The Vanderbilt ADHD Assessment is a free screening tool used by pediatricians for school-age children. Here's what the parent and teacher versions cover, how to read the results, and how to take it free.
The Vanderbilt ADHD Assessment is a free, widely-used screening questionnaire that helps identify whether a child's behavior patterns are consistent with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). It was developed by researchers at Vanderbilt University and is one of the screening tools most commonly used by pediatricians. There are two versions: one completed by parents and one completed by teachers. Both are designed for school-age children, typically ages 6 through 12, and each takes about 10 minutes to complete.
Like all screening tools, the Vanderbilt is not a diagnostic test. A concerning result doesn't mean your child has ADHD — it means the responses suggest a fuller evaluation is warranted.
The parent version of the Vanderbilt asks about behaviors across two main clusters. The first covers inattention symptoms: difficulty sustaining attention, losing things, being easily distracted, forgetting daily activities. The second covers hyperactivity and impulsivity symptoms: fidgeting, leaving seat when expected to stay seated, talking excessively, interrupting others.
The assessment also includes questions about academic performance and relationships with peers and family members — because ADHD is diagnosed based on impairment across settings, not just the presence of symptoms in isolation. A child who shows symptoms only at home, or only during homework, presents a different picture than one whose difficulties show up consistently at school, at home, and in social situations.
The teacher version captures the same symptom clusters from a school setting, which is why having both versions completed before an evaluation appointment significantly strengthens the picture you bring to your child's doctor.
The Vanderbilt doesn't produce a single score. Instead, results indicate whether symptom counts in each cluster meet the threshold for the predominantly inattentive presentation, the predominantly hyperactive-impulsive presentation, or the combined presentation of ADHD.
Results also flag whether symptoms are causing enough functional impairment — in academics, behavior, or relationships — to warrant clinical attention. If your results show elevated symptoms with significant impairment, that's a clear signal to bring to your pediatrician and request a formal evaluation. If results are borderline, that's still worth a conversation, particularly if you're seeing difficulties that a questionnaire doesn't fully capture.
The Vanderbilt is available free on What's Next Health. Your results are saved to your account so you can share them with your child's doctor, track changes over time, and use them as a documented starting point for the evaluation conversation.
If you can, ask your child's teacher to complete their version before your pediatrician appointment. Arriving with both the parent and teacher assessments completed puts you in a meaningfully stronger position.
Take the free Vanderbilt assessment now — results saved, ready to share with your doctor.
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