed.
UK Guidance Note
Your child’s ADHD diagnosis should be made by a specialist psychiatrist, paediatrician or another appropriately qualified healthcare professional with ADHD diagnostic expertise. Your child should receive a comprehensive assessment rather than a diagnosis based on one rating scale, observation or digital test.
Your child’s diagnostic symptoms should occur frequently across at least two important settings and cause at least moderate psychological, social or educational impairment. If your child is aged 6 to 17, QbTest may be used as an additional tool, but your specialist must interpret it alongside the standard clinical assessment.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. How long will your child’s ADHD assessment take?
Your child’s assessment length depends on the service, their needs and how much information needs to be collected. It may involve more than one appointment as well as questionnaires and information from school or other relevant sources.
2. What happens during your child’s first ADHD appointment?
Your specialist will usually discuss your child’s attention, activity levels, impulsivity, development and everyday functioning with you and, when appropriate, directly with your child. They may also ask about education, relationships, sleep, health and family circumstances.
3. Will your child need to complete an ADHD test?
There is no single test that can diagnose your child with ADHD. Questionnaires and, for some children aged 6 to 17, QbTest may contribute additional information, but your child still needs a full clinical assessment.
4. Will your child’s teacher be involved in the assessment?
Your child’s teacher or SENCO may be asked about attention, organisation, learning, activity levels, impulsivity and relationships at school. This information helps your specialist understand how your child functions outside the home.
5. What should you bring to your child’s ADHD assessment?
You may find it useful to bring school reports, previous assessments, relevant medical information and examples of difficulties you have observed. Information about when concerns first appeared and how they affect everyday life can also help.
6. Does your child need ADHD symptoms at both home and school?
Not specifically. Your child’s diagnostic symptoms should occur frequently in at least two important settings, which can include family, educational and other social environments.
7. Will your specialist consider conditions other than ADHD?
Yes. Your specialist should consider whether autism, anxiety, learning or communication difficulties, sleep problems or another developmental, emotional or health issue could contribute to your child’s symptoms.
8. Can your child be diagnosed using a questionnaire or QbTest alone?
No. Your child’s questionnaires and QbTest can provide additional information but cannot replace a comprehensive specialist assessment.
9. What happens if your child is diagnosed with ADHD?
Your specialist should explain the diagnosis and discuss appropriate support according to your child’s age, needs and impairment. Your next steps may include support at school and home and, when appropriate, additional treatment.
10. What happens if your child is not diagnosed with ADHD?
Your child’s assessment can still identify important strengths, difficulties or other possible explanations. You should ask the specialist what support or further assessment may be appropriate for the problems that remain.
Final Thoughts: Understanding Your Child’s ADHD Assessment
Your child’s ADHD assessment is designed to understand the wider pattern of their attention, activity, impulse control, development and everyday functioning rather than judge them from one symptom or test. By combining information from you, your child, their school and the clinical assessment, your specialist can determine whether ADHD or another explanation best accounts for their difficulties. If you’re considering ADHD assessment for children, you can get in touch with us at London Paediatric Clinic.
References:
- Garcia-Rosales, A., Cortese, S. and Vitoratou, S. (2024) ‘Measurement invariance of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder symptom criteria as rated by parents and teachers in children and adolescents: a systematic review’, PLOS ONE, 19(2), article e0293677. Available at: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10889893/
- Hall, S.S. et al. (2024) ‘A national evaluation of QbTest to support ADHD assessment: a real-world, mixed methods approach’, BMC Health Services Research, 24, article 1201. Available at: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11459991/
- Mulraney, M. et al. (2022) ‘Systematic review and meta-analysis: screening tools for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in children and adolescents’, Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 61(8), pp. 982–996. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0890856721020840
- National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (2018) Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: diagnosis and management. NICE guideline NG87. Last updated 13 September 2019; reviewed 7 May 2025. Available at: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng87
- National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (2024) Digital technologies for assessing attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). HealthTech guidance HTG729. Published 21 October 2024. Available at: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/htg729
- NHS (2025) ‘ADHD in children and young people’. Page last reviewed 19 March 2025. Available at: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/adhd-children-teenagers/
- Peterson, B.S. et al. (2024) ‘Tools for the diagnosis of ADHD in children and adolescents: a systematic review’, Pediatrics, 153(4), article e2024065854. Available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38523599/
- Royal College of Psychiatrists (2025) ‘ADHD in children and young people: for parents and carers’. Published April 2025. Available at: https://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/mental-health/parents-and-young-people/information-for-parents-and-carers/ADHD-in-young-people
- Staff, A.I., Oosterlaan, J., van der Oord, S., Hoekstra, P.J., Vertessen, K., de Vries, R., van den Hoofdakker, B.J. and Luman, M. (2021) ‘The validity of teacher rating scales for the assessment of ADHD symptoms in the classroom: a systematic review and meta-analysis’, Journal of Attention Disorders, 25(11), pp. 1578–1593. Available at: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8369909/