Specialized Assessment Spotlight: Attention-Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) What is ADHD? Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder is a neurobehavioral disorder characterized by core symptoms of inattentiveness, distractibility, hyperactivity and impulsivity. ADHD is thought to be the most common childhood mental health disorder. It is also one of the disorders that continues to impact individuals into adulthood. Getting a formal diagnosis and assessment is important because it is easy to confuse ADHD symptoms (such as concentration problems and hyperactivity) with other medical problems and psychiatric disorders, such as emotional issues, autism spectrum disorder, mood swings, sleep disorders, seizure disorders and learning disabilities (like dyslexia). These are treated differently. Appropriate treatment can reduce ADHD symptoms and help people with daily functioning. Understanding the ADHD Assessment ADHD assessment can be complex and includes the cooperation of various experts, as well as both self- reports and perfomance measures. Our ADHD assessment consists of an interview and a battery of tests (that varies if it is being used for a child or an adult), which are based on self-report and performance. The latter is thoguht to be the most accurate way of diagnosing ADHD, having in mind possible differential diagnoses. Duration of the ADHD Assessment Depending on complexity, ADHD Assessment can take from six to eight hours to complete.