6-8 hours for testing? Is that typical?

Oh, goodness, I’d be surprised if there were any timed tests! Can I just confirm- Are you certain that your GP meant over the course of a single day? Or 6-8 hours’ WORTH of appointments? As in, 6-8 separate 1-hour appointments?

Testing DOES differ from country to country, but bear in mind that even if they were to do some sort of timed test, they’d probably be more interested in your accuracy under pressure, or your distractibility. Your answers would be relatively unimportant. I’d imagine, however, that if they were to do this entire appointment in one go, they’d be asking you questions about what you struggle with, what you enjoy, where your difficulties lie, how you want to improve, and so on. It’s possible that they’d take a couple of tests of your body (I’m being diagnosed at the moment, and I’ve had to do blood work and an EKG. I have an EEG booked, and I’ve been referred for a CT scan as well), but I’d be surprised if they did all that in the one day.

If they’re doing it all in one day, they’ll probably basically just want your life story. What were your difficulties as a child, do you have anyone who can write a ‘reference’ for how you were, are most of your problems at home/work/in social situations, do you struggle most with impulsivity, inattentiveness, or what?

If you specify a country, I’m sure someone with a better background in that country’s methods will be able to give you more help 🙂

Here’s a list of the possible assessments in an ADHD evaluation:

The Full Library of ADHD Assessments and Tests

Penny
ADDitude Community Moderator, Parenting ADHD Trainer & Author, Mom to teen w/ ADHD, LDs, and autism