Female ADHD Test: Symptoms in Women and Girls

19 Comments: Female ADHD Test: Symptoms in Women and Girls

1. I feel that the questions on this test are geared towards people with the inattentive type of ADHD. I scored low on this because I am not the inattentive type. I figured out I have ADHD hyperactive type a few weeks ago and my medical doctor agrees. I have been searching online and YouTube trying to learn more about women who have ADHD hyperactive type and there is not much out there. I would love for more information to be learned and shared about that. I also find it interesting that so many women have the inattentive type or at least it appears that way based on information share about ADHD in women. Most articles share how women with ADHD are disorganized, late to appointments, lack self esteem and motivation to name a few. That is the opposite of me and why when I take quizzes like this I feel unseen as ADHD appears differently in women and there is more than one type of ADHD that a women can have. I hope organizations like ADDITUDE can do more for helping all women and men with the different types of ADHD. I also feel that this quiz and others alike need to be updated or looked at closely. Maybe it would be better to have two quizzes one for each type? At the very least more questions that relate to hyperactivity should be added. The Adult ADHD-RS-IV with Adult Prompts screener could be a helpful tool to find questions connected to hyperactivity type. I feel sad for women taking this survey and getting a low score thinking they don’t have ADHD when they very well may have.

2. I’m afraid I don’t understand question 8. Nobody uses cheque books since 1990 so I’m guessing it’s something else. Also it’s spelled differently. Also how would balancing a cheque even work?
   Does it mean making sure you have the money in the bank when you write the cheque? But again, why would anyone write a cheque?
   I’m probably being thick here but hey, I’m honest!

3. This is all very well, but I don’t invite people over because I don’t really like people over, not because it’s messy – which it is, people find me as they find me and I’m ok with that. And at 51 I am so over stressing about extra jobs others think they can put on me….and I live in the U.K. where people don’t tell others, generally, if they think they’re being rude about unsent thank you notes so expecting me to read their minds – especially if I am neurodivergent – seems a bit unfair.

   I’m assuming by ‘balance your checkbook’ you mean manage your finances, since no one writes cheques any more do they?

4. Many of these questions are about what other people think. Or whether other people are rude enough to say things to you. I am not put together like others, but people don’t tell me I’m a slob. It also asks about emotions or feelings of shame. My house is a mess, but I don’t hesitate to invite people over because my self worth isn’t hinged on other’s thoughts of me. I found a pile of unsent thank you notes in my basement – from my wedding a decade earlier. I’ve also found others that were never sent, but no one has ever told me I’m selfish. So I check never. I’ve never felt I was selfish for not sending them. The question was about selfishness and other people’s thoughts. – not whether or not I was capable of writing a note, putting it in an envelope, addressing it, and getting a stamp, and getting it to the mailbox.

   If ADHD is about how you feel about yourself, then I guess I don’t have it. However this assessment is useless at trying to determine whether a person has the executive functioning to be orderly, tidy, etc.

5. I am at a point that I fear talking to a psychiatrist. After being “told” by people or simply an acquaintance that I must have ADHD, and my family accepting my absent mindedness, forgetfulness, inability to follow directions whether to make something or go somewhere, I finally bit the bullet as I’ve had more time these days to be aware of my clumsy, flustered self and stupidly called one of those zoom psychiatrists that advertise that they help those with adult adhd and anxiety. It was really hard for me to blurt out my chaotic life to someone because to me it’s normal and I did t want to sound crazy. I took their “test” and talked first to a “consultant “ who said I sounded like someone they could help. I was so flustered I can’t remember what I said, and I couldn’t speak in a way that was really descriptive of how my brain seems to work. But I tried to give examples of my day to day life now and how other people and my parents commented on my fidgety person and my complete lack of comprehension on tests etc.. but as she rushed me to stop talking and got agitated at me for not understanding yes and no questions, because I couldn’t answer just yes and no, she ended by saying that since I got my Masters degree, (Masters of Fine Arts) which is hardly a degree that takes much detail taking focus, that I somehow managed well enough, and I wasn’t diagnosed as a child (even though I had plenty of life examples) that she couldn’t treat me . All of this with her tests pointing to the symptoms of ADHD, and generalized anxiety which to me is caused because I live in a flustered brain…. She ignored what her tests said, offered to treat me with a antidepressant which is too scary to me as I’m not depressed in the least. I don’t know if anyone else has been belittled by a psychiatrist as if I was not being truthful, was drug searching like some kind of addict… which is far from the truth. I was so shaken up by her disregard for what I was saying that I actually thanked her for her time ( that I paid $275 for) and hung up dejected… but when I read the symptoms and frustrations of other moms that have been diagnosed I relate so much. I had always been offended by those who teased me saying that I must have adhd, those who were taken aback by my energizer bunny energy, but it was bothering so much that I truly wanted someone to listen to me. I’m 54 and grew up in a small town. No one went to psychiatrists . My mom I’m sure was agoraphobic and always seemed flustered and angry, getting overwhelmed so easily. I learned to cope with how I am after stopping drinking and getting involved with AA…although I can accept me, that doesn’t mean it’s not draining and difficult everyday. I just wanted to say all of this. I guess I want to be heard and know if other women have had a similar experience about being told that they couldn’t have ADHD because they are relatively successful and weren’t officially diagnosed as a child.

6. For two years CPS harassed and stalked me, showing up whenever to inspect my house for it being messy. They made me quit my Masters degree to stay home and clean my house. Then chastised me for not having a job. I almost had my children taken away. Nobody understood. At the time, I was also writing a screenplay which I did not dare tell them about for fear of them making me quit that. They scarred my children emotionally. Even now if there’s a knock at the door we have a twinge of anxiety and it’s almost two decades later. I wish I could sue them. They labeled me as a bad, neglectful mother and accused me of doing drugs or drinking. Meanwhile, I was working my butt off to better our lives! It was like forcing someone with a broken leg run a marathon. I wish I could sue them because we are still traumatized. If it weren’t for my psychiatrist at the time, I’m sure I would have lost my children. She argued with the ignorant uneducated ‘social workers’ that they knew nothing about my afflictions. They promised her they wouldn’t threaten me with taking my children away, but then threatened me. Of course I went back and told her. She then wrote a letter to them stating that she has never in her 15 years of treating seen any evidence of emotional, physical or sexual abuse. And no substance abuse. She said I was extremely involved in my children’s lives and care for them dearly. And she’d be willing to go to court and say that. Still, they harassed us for another year or so until we finally moved from the neighbourhood we were in. Turns out CPS was having my landlord come in to our apartment whilst we weren’t home and take photos and they had the school reporting on all my children’s behaviour without my knowledge. They also interviewed my neighbours and asked them (ordered them) to report back or they’d be charged. It was complete Nazism in modern times. My doctor and I have since parted ways, but I will never forget how she fought for me when we were all alone. She also taught us how to stand up for ourselves.

7. I see my answers to the questions, but no test results. Am I missing the result area?

   1. I didn’t see them at first. They are at the top right before the first question.

   2. I couldn’t see the results either… but having clicked frequently to all but one question the answer is clear

8. N/a

9. Its interesting the test mentions thank you notes and other types of greeting cards. Why are these so hard for us, so easy for others? I’ve struggled with this my whole adult life. My friends will whip out a thank you note within a day or two, while for me its an epic project that may take months yo get to, if I ever do. It makes us seem unappreciative or uncaring, but we are not. Would love to finally get to the bottom of this weird struggle…..anybody have ideas or ever read an article on this? I haven’t been able to find anything.

10. 100%

    It is so challenging but I got through my master’s program, I have a good job, but I’m tired of always feeling confused and behind.

11. Which clinicians can diagnose ADHD inattentive? I have epilepsy so I see a neuropsychologist but they don’t seem keen to do diagnosis.

12. I am very offended at the fact that this is only for women and girls.

    1. did you even read the text at the start? This test is here because a ADHD presents differently in girls & women to boys & men!

    2. You can find a self-test for adults here: https://www.additudemag.com/adhd-symptoms-test-adults/

13. Is my score high, or low? It gave me a number, but didn’t say where it fit in the range.

    1. The higher the percentage(the more questions you answered in the affirmative), the more likely you are to be demonstrating the symptoms of attention deficit disorder. This self-test is not a diagnosis. A mental health professional can make a diagnosis based on clinical evaluation. Print out your results and take them to you clinician for diagnosis and treatment.

14. results??