ADHD Test: Vanderbilt ADHD Rating Scale

By Dr. Yannick Pauli

ADHD is a tricky disorder to diagnose. While it's easy to assume that a hyperactive little boy or an inattentive student might be suffering from ADHD, these symptoms can also point to a number of unrelated disorders - autism, sensory integration problems, learning disorders, and even hearing problems. When these disorders occur with ADHD, they are called "co-morbid" disorders and should be addressed by a child's treatment plan.

One way specialists screen co-morbid learning disorders is through a reliable tool called the Vanderbilt ADHD Rating Scale (VARS). This scale was specifically designed to identify if a child diagnosed with ADHD might also be suffering from learning disorders, particularly in spelling or reading.

VARS is not actually used on the child per se; rather, the scale is answered by parents and teachers. After all, they are the ones who see how the child behaves on a regular basis. Items on the scale include behavioral descriptions, such as "Leaves seat when he is supposed to stay in seat" or "Is afraid to try new things for fear of making mistakes." The test-taker has to rate the following behaviors on a scale of 0 to 3 where 0 stands for "never" and 3 stands for "very often."

It's important to note that this rating scale is not designed to identify or diagnose the specific co-morbid disorder a child might have. Rather, it will help you find out if your child has any learning difficulties that need to be addressed by the right specialist. Then your child can undergo certain treatments to overcome these problems along with the symptoms of ADHD.

Additionally, VARS cannot identify math learning disorders. Despite these limitations, however, researchers have found the VARS to be a reliable screening tool for children with ADHD. A recent study on the reliability of the VARS involved the participation of 128 unmedicated children with ADHD between the ages 7 to 11 years. After the parents and teachers took the test, it was discovered that 38% of the children met the criteria for spelling and reading learning disorders.

So when you have your child evaluated for ADHD, make sure that the doctor uses of the VARS or similar assessment tools designed to rule out co-morbid disorders. Aside from treating the core symptoms of ADHD, it's important that you uncover all the problems your child may be experiencing so that he or she can recover completely.

Dr. Yannick Pauli is an expert on natural approaches to ADHD and the author of the popular self-help home-program The Unritalin Solution. He is Director of the Centre Neurofit in Lausanne, Switzerland and has a passion taking care of children with ADHD. Click on the link for more great information about what is adhd.

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About Adult ADHD - Overview and Resource

By Donovan Baldwin"

When asked to imagine a person with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), many people come up with the image of a hyperactive child in a store, an apparently undisciplined and disruptive kid in the classroom, or a kid who takes longer than necessary to finish a homework assignment...if it gets finished at all.

What many do not realize, however, is that while it is true that ADHD afflicts millions of children, it is also a disorder that affects upwards of 8 million adults.

How Can Adult ADHD Be Recognized?

Many people tend to think of ADHD as a childhood disorder, but do not realize that as many as 80 percent of children with ADHD will continue to exhibit symptoms into adolescence. Some will eventually reach a more normal state, but up to 65 percent of children will continue to exhibit symptoms of ADHD into adulthood.

NAMES CAN HURT

Adults with untreated ADHD may be perceived as "scatterbrained", "disorganized" or "lazy", word which I often heard as a child and continued to use to define myself as I became an adult. What many people are unaware of is that ADHD is not just "sloppy thinking" but is actually an impairing neurological disorder, rather than just an organizational or behavioral problem.

In a book titled "Scattered Minds: Hope and Help for Adults with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder" the author, Dr. Lenard Adler, who is director of the Adult ADHD Program at New York University, presents recent information for the growing number of adults who suspect that they, or a loved one, have ADHD. The easy-to-read book reviews previously unrecognized signals of ADHD, misconceptions about this poorly understood disorder and information about how to get an accurate diagnosis....and treatment options.

How Can Adult ADHD Diagnosed?

Unfortunately, there is no single objective test to determine if someone has ADHD. In his book, however, Dr. Adler has included a simple self-screening list which allows an individual to get an idea of their status. This screener has been adopted by WHO, the World Health Organization, and helps the reader assess whether they, or someone they know, have symptoms of ADHD.

Dr. Adler urges his readers to fill out the screening device and bring it to their physician for a more formal evaluation.

How Can Adult ADHD Be Treated?

Although there is no real "cure" for ADHD, there are accepted treatments that specifically help patients control its symptoms. In "Scattered Minds", Dr. Adler explains that the most common treatments include educational approaches, psychological or behavioral modification, and prescription medications, such as Adderall. Some people experience some help with high doses of Vitamin B-12.

Adults with unrecognized and untreated ADHD often experience a higher risk of lower educational and occupational achievement, difficulties in their relationships with family and friends, and a greater risk for driving accidents, work-related accidents, and traffic tickets. Adults who have not been treated for ADHD are 50 percent more likely to be unemployed as well as twice as likely to smoke cigarettes, and often use alcohol to excess.

Many tend to be "speed demons", thrill seekers, and "adrenaline junkies".

"Scattered Minds: Hope and Help for Adults with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
" illuminates previously unrecognized signals or symptoms for adults who suspect they may have ADHD. It emphasizes that ADHD is not some imaginary difficulty experienced by wierd people, but is very real and is an accepted medical condition.

Adults who have ADHD often have greater difficulty dealing with everyday problems than their peers and generally face challenges in their personal lives and careers that their peers do not encounter. If you suspect you or somebody you know may have adult ADHD, pick up a copy of "Scattered Minds
" and take the simple screening test you will find there.

The Beginning Is Usually a Good Place to Start

To tell the truth, I am not sure exactly where this ADD ADHD blog of mine is going for more than one reason.

For one thing, all this is new to me, and I will be incorporating what I learn as I go along. Hopefully, both you and I will benefit from this. If there is no "you" then maybe I will still benefit from the process.

For another, I don't really know what direction I want to take, or, if I even want to take one at all! After all, despite being on medication for ADHD for the first time in my life, I AM still affected by ADHD, and what comes out of my fingers, and supposedly my brain, is not always what I expected or intended.

Finally, this is going to be written by a "person" who did not exist before February 10, 2010.

So, here goes!

My name is Don (Donovan) Baldwin. I am 65 years old (not a typo - born 1945), and have not preveiosly been diagnosed with any sort of mental abberation or unique condition prior to last week...although I suspected that I might be struggleing with ADHD for the last few years...through two marriages, a multitude of jobs, several changes of address, and a few million failed dreams, it seemed.

Learning that I probably had ADHD was actually a relief, as it explained several things which I had simply beat myself up about since about 1950, when I started the first grade. While we usually all have some measure of control over what we do, even with ADHD, it sometimes is a reality that some other power also has a certain measure of control as well.

If you have the condition known variously as Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and/or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), things happen and you don't know why.

Perhaps, like me, you think to yourself, "Either I am like everybody else, or I am different. If everyone else is like me, why don't they all have the problems I have? There must be something about ME that makes me not be able to do what they do. What is wrong with me? If we are different, what is the difference, and what is wrong with me that I cannot live like they do?"

"...what is wrong with me."

As I learn more about ADHD, that's an attitude that I find many of us have.

After all, teachers tell us that if we just try harder...or to concentrate...or to be more like Jimmy or Suzie (apologies to all the Jimmies and Suzies who might read this).

Parents get phone calls from teachers, or simply from personal exasperation tell us to "work harder", "do better", be like....well, you get the idea.

For anyone reading this who does not have ADHD please understand this...

MAYBE WE ARE TRYING HARDER, WORKING HARDER, DOING BETTER...MORE THAN YOU WILL EVER KNOW!

As a kid, I could not keep up in school despite a genius IQ. I managed to read my way through a couple of libraries trying to find tips and techniques that would help me make c's in my classes. I wanted my mother and father to be proud of me, but within two minutes of the teacher beginning a class, I was in a completely other world...aware of the noise and events around me, but not a part of it.

Homework?

It's hard to do homework when you did not learn the stuff in class that the homework was related to.

High School and College?

More of the same.

Even at this moment, with the Adderall coursing through my bloodstream, and a strong desire to understand myself and perhaps help you as well, I am fighting getting up and going to do something else.

The fantastic outline for this starting post has completely disintegrated and I am now fumbling for words.

Let me just fall back on one symptom of ADHD and how it may have contributed to the course of my life.

People with ADHD often blurt out information or statements which a "normal" person has sense enough to keep to themselves. Now, these are not always "fightin' words", but sometimes it's just better NOT to say something than to say it.

I was married for 20 years to one woman and have been married for 16 years to another. Over that 36 year period, BOTH (entirely different personalities) have constantly complained that I "correct" them.

I have. No denying it. However, in just about every instance, I felt compelled to make the statement because what they had just said did not quite fit into the way my mind wanted to comprehend the meaning. Sometimes it was a trivial distinction of words or facts. Sometimes it was just an additional comment that had no purpose.

In most instances, however, it was out of my mouth before I even realized it was on its way. Also, in most instances, it made perfect sense TO ME and NEEDED TO BE SAID.

I have noticed just in the few days that I have been taking Adderall, that this urge has abated. I spent the day with my wife and let three different opportunities for such remarks pass by without feeling any pressure to activate the Sicilian blood in my beloved wife.

Hope this makes sense to you. It does to me...sorta

I just re-read what I had written and noticed that it wanders around and reaches no real conclusion. So have I for the last 60 years.

The book I am currently reading to learn more about the problem I live with daily is Delivered from Distraction: Getting the Most out of Life with Attention Deficit Disorder
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Do you or someone you love have ADHD? Click here to learn more.