Adult ADHD assessmentWhat brought you here today?

Welcome to Kaya. This website is organised around the questions people bring about adult ADHD. You can pick the question closest to yours, and it opens the most useful page first. Or you can explore by topic, using the circle map, or the menu on a phone. When you open a topic, its guides appear with it. Guides can be printed or saved, and the questions and answers have audio. Kaya is for adults of all genders. ADHD in women and later recognition have their own route, because these experiences can be overlooked. One thing to know before you start: Kaya is currently an information and service-development website. It does not provide assessment, diagnosis, treatment or prescribing.

ADHD is a neurodevelopmental condition. An adult assessment looks at how patterns have developed over time, and how they affect more than one part of life. There are three things to keep in mind. First, across a lifetime: childhood development matters alongside your life now. Old records can help, but one missing document should not become the whole story. Second, across daily life: assessment considers work, education, relationships, home life, money, caring responsibilities and other important settings. Third, alongside other explanations: ADHD can exist with other needs, so a thorough assessment also considers mental health, physical health and other possible explanations. This is general information, based on NICE guideline NG87.

What should a thorough adult ADHD assessment include? NICE says diagnosis should be based on four things. One, a clinical and psychosocial assessment, exploring symptoms and how they affect everyday life. Two, a developmental and psychiatric history, looking at patterns from childhood alongside mental and physical health. Three, information from other sources, such as people who know you and any records. If these are not available, the provider should explain how they handle that. And four, a reasoned outcome. That might be ADHD, another explanation, or a need for further assessment. A questionnaire cannot make that decision on its own. The guides in this section cover what happens on the day, what counts as evidence, and how to prepare.

Kaya is being built in the open. Right now, that means research, resources and specialist training, publishing useful information without presenting Kaya as a live clinical service. Next comes supervised competence and clinical governance: confirming diagnostic responsibility, supervision, insurance, data handling and partnerships. Before launch, Kaya will publish verified clinicians, prices, prescribing responsibilities, policies and continuing care. The public resources will stay open. An optional login may come later, so people can return to saved forms on any device.

If you are thinking about a private assessment, the assessment fee may be only one part of the cost. There can also be a written report, medication titration appointments if appropriate, private prescription fees and medication, continuing specialist reviews, and further assessment or support. Shared care is not guaranteed. A GP can decide whether to accept it. So before paying, ask who will prescribe, who will monitor treatment, what every stage costs, and what happens if your GP declines. This section has a worksheet to plan the full cost, and a guide to shared care.

ADHD can be overlooked in women, and life stages can change what feels manageable. This section walks through four of them. Puberty and growing up: looking back, did things feel harder as school, friendships and independence became more demanding? Periods: if you notice repeating changes in concentration, mood or daily life, note their timing. The pattern is something to discuss, not a diagnosis. Pregnancy and after birth: routines, sleep and responsibilities can all change. Medication questions belong with your prescriber, GP and maternity team. Perimenopause and menopause: new or changing difficulties deserve attention. ADHD starts in childhood, so assessors will ask about earlier life as well as recent changes.

Kaya is being built by Nadia Hajat, an independent social worker who is training towards work in adult ADHD assessment. Social work already pays attention to a person's history, relationships, environment, strengths, risks, identity and everyday life. Kaya is bringing that whole-life view to ADHD assessment, alongside the extra training and governance it needs. Training is only one part. The future service also needs supervised competence, named diagnostic responsibility, clinical governance, insurance, and clear arrangements for prescribing and continuing care. Kaya gives general information, not individual medical advice, and links directly to the guidance it uses.

These tools are free, need no account, and save your progress only on this device. You can look up ADHD waiting times, check a provider and clinician, work through questions to ask before you pay, and find out how to prepare if you do not have school reports. There is also a guide to common terms, if some of the words are new. More is coming, including a form to help prepare your developmental history, and a short list of questions to ask your GP before paying privately.