It’s not uncommon to hear people use the term “ADHD” casually, or assume someone has it without actually getting a diagnosis. The problem is that, in order to successfully treat ADHD, it has to be accurately diagnosed, and not everyone that seems like they have ADHD will have it, and not everyone that has ADHD will appear to have it at first glance.
That is why it is so important to make sure that you’re always getting – for yourself or a loved one – an accurate ADHD diagnosis, and one test that some psychiatrists use is what’s known as a “Qb Test” or “QbCheck.”
QbTests/QbCheck are a unique approach to testing developed by a company known as QbTech (hence the name). It uses technology to support an ADHD diagnosis, and while it doesn’t diagnose ADHD on its own, it can be combined with other forms of analysis to help shape, verify, or provide more information for a diagnosis.
According to Skycloud Mental Health:
“ADHD is a neurodevelopmental disorder. Those with ADHD have brains that developed differently from their neurotypical peers. In the past, diagnosis relied on things like academic issues, fidgeting, disruptive behavior, daydreaming, risk taking, signs of being distracted.
These are all symptoms of ADHD, but they’re also symptoms of other issues – like lack of sleep, excessive caffeine, anxiety, or just being a kid/teen. Psychiatrists may also miss diagnoses if the issues aren’t present at the time – for example, a person with ADHD is more prone to accidentally dropping things or misplacing their keys, yet these are unlikely to occur during an appointment while a psychiatrist is making a diagnosis.
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Unlike ADHD Testing of the past, QbCheck is objective. The patient completes a task on the computer screen, and while they’re completing the task, their eyes and behaviors are being monitored with an infrared light and a camera to measure differences between those with ADHD and those without.
Neuropsychologists found that neurodivergent individuals with ADHD tend to react differently to the task in a way that can be measured with the QbCheck. This, then, provides a more objective, effective way to measure ADHD and make sure that they’re able to deliver a more accurate diagnosis.”
That objectivity is especially important. There are many children and teens that people describe as having ADHD, but are simply distracted kids, or struggling with anxiety, or highly active and social but not necessarily struggling with attention or focus due to neurodevelopmental issues.
If you were to treat these children for ADHD, it would not only be a waste of their time – it could actually be problematic. Medications like Ritalin, for example, appear to calm the mind and improve focus in those that have ADHD, but is a stimulant that can change brain chemistry and cause anxiety in non-ADHD patients.
In the ADHD coaching world, when we’re working on executive functioning, a teen without ADHD is going to find the process to be less valuable, and possibly even counterproductive, compared to one with ADHD. Correct diagnosis is extraordinarily important, and Qbtests are one tool that many professionals choose to use in order to help identify ADHD in others.
If QbTesting is Objective – Why Isn’t It Enough?
Even though QbTests are objective tests, they’re not considered enough on their own because individual history still needs to be considered when determining a diagnosis.
While it is an objective test, there are still reasons that someone taking these tests may get a false positive or false negative. Individual history has to play a role, and these tests can instead support the diagnosis without allowing the bias of the person providing the diagnosis to affect it as much.
Testing is always important. ADHD is not something a person should guess. But if you suspect someone has ADHD, QbTests are one part of the puzzle to help figure out what a person may have, and then help them get the support they need.