Objectives: Assessing functional impairment is one of the essential components in the clinical evaluation of ADHD in adulthood, serving both diagnostic and outcome evaluation purposes. However, clinicians and researchers may face challenges in selecting suitable instruments due to variations in accessibility and quality of instruments. Methods: We…

The heterogeneous nature of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) makes accurate diagnosis challenging. Best practice assessments in schools can open pathways to appropriate interventions and educational placements for those with ASD, as well as help identify a student's strengths. There are various tools used in school settings to assess autism. In this…

This review contributes to the growing body of global autism spectrum disorder literature by examining the use of screening instruments in low- and middle-income countries with respect to study design and methodology, instrument adaptation and performance, and collaboration with community stakeholders in research. A systematic review was conducted…

This article presents the elements of the Observation and Assessment section of the Infant Care Path for Physical Therapy in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). The types of physical therapy assessments presented in this path are evidence-based and the suggested timing of these assessments is primarily based on practice knowledge from expert…

Pathological Gambling Disorder (PGD) is internationally prevalent and contributes to significant disruption and impairment in a gambler's life. For accurate diagnosis and treatment planning, clinicians require standardized criteria as in commonly used DSM and ICD-10 taxonomies, which are conceptually clear, valid, and culturally appropriate. We…

One promising application of diagnostic classification models (DCM) is in the area of cognitive diagnostic assessment in education. However, the successful application of DCM in educational testing will likely come with a price--and this price may be in the form of new test development procedures and practices required to yield data that satisfy…

The prevalence of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has been estimated at 3-7% in the population. Children with this disorder are often characterized by symptoms of inattention and/or impulsivity and hyperactivity, which can significantly impact on many aspects of their behaviour and performance. This study investigated the…

Diagnosing autism and PDD-NOS at very early ages has become a major priority in the field of mental health. More recently, researchers have also come to realize the importance of identifying co-occurring conditions of psychopathology in this population. In the present study, 309 children between 17 and 37 months of age who had been identified as…

The diagnosis of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in preschool children is challenging because the behavioral manifestations of the disorder are not uncommon for many children this age. Therefore, the assessment of ADHD in preschoolers needs to be multifaceted and requires the use of a variety of assessment measures. A systematic…

Despite favorable psychometric properties, the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Questionnaire for the "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders" (4th ed.) (GAD-Q-IV) does not have a known factor structure, which calls into question use of its original weighted scoring system (usually referred to as the dimensional score).…

Discusses various methods and procedures for assessing depression in clients. Reviews eight clinician rating and client self-report measures of depression on the basis of their psychometric properties and applied pragmatic utility. (Author)

A structured clinical interview, the Acute Stress Disorder Inventory, was developed to diagnose acute stress disorder. It was validated against clinician-based diagnoses of 65 trauma patients, and its test-retest reliability was assessed with 60 trauma survivors. Results suggest that the interview is a useful diagnostic tool. (SLD)

Objective: To determine the concordance between the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID) and the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ) in diagnosing anxiety and depressive disorders. Method: Fifty women seeking psychiatric services for their children at two mental health centers in western Pennsylvania were assessed for anxiety and…

Data are presented to support the reliability, validity, and utility of a procedure to assess the severity of a phonological disorder. The severity metric, the percentage of consonants correct (PCC), is readily derived from a continuous speech sample. PCC values index four levels of severity of involvement: mild, mild-moderate, moderate-severe,…

Presents an analysis of existing norm-referenced measures of social and emotional competence and disability for young children birth-to-5 to determine whether these indices satisfy technical and conceptual requirements. It concludes that informal clinical opinion should be used to supplement norm-referenced measures in this area. (DB)