As a result of my
team's request to work on intake
processes I found Prof. Stephanie
McConaughy's book
and papers, including this:
Standardized Observational Assessment of Attention
Deficit
Hyperactivity Disorder Combined and Predominantly
Inattentive Subtypes. II. Classroom Observations
McConaughy S. H., Ivanova, M Y., Antshel,
K., Eiraldi, R . B. and Dumenci, L. School
Psychology Review, 2009, Volume 38, No. 3, pp. 362–381
This is one of two
papers about DOF – Direct Observation Form developed by McConaughy and
Achenbach in 2009. McConaughy is also one of the Achenbach test
developers.
During a 10 minute
observation time, the observer writes a narrative description of the child's
behavior. The observer also rates, during
the last 5 seconds of each minute, the degree to which the child is on
task. Immediately after the observation,
the observer rates the child on 89 items, using a four point scale ranging from
"no occurrence " to "definite
occurrence with severe intensity, high frequency, or 3 or more minutes total
duration". The items can be, for
example: "Argues", "Doesn't concentrate or doesn't pay attention
for long", "Doesn’t sit still, restless or hyperactive", "Underactive,
slow moving or lacks energy" and so on.
The 89 items form 5
syndromes (Sluggish cognitive tempo, Immature/withdrawn, Attention problems, Intrusive,
and Oppositional). There is a DSM
oriented ADHD scale with subscales for inattention and hyperactivity –
impulsivity. There is also a scale for
on task behavior. The idea is that the
psychologist will observe the child several times for 10 minutes - on different
days and at different times. Every item
score is averaged across the observations and thus the scale scores are
obtained.
Six to eleven year
old children participated in the research described in this paper. These were children with a DSM4TR diagnosis
of ADHD-COMBINED (having both inattention and hyperactive – impulsive symptoms),
ADHD – INATTENTIVE (having mostly inattentive symptoms), children referred to
the school psychologist not because of ADHD and a control group. The observers didn't know to which group the
child belongs. All children had an IQ
score
of above 80, no health problems and none of them were taking medication for
ADHD.
A piquant fact is
that the parents of referred children (for ADHD or for other reasons) were paid
15$ for their children's participation. The
parents of the control group were paid 50$ for their children's participation
and the teachers were paid 15$ for completing forms and allowing the observations.
Since the findings
about the DOF's ability to differentiate between the ADHD-COMBINED and the ADHD
–INATTENTIVE groups, and between the two ADHD groups and the children referred
not for ADHD are complex, I won't describe them here. I will only describe the differences between
the ADHD groups and the control group.
The children in the ADHD – COMBINED group got
higher (worse) scores than the control group
on the general ADHD scale, and
also on these scales: hyperactivity – impulsivity, inattention,
intrusive and oppositional.
The ADHD – INATTENTION group
got higher scores than the control group on sluggish
cognitive tempo, attention
problems and inattention.
Children of both ADHD groups got higher
scores than the control group on "on task" behavior.
It's an interesting tool
to try.
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