Vanderbilt Adhd Assessment: Fill & Download for Free

There are typically three categories of evaluation used in diagnosing ADHD and ADD.BEHAVIOR RATING SCALES: These clinical forms are usually checklists or surveys that are completed by parents, teachers, the individual and clinicians. A series of questions about typical behaviors are rated according to occurrence such as, Always, Frequently, Occasionally, Rarely. Common scales include Brown’s Scales, Conner’s Rating Scales, ADHD Rating Scales, and Vanderbilt Scales.CONTINUOUS PERFORMANCE TESTS (CPTs): These are standardized performance tasks designed to assess specific ADHD features such as, selective attention, sustained attention, divided attention, and alternating attention. Often done on the computer under timed conditions, tests will ask for rapid response to specific stimuli presented, while ignoring other stimuli. For example, ‘tap the button when letters pop up, but not numbers.’ ‘Name the objects in rows as fast as possible’. ‘Name the color of the words presented, while ignoring the word’ (the word BLUE is shown using RED letters). See STROOP test below.. Accuracy and speed on these tasks reveal possible problems with impulsivity, distractibility, shifting attention, inhibition, etc.Some common CPTs are Trail-Making tests, Intergrated Visual and Auditory CPT, Rapid Automatic Naming tests, Stroop test.INTELLIGENCE SubTEST ANALYSIS: Many clinicians analyze the test or subtest performance from other instruments. Specific verbal and non-verbal tasks are highly correlated with attention, working memory, and related anxiety. For example, recalling spoken Digits in forward or reverse order (Digit Span), solving mental arithmetic problems (Arithmetic), Letter-Number sequencing, and transcribing a symbolic code (Coding). Other memory tests, visual-motor tests, and card sorting tests used during cognitive evaluations also provide evidence of attention difficulties.Sample of the STROOP test (CPT) which requires inhibition of the printed word and selective attention and response to the color:

I feel like I am saying this at least every day, but “autistic traits” exist outside of autism. Remember that “normal” is not acting like the average person. Normal means that in a room of 100 people, you aren’t an anomaly. The average AQ score for the population is 16, so most people do have several autistic traits. In fact some distinct populations (like geniuses and schizophrenics) have a norm as high or higher than the autism population. “Disorders and disabilities” are usually in the bottom 5% of the population. So in a room of 100 kids playing… would someone point out your child if given three guesses about who has autism? Only 2% of children have autism. If your child’s traits are not more than 98% of kids, it may not be autism, be open to other possibilities like conduct disorders, processing disorders, pragmatic disorders, etc. Maybe the issue is that your child is a genius (they typically show ADHD and autistic behaviors).Teachers are not really trained to recognize specific disorders, they are just familiar with the common traits and how they affect education and what is not “normal”. Likewise, if you come in expecting a specific diagnosis based on someone’s observations you might be missing another issue entirely. So you may be thinking 14 autistic traits = autism, but in reality, your child could just have 14 of the commonly shared traits between say anxiety disorders and autism… or ADHD and autism. Or they can all be products of her hearing loss. If you are seriously concerned, try taking your child to a place that has a multi-professional approach. The more people who “test” the child across different disciplines the more likely they are to have a more holistic idea of the child’s strengths and weaknesses and recognize an underlying issue. At the very least, take the child to see an SLP. She can tell you if the child does meet part 1 of the definition or not. She can also usually determine if the child shows “stereotypical behaviors”. In most states, they can diagnose autism, but the preferred method is to differ to a physician/psychologist for stereotypical behaviors. It is usually based off of what behaviors other people report since psychologists can’t see everything a child does in a 1–2 hour assessment.I will say the Vanderbilt is pretty classic for ADHD assessment. It is scored entirely on what you and the teachers see, and has nothing to do with what signs the doctor sees. If you’re not getting that Diagnosis, it means your child is still within norms based on what you and her teachers have observed or there is no conclusive data.

I left clinical medicine in 1999, and the first edition of the Vanderbilt Assessment Test for ADHD did not come out until 2002.Now up to a third edition, the original test may be found here:NICHQ Vanderbilt Assessment Scalesalong with other information.it is similar to a formal assessment tool that was available to me in the 1990s, but is far more extensive, including questions intended to elicit evidence of depression, oppositional defiant disorder and several other ‘co morbid conditions.’While I appreciate that those other disorders can and often will complicate the diagnosis of ADD/ADHD, especially in boys starting into puberty, I have reservations about using this kind of screening for this purpose, without the back up of a solid child psychology service.