Wender Utah Rating Scale for the Attention Deficit Hyperactivity
Disorder
Overview:
The Wender Utah Rating Scale can be used to assess adults for Attention Deficit
Hyperactivity Disorder with a subset of 25 questions associated with that
diagnosis.
Wender Utah Rating Scale
 61 questions answered by the adult patient recalling his or her childhood
behavior
 5 possible responses scored from 0 to 4 points
As a child I was (or had): not at all
or very
slightly
mildly moder-
ately
quite
a bit
very
much
1 active restless always on the
go
0 1 2 3 4
2 afraid of things 0 1 2 3 4
3 concentration problems
easily distracted
0 1 2 3 4
4 anxious worrying 0 1 2 3 4
5 nervous fidgety 0 1 2 3 4
6 inattentive daydreaming 0 1 2 3 4
7 hot- or short-tempered low
boiling point
0 1 2 3 4
8 shy sensitive 0 1 2 3 4
9 temper outbursts tantrums 0 1 2 3 4
10 trouble with stick-to-ittiveness
not following
through. failing to finish
things started
0 1 2 3 4
11 stubborn strong-willed 0 1 2 3 4
12 sad or blue depressed
unhappy
0 1 2 3 4
13 incautious. dare-devilish
involved in pranks
0 1 2 3 4
14 not getting a kick out of
things dissatisfied with life
0 1 2 3 4
15 disobedient with parents
rebellious sassy
0 1 2 3 4
16 low opinion of myself 0 1 2 3 4
17 irritable 0 1 2 3 4
not at all
or very
slightly
mildly moder-
ately
quite
a bit
very
much
18 outgoing friendly enjoyed
company of people
0 1 2 3 4
19 sloppy disorganized 0 1 2 3 4
20 moody ups and downs 0 1 2 3 4
21 angry 0 1 2 3 4
22 friends popular 0 1 2 3 4
23 well-organized tidy neat 0 1 2 3 4
24 acting without thinking
impulsive
0 1 2 3 4
25 tendency to be immature 0 1 2 3 4
26 guilty feelings regretful 0 1 2 3 4
27 losing control of myself 0 1 2 3 4
28 tendency to be or act
irrational
0 1 2 3 4
29 unpopular with other
children didn't keep friends
for long didn't get along with
other children
0 1 2 3 4
30 poorly coordinated did not
participate in sports
0 1 2 3 4
31 afraid of losing control of self 0 1 2 3 4
32 well-coordinated picked first
in games
0 1 2 3 4
33 tomboyish (for women only) 0 1 2 3 4
34 running away from home 0 1 2 3 4
35 getting into fights 0 1 2 3 4
36 teasing other children 0 1 2 3 4
37 leader bossy 0 1 2 3 4
38 difficulty getting awake 0 1 2 3 4
39 follower led around too
much
0 1 2 3 4
40 trouble seeing things from
someone else's point of view
0 1 2 3 4
41 trouble with authorities
trouble with school visits to
principal's office
0 1 2 3 4
42 trouble with police booked
convicted
0 1 2 3 4
Medical problems as a
child
not at all
or very
slightly
mildly moder-
ately
quite
a bit
very
much
43 headaches 0 1 2 3 4
44 stomachaches 0 1 2 3 4
45 constipation 0 1 2 3 4
46 diarrhea 0 1 2 3 4
47 food allergies 0 1 2 3 4
48 other allergies 0 1 2 3 4
49 bedwetting 0 1 2 3 4
As a child in school I was
(or had)
not at all
or very
slightly
mildly moder-
ately
quite
a bit
very
much
50 overall a good student fast 0 1 2 3 4
51 overall a poor student slow
learner
0 1 2 3 4
52 slow in learning to read 0 1 2 3 4
53 slow reader 0 1 2 3 4
54 trouble reversing letters 0 1 2 3 4
55 problems with spelling 0 1 2 3 4
56 trouble with mathematics or
numbers
0 1 2 3 4
57 bad handwriting 0 1 2 3 4
58 able to read pretty well but
never really enjoyed reading
0 1 2 3 4
59 not achieving up to potential 0 1 2 3 4
60 repeating grades 0 1 2 3 4
61 suspended or expelled 0 1 2 3 4
Questions Associated with ADHD
 25 of the questions were associated with ADHD as follows:
As a child I was (or had):
3 concentration problems easily distracted
4 anxious worrying
5 nervous fidgety
6 inattentive daydreaming
7 hot- or short-tempered low boiling point
9 temper outbursts tantrums
10 trouble with stick-to-it-tiveness not following through. failing to finish things
started
11 stubborn strong-willed
12 sad or blue depressed unhappy
15 disobedient with parents rebellious sassy
16 low opinion of myself
17 irritable
20 moody ups and downs
21 angry
24 acting without thinking impulsive
25 tendency to be immature
26 guilty feelings regretful
27 losing control of myself
28 tendency to be or act irrational
29 unpopular with other children didn't keep friends for long didn't get along with
other children
40 trouble seeing things from someone else's point of view
41 trouble with authorities trouble with school visits to principal's office
As a child in school I was (or had)
51 overall a poor student slow learner
56 trouble with mathematics or numbers
59 not achieving up to potential
Wender Utah rating scale subscore = ________(sum of 25 questions associated with ADHD)
Interpretation:
 minimum score for the 25 questions is 0
 maximum score 100
 if a cutoff score of 46 was used 86 of patients with ADHD 99 of normal persons and 81%
of depressed subjects were correctly classified
References:
Ward MF Wender PH Reimherr FW. The Wender Utah Rating Scale: An aid in the retrospective
diagnosis of childhood Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Am J Psychiatry. 1993; 150:
885-890.