What happens at a child's ADHD assessment?

Expect an interview about your child's developmental history and behaviour, questionnaires completed by you and school, sometimes a school observation or computer test, then a specialist diagnoses based on all of it.

Before the appointment

You and your child's school are usually sent rating-scale questionnaires first, often the Conners scales or the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. These build a picture of attention, activity and impulsivity at home and in class before anyone meets your child. Many NHS services will not book the assessment itself until both forms are returned, so filling yours in and chasing the school's is worth doing quickly.

What happens on the day

1. A specialist (usually a community paediatrician or a child and adolescent psychiatrist) takes a full developmental and psychiatric history, from pregnancy and early milestones through to now.
2. They ask how your child's attention, restlessness and impulsivity show up day to day, and how it affects them at home, at school and with friends.
3. Your child may sit a computer-based attention task (a QbTest) while you complete more detailed questionnaires, sometimes in a separate room.
4. The clinician may arrange a school observation, or contact the SENCO or class teacher, if anything needs clarifying.

How the diagnosis is decided

Under the NICE guideline on ADHD (NG87), a diagnosis can only be made by a suitably trained specialist, and never on questionnaires or an observation alone. The symptoms need to meet the recognised criteria (DSM-5 or ICD-11), have started before age 12, appear in two or more settings such as home and school, and cause at least moderate difficulty with daily life. The specialist weighs all the evidence together and tells you whether the criteria are met, and which presentation (inattentive, hyperactive-impulsive or combined) fits.

How long it takes, and if it stalls

The assessment is often spread across more than one appointment, and waits for the first one vary widely, from a few months to a few years depending on your area. If the wait is long, you can ask your GP about Right to Choose, which lets you ask to be referred to an NHS-funded provider elsewhere in England. If a service has gone quiet, chase it in writing and ask for its current waiting-time estimate.

This page is general information, not clinical or legal advice.