Rating Scales and Checklists

According to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, the most commonly used scales are:

• Parent-completed Child Behavior Checklist
• Teacher Report Form (TRF) of the Child Behavior Checklist
• Conners Parent and Teacher Rating Scales (see below)
• ADD-H: Comprehensive Teacher Rating Scale (ACTeRS)
• Barkley Home Situations Questionnaire (HSQ) (see below)
• Barkley School Situations Questionnaire (SSQ) (see below)

According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), formerly the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research, AD/HD-specific rating scales are more accurate in distinguishing between children with and without the diagnosis of AD/HD, than global, nonspecific questionnaires and rating scales that assess a variety of behavioral conditions. 

Related Topics:

• Diagnostic and Treatment Guidelines

Other Web Sites:

• Barkley Home and School Situations Questionnaires
  These are published in "Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: A Clinical Workbook, Second Edition" (1998) by Russell A. Barkley and Kevin R. Murphy (Guilford Publications, New York).
• Wender Utah Rating Scale - (for adults)
  A 61 point retrospective tool used in the assessment of AD/HD in adults.
• Vanderbilt Assessment Scales
  These forms are available through the American Academy of Pediatrics/National Initiative for Children's Health Quality (AAP/NICHQ) ADHD Practitioners' Toolkit (the link is to a compressed file which must be downloaded and "unzipped")
• AHRQ Technical Review: Diagnosis of AD/HD
  AHRQ, an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is the nation's lead Federal agency for research on health care quality, costs, outcomes, and patient safety.
• Conners Rating Scales
  This Web site provides clinicians with information on how to obtain the Conners Rating Scales and othe instruments used in the assessment of AD/HD and other conditions affecting children.