If you are wondering if ADHD or Autism might be part of your story, online screening tools can be a useful starting point for self-reflection. For many people, this kind of exploration may be less about chasing a label and more about making sense of long-standing patterns. They can also give some insight into why some things feel harder than they ‘should’ and what kind of supports may be helpful.
Self-knowledge can help nudge your internal narrative from self-blame towards understanding. It can help you identify practical changes you might want to make, for example to routines, environments, your workload or the way you approach planning and follow-through. Even if you never pursue a formal assessment, clarifying what you need can still improve your day-to-day wellbeing.
At the same time, these tools are not a diagnosis. They are only designed for screening and cannot replace an assessment by a trained clinician. They can also flag traits that may overlap with other experiences, like anxiety, burnout, trauma responses, sleep deprivation, depression, bipolar, chronic fatigue or other health conditions. That is why it helps to treat your results as a signpost rather than any kind of verdict, and to interpret them alongside your lived experience and history and the impact these traits have on daily life.
With this in mind, I’ve collated the tools below as a practical starting point. They include an ADHD test option and Autism self-assessments that can help you reflect on your experience.
ADHD self-assessment for adults
Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS-5) – ADHD NZ
If you are looking for an adult ADHD screening test, ADHD NZ hosts a World Health Organisation self-screening tool for adults. It is designed to help you decide whether it would be worthwhile seeking a professional assessment and is not a diagnosis.
A few tips for using an ADHD test screener:
Answer based on your typical functioning over time, not your best week
Consider your functioning with coping strategies and without them (both matter)
Write down any real-life examples that come to mind as you answer the questions
If your score suggests ADHD traits and you want to pursue assessment, it can help to bring:
Your completed results
A short list of relevant examples of experiences in different environments (e.g. home, work or study)
Any childhood information you can gather (school reports, family recollections, old notes). The clinician may ask you for specific information regarding this before the appointment.
ADHD NZ is clear that only qualified professionals can assess and diagnose ADHD. Here’s the screening test:
ADHD – Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS-5), ADHD NZ: https://www.adhd.org.nz/self-screening-assessment-tool-for-adults-who-suspect-that-they-have-adhd.html
Autism self-assessments
Embrace Autism test hub
Embrace Autism has a large collection of Autism-related questionnaires, including tools for autistic traits and camouflaging. Rather than a single self-assessment, there are different questionnaires that look at different aspects and angles.
Autism tests hub, Embrace Autism: https://embrace-autism.com/autism-tests/
A reminder before we get into specific questionnaires: Autism self-assessments are best used alongside reflections on lived experience and developmental history. One score rarely captures the full picture.
Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ)
The AQ is a widely used self-report questionnaire about Autistic traits in adults. It can help you notice whether your experiences align with common Autistic traits in adulthood, for example, differences in social communication, attention, routines and interests. It can also miss people, particularly those who have learned to mask or who present in less stereotyped ways.
Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ), Embrace Autism: https://embrace-autism.com/autism-spectrum-quotient/
RAADS–R
RAADS–R is one of the more detailed adult Autism screeners and can help you notice patterns you may not have connected before. It can also be influenced by things like anxiety, burnout or how you interpret questions, so context matters. If you take it, note which items resonate most and any real-life examples, not just the total score.
Ritvo Autism Asperger Diagnostic Scale–Revised (RAADS–R), Embrace Autism: https://embrace-autism.com/raads-r/
Camouflaging Autistic Traits Questionnaire (CAT-Q)
If you have spent years ‘performing normal’, overpreparing, copying others, forcing eye contact or masking sensory needs, the CAT-Q can be a useful lens. Embrace Autism describes it as a measure of social camouflaging behaviours and notes it may help identify Autistic people who do not meet criteria because they have learned to mask traits.
Camouflaging Autistic Traits Questionnaire (CAT-Q), Embrace Autism: https://embrace-autism.com/cat-q/
Executive skills
Executive Skills Questionnaire–Revised (ESQ–R)
This one is not an Autism test or ADHD test. It is a self-report tool designed to assess executive skill strengths and challenges. It can be especially useful for people who are less interested in a label and more interested in which executive skills feel difficult and what supports could help.
Executive Skills Questionnaire–Revised (ESQ–R), Embrace Autism: https://embrace-autism.com/executive-skills-questionnaire-revised/
How to interpret your results
After you complete a self-assessment, it can help to use the score as one data point, not the whole story. These tools can point you towards patterns, but they don’t capture everything, especially if you are Autistic and have spent years camouflaging, or if your ADHD traits show up more in certain environments than others. You might get more value from asking yourself which questions felt spot on, which didn’t and what examples come up when you think about work, home and relationships. And because ADHD, Autism, stress, burnout, sleep and mental health can overlap, it’s important to hold the results within the bigger picture.
What to do next
If your results may be indicative of ADHD or Autism and you’d like a clearer answer, you could consider talking with a health professional about assessment options. In Aotearoa New Zealand, changes from 1 February 2026 mean some GPs and nurse practitioners with a specific interest and competence in ADHD may be able to assess, diagnose and initiate treatment for ADHD without needing sign-off from a psychiatrist or psychologist, although not all practices will offer this. You could start by talking with your GP about what they offer and, if needed, ask for a referral to a psychiatrist for specialist assessment.
At ADHD Wellbeing, we don’t provide diagnosis, but we do offer coaching for people with ADHD traits, whether diagnosed or not. If formal diagnosis isn’t accessible or is not something you want right now, you can still use your insights to find support that makes daily life easier. That might mean adjusting your environment, building executive function strategies, strengthening emotional regulation tools and practising self-advocacy. Our coaching supports exactly this, helping you find approaches that work for your brain and real life. Your self-understanding is valid, with or without a label.