Introduction to downloading questionnaire
Do our multiples have ADHD?
The Australian Disruptive Behaviours Questionnaire was developed
for the Australian ADHD Twin Project and has been extensively
assessed against other measures of behavioural problems. It
covers the key DSM and ICD questions for ADHD, Oppositional
Defiant Disorder (ODD) which overlaps extensively with ADHD,
as well as Separation Anxiety and Conduct Disorder,. This
questionnaire is not meant to be definitive. A proper diagnosis
needs consideration of
- the number and intensity of symptoms
- whether they occur in more than one situation and are
seen by more than one person
- whether they impair the young person's functioning
- at what age the symptoms began
This checklist is merely an opportunity for parents and/or
teachers to consider just what the behaviour of this child
is like and to decide if more thorough assessment is needed.
In assessing multiples, it is important to consider three
things
(i) that the views of parents and teachers may well
differ. Is there something about the home or about the school
that may contribute to some signs of ADHD being seen in one
environment but no the other? The parent may be seeing a child
who can sit engrossed in front of the computer for hours,
so feels there are no problem with inattention. The teacher
may see the same child struggling with schoolwork and doing
everything but what they are supposed to be doing. This leads
to
(ii) differences between the multiples. Some studies
have found multiples to be assessed by the parents as being
even more different from each other in ADHD than are singleborn
brothers. The argument is that parents contrast their twins,
the "quiet" one and the "active" one.
Not all studies show this and it does seem to depend on which
measure of ADHD is being used-it does not tend to happen so
much with the checklist we have here. However it is something
to consider when multiples are being assessed on any measure
of behaviour. To what extent are they being assessed as an
individual and to what extent relative to the other multiple(s)?
(iii) "better than average". Most checklists
are designed to identify problems. But some young people actually
do much better than most on their attention and activity.
To class them just as "average" is doing them a
disservice. There are some questionnaires that are just being
tried with multiples that have categories such as "better"
and "much better" than average. While not included
here, they do make an important point about the assessment
of all young people that we need to focus on their strengths
as well as their weaknesses.
Click here to
download the ADHD questionnaire (Word Document 75k)
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