Diagnosing a developmental psychopathology in a child depends on psychological testing. Two important questions that must be asked are why does a teacher decide to test a child and how does the entire testing procedure unfold? My friend’s mother, Eva, is a grade one teacher who must go through this entire process to ensure that she is teaching her students to their strengths. I spoke with her to gain a better insight into how she begins the psychological testing procedure for a student whom she suspects has ADHD.

Eva explained to me that it is usually the teacher who first notices that a student may have a learning disability, potentially due to ADHD. She continually observes the child on a wide range of domains such as: does the child have a hard time sitting down, is impulsive, does not follow instructions, is disruptive, physically hurts other kids, blurts out answers, puts things in his or her mouth, and taps feet and hands. If these behaviors are seen, then she knows a psychologist must test the child for a proper diagnosis. Eva knows that the parent’s feelings must be taken into consideration, as hearing that one’s child may have a psychopathology can be hard to swallow. She first recommends a meeting with the parents to find out if these behaviors are seen at home. If they are seen, then Eva proposes that the child has a check-up with a pediatrician. Since she is still concerned that the child is not performing to his or her maximum, she suggests to the parents that a psychologist observes the student to detect the strengths and weaknesses. If the parents agree, they sign a paper and the psychological observation begins.

Eva is given a Conners test to fill out prior to the psychologist observing the child. This test measures the global perspectives of how the child behaves in the classroom. Some questions include: Can the child sit and do his/her work? Does the child follow directions? Can the child read? The psychologist grades the teacher’s responses to see what type of psychopathology the child might have (such as ADHD). Then the child undergoes psychological testing for ADHD and a learning disability (for example a WISC is administered along with other tests). A Conners test is given to the parents to fill-out based on the child’s behaviors at home. The psychologist then compares the two Conners tests and analyzes all the other results. Finally, the psychologist meets with Eva, the principle, and the parents of the child to discuss the results of the psychological tests and treatment options or interventions. The parents are recommended to visit the pediatrician with the test results in case medication needs to be administered.

As I learned in my Developmental Psychopathology class (PSYC 412), a teacher report for the psychological testing of ADHD is critical for two reasons. First of all, the teacher can tell the psychologist about the child’s behavior in a school setting, which has different demands than at home. For example, the teacher can answer the question “has difficulty staying in seat.” The parents may not know the answer since their child does not need to sit for a long at home. Secondly, the teacher has n = 30 students/year. Therefore, the teacher can say if the behaviors the child is exhibiting are in the normative bounds. Eva suspects within a few weeks of the school year which of her students may have ADHD. A parent may not know what a typical behavior is for a young child, especially if it is their first one, and therefore may not know how to answer some of the testing questions.

As you can see, the whole ADHD testing procedure is far more than just the actual psychological tests. As well, the teacher plays a crucial role in this process. In grade one, Eva works hard with her ADHD students to ensure they are learning all that they can.

All materials from this blog were from my interview with Eva (who works in the Sir Wilfrid Laurier School board) and from PSYC 412, Dr. Dirks, McGill University, Winter 2014

If Dr. Stotland or Zhen Xu would like the PSYC 412 PowerPoint slides or class notes please let me know.