Suggested Diagnostic Criteria for ADHD in Adults

Suggested Diagnostic Criteria for ADHD in Adults

Hallowell and Ratey, 1994, felt that ADHD expressed itself differently in adults and developed this diagnostic rating scale.

For a positive diagnosis, the behavior must be considerably more frequent than most people of the same mental age

A chronic disturbance in which at least 12 of the following are frequently present:

  • A sense of underachievement, of not meeting one’s goals (regardless of how much one has actually accomplished).
  • Difficulty getting organized.
  • Chronic procrastination or trouble getting started.
  • Many projects going simultaneously; trouble with follow-through.
  • A tendency to say what comes to mind without necessarily considering the timing or appropriateness of the remark.
  • A frequent search for high stimulation.
  • An intolerance of boredom.
  • Easy distractibility, trouble focusing attention, tendency to tune out or drift away in the middle of a page or a conversation, often coupled with an ability to hyperfocus at times.
  • Often creative, intuitive, highly intelligent.
  • Trouble in going through established channels, following “proper” procedure.
  • Impatient; low tolerance of frustration.
  • Impulsive, either verbally or in action, as in impulsive spending of  money, changing plans, enacting new schemes or career plans, and the like; hot-tempered.
  • A tendency to worry needlessly, endlessly; a tendency to scan the horizon looking for something to worry about, alternating with intention to or disregard for actual dangers.
  • A sense of insecurity.
  • Mood Swings, mood lability, especially when disengaged from a person or project.
  • Physical or cognitive restlessness.
  • A tendency toward addictive behavior.
  • Chronic problems with self-esteem.
  • Inaccurate self-observation
  • Family history of ADD or manic-depressive illness or depression or substance abuse or other disorders of impulse control or mood.
  • Childhood history of ADD.  (It may not have been formally diagnosed, but in reviewing the history, one sees that the signs and symptoms were there.)
  • Situation not explained by other medical or psychiatric condition.