WURS-25
Wender Utah Rating Scale (25-item short form)
A 25-item retrospective screener for childhood ADHD symptoms in adults.
Think back to what you were like as a child, roughly ages 5 through 12. For each item, select the rating that best describes how you were then — not how you are now.
About the WURS-25
The Wender Utah Rating Scale was developed by Paul Wender and colleagues in the 1990s. The 25-item short form, selected by Ward, Wender, and Reimherr (1993) from the original 61 items, is the most widely used retrospective measure of childhood ADHD symptoms in adults.
25 items on a 5-point scale. Takes roughly 5 minutes. Designed for adults thinking back to how they were between ages roughly 5–12.
Scoring
Each item scores 0–4 (Not at all, Mildly, Moderately, Quite a bit, Very much). Totals range 0–100. A cutoff of 36 gives roughly 96% sensitivity and 96% specificity for identifying childhood ADHD in adults.
Pairing with current measures
Adult ADHD evaluations typically need both a current-symptoms measure (such as the ASRS) and evidence that symptoms began in childhood. The WURS-25 covers the childhood half. A high score here plus a high score on a current measure is a stronger pattern than either alone.
Important: Retrospective recall is imperfect, and high WURS-25 scores also occur in people who had childhood depression, anxiety, or oppositional/conduct features. A qualified clinician is needed to determine whether childhood ADHD was present.
Ward, M. F., Wender, P. H., & Reimherr, F. W. (1993). The Wender Utah Rating Scale: An aid in the retrospective diagnosis of childhood attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. American Journal of Psychiatry, 150(6), 885–890.