Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, is a behavioral disorder that makes it difficult for a person to maintain an age-appropriate level of focus on the requirements of his life. Children with ADHD behave impulsively, have extreme difficulty adapting to change and may also be loud, fidgety, aggressive and obstinate or defiant. Teachers, parents and other caregivers are asked to examine the child's behavior when this diagnosis is suspected to help differentiate ADHD from other disorders.
Conner's Global Index
The Conner's Global Index, Third Edition, is a set of three lists of questions to be answered by parents, teachers and the child himself, if he is older than 10. It is designed to assess children's behavior from 3 to 17 years of age. Each version of the questionnaire can be answered in 20 minutes and all three forms have subsets of questions designed to discover problems with conduct, cognition or thinking skills and family life as well as issues with anger control and anxiety. As Kenneth Merrill notes in his book, "Behavioral, Social and Emotional Assessment of Children and Adolescents," the number of children and teens studied to validate the third edition of this assessment was large and multi-ethnic. More than 8,000 students from age 6 to18 were studied at 200 centers and the test was proven to be a valid indicator of ADHD.
The German ADHD Rating Scale
The German ADHD Rating Scale consists of 10 questions answered by parents. It is designed to assess the severity of a child's inattention, hyperactivity and impulsiveness as well as how much impact these symptoms have on the child's academic, family and social life. In Hamburg, Germany, the parents of 2,863 children and adolescents completed both the Conner's and the German ADHD scales and both were found to accurately predict children with ADHD. The American Academy of Pediatrics' Clinical Practice Guidelines specifically recommend the inclusion of assessments made by teachers as well as those by parents, which would preclude use of the German ADHD scale. The AAP found that a more accurate diagnosis was made when the opinions of people who see the child in various settings are available.
ADHD Rating Scale IV
The ADHD Rating Scale IV is an 18-question assessment completed by the health care provider. It can be used by pediatricians, family practice physicians, psychologists and psychiatrists as well as advanced nurse practitioners in pediatrics, family practice or mental health. Its advantage is the objectivity it provides because only current behavior is assessed. This is important because some of the individual behavioral problems seen by parents and teachers will disappear over time, but ADHD, a diagnosis that requires the presence of multiple symptoms, lasts throughout life for most people. If the parents and teachers don't notice that a behavior that used to exist has gone away, they may report it, leading to an incorrect ADHD diagnosis. The ADHD Rating Scale is designed to diagnose and treat ADHD based on the condition of the child or teen at the current time. The disadvantage to this test is that children and teens can behave very differently in an office setting than they do at home or at school.
References
- American Psychological Association: ADHD
- Center for Psychological Studies, Nova Southeastern University: Conner's Rating Scales
- "European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry"; Psychometric Properties of Two ADHD Questionnaires; M. Erhart, M.D; January 2008
- American Academy of Pediatrics: Clinical Practice Guideline, ADHD
- "International Journal of Psychiatric Research"; ADHD Rating Scale IV; S. Zang, M.D. et al; April 2005
