91 Symptoms Associated with ADHD in Adults

Do you think you or someone you know has ADHD?  See how many of the symptoms listed here represent your experiences.

When I first read this list, symptom after symptom, I kept saying to myself, "That isn't normal?" I have the majority of these symptoms and knew I needed to be evaluated the first time I read this list.

Read more about ADHD in Taking Charge of Adult ADHD: Proven Strategies to Succeed at Work, at Home and in Relationships by Russell A. Barkley, M.D.

Also see my ADHD Recommendations page.

Symptom	Adults with ADHD	Adults in the Community
1. Find it difficult to tolerate waiting; impatient	75	5
2. Make decisions impulsively	79	3
3. Unable to inhibit my reactions or responses to events or others	61	2
4. Have difficulty stopping my activities or behavior when I should do so	72	2
5. Have difficulty changing my behavior when I am given feedback about my mistakes	68	4
6. Easily distracted by irrelevant thoughts when I must concentrate on something	96	3
7. Prone to daydreaming when I should be concentrating on something	89	8
8. Procrastinate or put off doing things until the last minute	94	27
9. Make impulsive comments to others	56	3
10. Likely to take shortcuts in my work and not do all that I am supposed to do	65	6
11. Likely to skip out on work early if it's boring or hard to do	58	5
12. Can’t seem to defer gratification or to put off doing things that are rewarding now so as to work for a later goal	69	2
13. Likely to do things without considering the consequences for doing them	60	1
14. Change my plans at the last minute on a whim or last-minute impulse	72	9
15. Start a project or task without reading or listening to directions carefully	89	11
16. Poor sense of time	63	3
17. Waste or mismanage my time	86	5
18. Fail to consider past relevant events or past personal experiences before responding to situations	44	1
19. Do not think about the future as much as others of my age seem to do	47	8
20. Not prepared for work or assigned tasks	58	1
21. Fail to meet deadlines for assignments	65	1
22. Have trouble planning ahead or preparing for upcoming events	81	6
23. Forget to do things I am supposed to do	82	5
24. Have difficulties with mental arithmetic	55	14
25. Not able to comprehend what I read as well as I should be able to do; have to reread material to get its meaning	81	12
26. Can’t seem to remember what I previously heard or read about	77	12
27. Can’t seem to accomplish the goals I set for myself	84	7
28. Late for work or scheduled appointments	55	5
29. Trouble organizing my thoughts or thinking clearly	75	2
30. Not aware of things I say or do	39	1
31. Can’t seem to hold in mind things I need to remember to do	83	7
32. Have difficulty being objective about things that affect me	64	5
33. Find it hard to take other people’s perspectives about a problem or situation	48	6
34. Have difficulty keeping in mind the purpose or goal of my activities	51	1
35. Forget the point I was trying to make when talking to others	75	2
36. When shown something complicated to do, cannot keep the information in mind so as to imitate or do it correctly	53	1
37. Give poor attention to details in my work	60	1
38. Find it difficult to keep track of several activities at once	68	8
39. Can’t seem to get things done unless there is an immediate deadline	89	6
40. Dislike work or school activities where I must think more than usual	60	2
41. Have difficulty judging how much time it will take to do something or get somewhere	72	6
42. Have trouble motivating myself to start work	80	6
43. Quick to get angry or become upset	63	7
44. Easily frustrated	86	8
45. Overreact emotionally	68	6
46. Have difficulty motivating myself to stick with my work and get it done	84	4
47. Can’t seem to persist at things I do not find interesting	96	13
48. Do not put as much effort into my work as I should or as others are able to do	60	4
49. Have trouble staying alert or awake in boring situations	86	11
50. Easily excited by activities going on around me	70	15
51. Not motivated to prepare in advance for things I know I am supposed to do	80	4
52. Can’t seem to sustain my concentration on reading, paperwork, lectures, or work	91	7
53. Easily bored	81	9
54. Others tell me I am lazy or unmotivated	57	2
55. Have to depend on others to help me get my work done	44	2
56. Things must have an immediate payoff for me or I do not seem to get them done	70	2
57. Have trouble completing one activity before starting a new one	87	7
58. Have difficulty resisting the urge to do something fun or more interesting when I am supposed to be working	87	5
59. Can’t seem to sustain friendships or close relationships as long as other people	46	5
60. Inconsistent in the quality or quantity of my work performance	70	2
61. Don’t seem to worry about future events as much as others	46	10
62. Don’t think about or talk things over with myself before doing something	48	4
63. Unable to work as well as others without supervision or frequent instruction	40	2
64. Have trouble doing what I tell myself to do	81	5
65. Poor follow-through on promises or commitments I may make to others	68	3
66. Lack self-discipline	81	5
67. Have difficulty using sound judgment in problem situations or when under stress	51	1
68. Trouble following the rules in a situation	61	4
69. Not very flexible in my behavior or approach to a situation; overly rigid in how I like things done	53	16
70. Have trouble organizing my thoughts	80	4
71. Have difficulties saying what I want to say	70	6
72. Unable to come up with or invent as many solutions to problems as others seem to do	37	5
73. Often at a loss for words when I want to explain something to others	58	5
74. Have trouble putting my thoughts down in writing as well or as quickly as others	58	6
75. Feel I am not as creative or inventive as others of my level of intelligence	27	13
76. In trying to accomplish goals or assignments, find I am not able to think of as many ways of doing things as others	41	5
77. Have trouble learning new or complex activities as well as others	56	4
78. Have difficulty explaining things in their proper order or sequence	67	1
79. Can’t seem to get to the point of my explanations as quickly as others	75	9
80. Have trouble doing things in their proper order or sequence	76	3
81. Unable to “think on my feet” or respond as effectively as others to unexpected events	37	3
82. Clumsy; not as coordinated in my movements as others	30	6
83. Poor or sloppy handwriting	63	21
84. Have difficulty arranging or doing my work by its priority or importance; can’t “prioritize” well	84	4
85. Slower to react to unexpected events	37	5
86. Get silly, clown around, or act foolishly when I should be serious	58	4
87. Can’t seem to remember things I have done or places I have been as well as others seem to do	62	14
88. Accident prone	35	3
89. More likely to drive a motor vehicle much faster than others (excessive speeding)	67	13
90. Have difficulties managing my money or credit cards	73	8
91. I am less able to recall events from my childhood compared to others	54	25

Source: Taking Charge of Adult ADHD: Proven Strategies to Succeed at Work, at Home and in Relationships  by Russell A. Barkley, M.D. with Christine M. Benton (Guilford Press, 2022), Pages 271-276