A free 1-page ADHD clinical workflow for primary care providers. Uses Sticky Brain Studio’s original F-O-C-U-S framework to guide ADHD concerns from identification to data gathering, DSM-5 verification, multimodal planning, follow-up, referral, and urgent safety pathways.
The Primary Care ADHD Decision Tree is a free quick-reference workflow for pediatric primary care providers. It helps organize ADHD visits into six steps: identify concerns, gather parent and teacher data, apply the original Sticky Brain Studio F-O-C-U-S framework, verify DSM-5 criteria, develop a multimodal plan, and determine follow-up or referral needs.
This free tool is a preview of the ADHD module inside the Sticky Brain Studio Clinical Provider Series course. The full course includes training on pediatric ADHD, pediatric anxiety/depression, and disparities in clinical judgment, plus toolkits, scripts, slides, participant materials, and reference cards.
Want the full ADHD provider toolkit? The ADHD Collaborative Care Toolkit expands this decision tree with ADHD identification guidance, diagnostic masqueraders, case examples, behavioral strategies, school supports, parent scripts, and psychology collaboration pathways.
FREE PCP ADHD WORKFLOW
This 1-page tool helps providers move from initial ADHD concerns to multi-source data, Sticky Brain Studio’s original F-O-C-U-S framework, DSM-5 verification, multimodal support, and follow-up planning.
A quick ADHD decision path for busy primary care visits
Step 1: Identify Concerns
Prompts providers to look for attention problems, hyperactivity, impulsivity, school struggles, and behavioral changes.
Step 2: Gather Data
Encourages parent interview, teacher Vanderbilt, child perspective, and school record review.
Step 3: Apply F-O-C-U-S
Uses Sticky Brain Studio’s original framework: Function, Other Symptoms, Consistency, Unusual Presentations, and Supports.
Step 4: Verify DSM-5
Reminds providers to check symptom count, duration, onset before age 12, two or more settings, and functional impairment.
Step 5: Build a Multimodal Plan
Includes behavioral strategies, school accommodations, family education, and medication consideration when appropriate.
Step 6: Determine Follow-Up
Sorts mild, moderate, complex, and urgent presentations into monitoring, psychology referral, neuropsych evaluation, or crisis response.
This decision tree is a psychoeducational provider resource and is not a substitute for ADHD evaluation, clinical training, medical judgment, psychological assessment, school evaluation, crisis assessment, or individualized consultation. Providers should use clinical judgment, gather multi-source data, and refer when diagnostic complexity or safety concerns are present.