Functioning & impairment check (WFIRS-S)
Rate each item according to how much your emotional or behavioural problems have affected it in the last month.
This check uses the Weiss Functional Impairment Rating Scale — Self Report (WFIRS-S), the standard companion to ADHD symptom scales. Symptoms alone don’t tell the whole story: the WFIRS-S measures how much emotional or behavioural problems are interfering with family, work, school, life skills, self-concept, social life, and risky activities.
Your answers stay on this device — nothing is sent or saved anywhere.
DocSana self-checks are for information only. They are screening tools, not diagnoses: only a licensed clinician can diagnose a mental health condition. Your answers are scored in your browser and are never sent to or stored by DocSana. We count visits to these pages with privacy-friendly analytics that use no cookies and never receive your answers or results. There is no advertising tracking on self-check pages. If you're in crisis, call or text 988, or call 911 if you're in immediate danger.
Common questions
What is the WFIRS-S?
The WFIRS-S — the Weiss Functional Impairment Rating Scale, Self Report — is a 69-item test of functional impairment: how much emotional or behavioural problems interfere with family, work, school, life skills, self-concept, social life, and risky activities. It’s the most widely used impairment scale alongside ADHD evaluations.
How is the WFIRS-S scored?
Each item is scored 0 (never or not at all) to 3 (very often or very much), or marked Not applicable. Your score for each area is the mean of the items you actually answered — Not applicable items are excluded, never counted as zero. The total score is the mean across everything answered.
What counts as impaired?
By the published clinical guidelines, an area of life is considered impaired when its mean score is above 1.5, or two or more of its items are scored 2 or higher, or any single item is scored 3.
Why does impairment matter if I already know my symptoms?
Diagnosis and treatment planning weigh impairment, not just symptoms — two people with identical symptoms can be affected very differently. The WFIRS-S is also used to track whether treatment is actually improving daily life.
Who made the WFIRS-S?
Dr. Margaret D. Weiss and colleagues. © University of British Columbia (2011). The WFIRS is in the public domain to encourage its use.
The Weiss Functional Impairment Rating Scale — Self Report (WFIRS-S) was developed by Weiss and colleagues. © University of British Columbia (2011). In the public domain to encourage its use; may be freely reproduced without permission provided the text is unchanged.
Related checks
Clinical review pending This page was written by the DocSana team and is awaiting review by a licensed clinician.