system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
How do doctors tell the difference between someone with ADHD and someone who just has a poor attention span (unfocused, undisciplined, etc.) ?
gpt
ADHD researcher here. If you are seeing someone who actually knows what they're doing, the process is a lot more intensive. You will go through a semi-structured interview about yourself, and then others who know you well (a parent, long time friend, etc) will be given the same interview about your symptoms. If both interviews come back with a high amount of endorsed symptoms, you will go through a variety of neuropsychological tests at which people with ADHD are known to perform poorly. Actual diagnostic criteria are, for adults, 5 symptoms of either inattentive or hyperactivity-impulsivity, according to the new guidelines set forth by the DSM-V.

In essence, the doctor (probably psychiatrist) will be able to tell if you actually have ADHD or not. Unfortunately, a lot of family doctors, even clinicians who claim expertise don't go through the proper procedures in diagnosis.