ASRS is a screening test for adults to see if it's worth pursuing an ADHD diagnosis. It is 18 questions, written by neurotypical people who assume their external observations of ADHD are accurate representations of what it's like to have it, so needs to be translated into "actual person with ADHD" before you fill it in.

That's why it includes stupid shit like, "do you feel driven by a motor?" No, I do not. Things driven by a motor spin round and round and I do not spin.

And, "Do you have problems remembering appointments" to which everyone responds, "It's 2026 and I have a fucking SMARTPHONE".

So that being the case, I have often thought one written BY ADHDers, FOR ADHDers would be better.

It would include questions like:
.
"Do you think your friends all dislike you and that you annoy them?"
.
"Is there a song on repeat in your head? Is it the same 3 bars over and over? It is, isn't it?"
.
"Your partner says, 'we need to talk'. Do you flee to Antarctica? If not, is that because you got distracted by TVTropes when trying to find out how to flee to Antarctica?"
.
"Do you do the thing with candles? You know the one. Yes you do, stop playing dumb."
.
"'Right, but you need to show your working' - how much homicide do you want to commit when you read this?"
.
"How many bottles of ketchup are there in your fridge? Did you have to get up to count?"
.
"How many are expired?"
.
"By more than a year?"
.
"You left the fridge open, didn't you?"
.
"Which leg is bouncing and why is it always the same one?"
.
"Do you rehearse conversations in your head before having them?"
.
"And then get annoyed when the other person doesn't say their correct lines?"
.
"How long have you managed to lie in bed desperate for a pee without getting up to pee and why is it six hours?"
.
"Cleaning your teeth twice a day is easy|common|aspirational|not happening|I own a toothbrush?|I own five toothbrushes?|And don't know where any of them are? (delete as applicable)"
.
"You notice a scab on an easily accessible body part. How many seconds is its life expectancy?"
.
"Where did you get those bruises? The ones on your legs? You don't know, do you?"
.
"Rock climbing, knitting, or both?"
.
"How long have the clothes in the washing machine been there?"
.
"And is Indiana Jones getting excited about the early Mesopotamian sock layer at the bottom of the pile on your chair?"
.
"Ikea Skadis. I know, right?"

ASRS is a screening test for adults to see if it's worth pursuing an ADHD diagnosis. It is 18 questions, written by neurotypical people who assume their external observations of ADHD are accurate representations of what it's like to have it, so needs to be translated into "actual person with ADHD" before you fill it in.

That's why it includes stupid shit like, "do you feel driven by a motor?" No, I do not. Things driven by a motor spin round and round and I do not spin.

And, "Do you have problems remembering appointments" to which everyone responds, "It's 2026 and I have a fucking SMARTPHONE".

So that being the case, I have often thought one written BY ADHDers, FOR ADHDers would be better.

It would include questions like:
.
"Do you think your friends all dislike you and that you annoy them?"
.
"Is there a song on repeat in your head? Is it the same 3 bars over and over? It is, isn't it?"
.
"Your partner says, 'we need to talk'. Do you flee to Antarctica? If not, is that because you got distracted by TVTropes when trying to find out how to flee to Antarctica?"
.
"Do you do the thing with candles? You know the one. Yes you do, stop playing dumb."
.
"'Right, but you need to show your working' - how much homicide do you want to commit when you read this?"
.
"How many bottles of ketchup are there in your fridge? Did you have to get up to count?"
.
"How many are expired?"
.
"By more than a year?"
.
"You left the fridge open, didn't you?"
.
"Which leg is bouncing and why is it always the same one?"
.
"Do you rehearse conversations in your head before having them?"
.
"And then get annoyed when the other person doesn't say their correct lines?"
.
"How long have you managed to lie in bed desperate for a pee without getting up to pee and why is it six hours?"
.
"Cleaning your teeth twice a day is easy|common|aspirational|not happening|I own a toothbrush?|I own five toothbrushes?|And don't know where any of them are? (delete as applicable)"
.
"You notice a scab on an easily accessible body part. How many seconds is its life expectancy?"
.
"Where did you get those bruises? The ones on your legs? You don't know, do you?"
.
"Rock climbing, knitting, or both?"
.
"How long have the clothes in the washing machine been there?"
.
"And is Indiana Jones getting excited about the early Mesopotamian sock layer at the bottom of the pile on your chair?"
.
"Ikea Skadis. I know, right?"