If you’ve been searching for answers about your focus, your fidgeting, or your inability to sit through a single meeting without checking your phone twelve times, you already know how exhausting the not-knowing can feel. Before we ever open a laptop or attach a headband, we sit down and talk – about your history, your daily struggles, and what “focus” even feels like for you. Then comes QbCheck: a 15 to 20-minute computerized test that measures attention, impulsivity, and movement while you complete a simple task on screen. It gives us objective, measurable data to add to everything you’ve already told us, so a diagnosis isn’t built on guesswork alone.
QbCheck is an FDA-cleared computerized assessment developed by Qbtech, and it’s one of the tools we use in our ADHD testing process here in Orlando. Instead of relying only on questionnaires and self-reported symptoms, it tracks three things at once:
Attention – how consistently you respond to what’s on the screen
Impulsivity – whether you respond too quickly or to the wrong prompts
Activity level – how much you move during the test, tracked through a small reflective marker worn on a headband
That last piece is what sets QbCheck apart from a typical questionnaire. Most attention tests only measure how you answer. QbCheck also measures how still – or how restless – your body is while you’re trying to concentrate, which is one of the more telling signs of ADHD in both kids and adults.
We’ve never been fans of five-minute assessments that hand someone a diagnosis and a prescription in the same breath. QbCheck fits into a broader psychiatric evaluation, not as a replacement for one.
“I’ve had patients come in after years of being told they’re ‘just stressed’ or ‘just disorganized,'” Blaine Guelde-Patel, founder and psychiatric nurse practitioner at Rooted in Care, told us. “QbCheck gives us a piece of objective data that sits alongside their history and their story. Neither one replaces the other – together, they give a much fuller picture.”
That combination matters because ADHD symptoms can overlap with anxiety, sleep problems, and mood disorders. A single test score can’t sort that out on its own, but when paired with a thorough clinical interview, it helps confirm what’s really going on – or rule out ADHD entirely.
There isn’t much to prepare, which tends to be a relief for people who dread test-prep and studying. Still, a few things help the results come out as accurate as possible:
Get a normal night’s sleep beforehand – sleep deprivation can mimic inattention
Skip extra caffeine right before the test, since it can artificially calm restlessness or spike focus
Take your usual medications as prescribed unless your provider tells you otherwise
Wear your regular glasses or contacts if you use them for screen work
Plan for about 30 to 40 minutes total, once you include setup time
You’ll sit at a computer with a small, lightweight headband on – it holds a tiny reflective marker that a camera uses to track your head movements down to the millimeter. It’s not uncomfortable, and there’s no cap full of wires or anything resembling the equipment people sometimes picture when they hear “brain scan.” A hand-held response button is all you’ll actually use.
Once the test starts, shapes or letters appear on the screen at a steady pace. Your job is simple: press the button when you see a specific pattern, and hold back when you don’t. It sounds easy for the first few minutes. Then your mind wanders, or your hand jumps ahead of your brain, and that’s exactly the point – the test measures those small slips, not judging you for them.
The task itself runs 15 to 20 minutes. Add check-in and headband setup, and you’re looking at roughly half an hour in the office. There’s no fasting, no needles, and nothing invasive about the process.
“Patients are almost always surprised by how low-key it is,” Blaine shared. “They expect something clinical and stressful, and instead it feels more like a video game task. The hardest part is usually just sitting with the boredom of it – which, honestly, tells us something too.”
Once you’re finished, the system generates a report comparing your performance – attention, impulsivity, and activity – with that of people of the same age and sex without ADHD. We walk through that report with you in plain language, not clinical jargon, and explain where your results fall and what they mean in the context of everything else we’ve discussed.
This is also where treatment planning starts to take shape. Depending on your results and history, next steps might include medication management, therapy referrals, or – for patients curious about how their body processes certain medications – genetic testing to help guide prescribing decisions.
“I never want someone leaving with a printout and no explanation,” Blaine said. “The report is a tool for the conversation, not the whole conversation. We go through it together so you understand exactly why we’re recommending what we’re recommending.”
QbCheck isn’t only for people who’ve suspected ADHD their whole lives. We regularly test:
Adults who’ve struggled with focus, deadlines, or organization for years without a clear reason why
Parents wondering whether their child’s restlessness at school is developmental or something more
People starting or adjusting ADHD medication who want objective data on whether it’s actually working
Anyone who’s been misdiagnosed before and wants a second, more thorough look
If any of that sounds familiar, our ADHD care page walks through the broader signs and symptoms we watch for during an evaluation.
A few things about this test genuinely surprise people, and they’re worth knowing before your appointment:
The tiny headband marker tracks head movement with roughly one millimeter of precision – accurate enough to pick up on fidgeting so subtle you might not even notice you’re doing it.
QbCheck’s technology grew out of research in Sweden, where scientists sought a way to quantify hyperactivity rather than just describe it in a chart note.
The same underlying technology is used in dozens of countries and has been taken by well over a million people, but each individual report is compared only to people of your own age and sex, so your results are never measured against some universal “average.”
We built our practice around the idea that a diagnosis should feel like the start of a plan, not the end of a checklist. That means real time with your provider, a clear explanation of your results, and a treatment path that’s built around you rather than a template.
“I feel this is not a cookie-cutter approach. I feel included in the decision-making,” one of our patients told us after her evaluation – and that’s exactly the experience we aim for with every person who walks through our door, whether you’re coming in for ADHD testing or ongoing psychiatric care.
If you’re in the Orlando area, testing is available in our office, and virtual psychiatric care is available across Florida for follow-up visits and medication management. You can check your insurance coverage in advance or reach out directly with questions before booking. Either way, you don’t have to keep guessing about what’s going on – a clearer answer is closer than it might feel right now.
Disclaimer: This article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. QbCheck results should always be interpreted by a qualified healthcare provider as one part of a comprehensive evaluation, not as a stand-alone diagnostic tool. Please consult a licensed medical or mental health professional regarding any questions about your specific symptoms, diagnosis, or treatment options.
About the Author
E. Blaine Guelde‑Patel
Ready to be truly listened to?
September 26, 2026
