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Post by catseye on Feb 16, 2004 10:21:53 GMT -5
The psychologist gave us a connors test to have the teachers fill out... Which we did and turned in... My question though how accurate is this test? I mean it is supposed to be testing the severity of the adhd (which according to test is mild), if sd is medicated during the observation period of course some of the symptoms arent as bad while medicated right??
I dont get the purpose of the connors test during a medication period? Unless it is to compare the before meds connors to this one? Any ideas?
For those who dont know the connors test is 30 or so questions and answers about basic attention span, behavior etc...
Anyone else think this is kind of useless while the child is medicated?
cat
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Post by Dad2Brooke on Feb 16, 2004 11:56:47 GMT -5
Yeah, now that you mention it, it does. It seems to me that Conners would be much more effective if it was given priot to meds and after meds. Or while on one med and then while on another.
I just recently filled out a Conners on Brooke as part of her IEP eval, and I remember thinking that I didn't like the choices. They seemed too broad at times.
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Post by finnmom on Feb 16, 2004 12:34:21 GMT -5
Cat  We used connors-form before our start of med´s and then after an 1½month´s trial we, both us and the theacher, did an other one to see if med´s made any change, (as appeared to be) and weather there is no reason to use med´s further on. In here it´s used to monitor how and if med´s work. But I agree that it was very hard to fill, for ex. teasing other´s: not in school but home yes ;D, but no way to separete sibling´s rivarly from being noughty at school  Marja |
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Post by mctavish23 on Feb 16, 2004 13:27:11 GMT -5
Hi.
The Conners Parent Rating Scale is the #1 rating scale used for ADHD. The test itself doesnt diagnose ADHD. What it does is give an indication of whether you consider the child to be "at risk" for ADHD(compared to children their age).
The scores are age referenced and presented as T scores. Those are weighted statistical measures that denote the number of symptoms you are saying apply to the child.The higher the T score, the more symptoms you are indicating apply to the child( not the worse they are per se').
The test is very sound statistically and as I've mentioned before, is only one of the two rating scales that are normed on girls. If you have a daughter you definately want the Conners. Otherwise . girls are being compared to boys , which is obviously a problem. The other checklist is called the ADHD -IV checklist by George Du Paul. He is very well respected in the field,however, I dont know anyone who uses it. Perhaps its new.
The categories all get an individual T score values and then there is the overall Conners ADHD Index. The way its scored is fairly straightforward in terms of whether it is Atypical for that age and then what type of problem(if any) it represents. I'd be glad to get into the scoring more if you'd like. If not, thats okay too.
I agree that taking a baseline measure is important for comparison purposes, however, its not always done. Just remember , if the child is already on meds and you complete the Conners, be sure that you are looking at the child's behavior Without meds.
These are all excellent questions. Hope ya'll have a great rest of the day.Thanks and take care.
mctavish23( Robert)
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Post by mom2tj on Feb 16, 2004 14:44:12 GMT -5
Hi we did the coners test before meds and now the dr. is asking for another one to be done to see how well the treatments are going. I dont get that you didnt do one before  |
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Post by swmom on Feb 16, 2004 14:47:56 GMT -5
We just finished up some testing with a psychologist who wanted us to fill out the Connors sheet. Since the medication is working, it didn't make sense to fill out the sheet now. The psychologist said make an extra copy of it and fill out one the way she is on meds and the other the way she is off meds and indicate which is which. I did that. I'm hoping he can tell us more from that than the medication is working, because we know that already! Hopefully, he can tell us some things we don't already know.
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Post by catseye on Feb 16, 2004 15:09:05 GMT -5
mom2tj, sorry I didnt mean to give the impression that we havent done it before... We have filled it out probably 4 times in the 2 year journey we are in...
When the psychologist told me she is mild adhd, I went "well duh she is medicated now" (not out loud mind you)... The original showed she was severe adhd (or rather severely at risk adhd)... I know it is only a tool in the process...
I agree with swmom in that it seems a waste of time, since we know the medication is working... Maybe it is to see if we need to move to a different medication?
Like I said it just seems silly to keep giving this test when we know 1. that the behaviors are being somewhat controlled on medication (life aint perfect ya know!! LOL) 2. we already know the meds ARE working...
I take it from the responces this test is given yearly maybe? Once the child is on a medication that is working I mean...
Thanks for all the great responces! I had to hurry with that post...
cat
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Post by Honeysmom on Feb 16, 2004 16:34:53 GMT -5
The first doc we saw had everyone we know fill them out. That was such a waste. Everyone who was close to him rated him about the same, the rest had no idea what to do. (I mean EVERYONE, aunts, uncles, great-grandma)
For Honey we filled them out before his dx, 1 month after the start of meds, 3 months after meds, and then the doc said yearly while he was on meds. She said b/c then she has a standard tool to compare if his behaviors are staying the same on meds, or if they are changing and we are just accomodating them and not realizing it. It made sense to me.
Ironically, DH and I did them apart from each other and scored everything exactly the same.
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Post by mctavish23 on Feb 16, 2004 18:47:18 GMT -5
Hi,
The parents agreement is the most important aspect of the kids Conners. When dealing with adults tho, having all those different relatives fill out the extra checklsits is a good idea.
The main thing to remember with the Conners is that it compares the clinical group(ADHD) to the non clinical (not ADHD) group., based on age grouping.
Take care.
mctavish23(Robert)
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Post by careyd on Apr 28, 2004 20:26:46 GMT -5
does anyone have a copy of the test questions? I have both the parents and the teacher scale completed but want to compare and do not want to recreate.
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Post by Dad2Brooke on Apr 29, 2004 11:23:54 GMT -5
careyd, Welcome aboard!
I did some searching on Google and thought I had it for you, but the link had been removed because it is copywrited.
I tried for several more minutes to come up with the actual test but came up empty. Sorry.
My guess would be to ask your doctor for them.
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Post by careyd on Apr 29, 2004 11:28:50 GMT -5
Thanks for trying, I too tried for several minutes online last night to find a parent out there that has what I want and could only find links to purchase the test.
Oh well, I have the test questions sitting right here, just trying to cut as many corners as possible. Make my life a bit easier ya know...
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