NICHQ Vanderbilt Assessment Scale for Teachers

What is the NICHQ Vanderbilt Assessment Scale (Teacher Informant)?

In 2002, the National Institute for Children's Health Quality (NICHQ for short) developed its famous NICHQ Vanderbilt Assessment Scales for developmental and behavioral pediatrics. These scales were created to assess children to check if they possibly have ADHD and to help determine if they should be diagnosed with it. It's a helpful tool for the diagnostic process for ADHD.

What the assessment scale will attempt to pinpoint is if ADHD is affecting a child's academic performance as well as their general behavior. The scale has a questionnaire with items related to possible anxiety, depression, impatience, defiance, and other ADHD symptoms.

It comes in two versions, one for teachers and one for parents. We'll focus on the version for teachers for this guide, a 43-item questionnaire.

How to use the NICHQ Vanderbilt Assessment Scale

Step 1: Check if the teacher has been nominated to report on a certain child

Given that the form we're discussing is the Vanderbilt assessment teacher version, you have to make sure that the teacher, for whatever reason, has gained the permission and nomination of the parents to report on the possible ADHD of their child based on the child's behavior when they're doing their daily activities in school. The teacher is not the parent nor the guardian, after all.

Step 2: Have the teacher answer the questionnaire

Once you've confirmed their permission to report the child for possible ADHD, issue this assessment scale to them. They can answer it on the spot, take it home, and submit it during the next appointment. Or, they can send it to you online.

What they need to do is simply rate their student with the following:

• Items 1-35 must be rated on a scale of 0-3 (Never to Very Often)
• Items 36-43 must be rated on a scale of 1-5 (Excellent to Problematic)

All their ratings must be considered in the context of what is appropriate for their student's age.

Step 3: Record the scores

Once the teacher has given you a fully accomplished assessment scale, it's time for you to take note of the following:

• The total number of questions scored 2 or 3 in questions 1–9
• The total number of questions scored 2 or 3 in questions 10–18
• Total Symptom Score for questions 1–18
• The total number of questions scored 2 or 3 in questions 19–28
• The total number of questions scored 2 or 3 in questions 29–35
• The total number of questions scored 4 or 5 in questions 36–43
• Average Performance Score

Before making a diagnosis, you must also take note of the following designations:

Predominantly inattentive subtype

• Must score a 2 or 3 on 6 out of 9 items on questions 1–9 AND
• Score a 4 or 5 on any of the Performance questions 36–43

Predominantly hyperactive/impulsive subtype

• Must score a 2 or 3 on 6 out of 9 items on questions 10–18 AND
• core a 4 or 5 on any of the Performance questions 36–43

ADHD combined inattention/hyperactivity

• Requires the above criteria on both inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity

In order to meet the criteria for diagnosis, they must have at least six positive responses to either the inattentive 9 or hyperactive 9 core symptoms, or both! Do remember that a positive response is a 2 or 3.

The first part of the scale also has symptom screens of the following:

Oppositional-defiant/conduct disorder screen

• Must score a 2 or 3 on 3 out of 10 items on questions 19–28 AND
• Score a 4 or 5 on any of the Performance questions 36–43

Anxiety/depression screen

• Must score a 2 or 3 on 3 out of 7 items on questions 29–35 AND
• Score a 4 or 5 on any of the Performance questions 36–43

These are screened by the number of positive responses in each of the segments separated by the “squares.”

The second part of the scale, the Performance Set (Items 36-43), has a different rating range. To meet the diagnostic criteria for ADHD diagnosis, at least one item from this set must score a 4 or 5. You can record the scores for that. There's even an Average Performance Score, calculated by adding the scores up and dividing them by the number of Performance Set items that were rated.

Step 4: Make a diagnosis and create a care plan

The next part is to diagnose ADHD (or not, depending on the results) and making a care plan. Make sure to tailor-fit the plan to the child you are rating, like if they're a student that makes careless mistakes, have difficulty waiting, have difficulty playing with others, have difficulty organizing tasks, they're easily distracted, lose things easily, if they leave their seat even when remaining seated is expected, etc.

Step 5: If a follow-up is needed, issue the follow-up form to the teacher

You may also reissue this, especially if the student is taking medicine. This is so you can monitor them for improvements and see if your care plan works.

The teacher simply needs to do the same thing, but this time, there are only twenty-six items to rate. They must also indicate if their kid experienced problems like headaches, trouble sleeping, being listless, etc.

Once you receive a fully-accomplished follow-up, make sure to indicate:

• The total Symptom Score for questions 1–18
• Average Performance Score for questions 19–26 (add them up and divide by the number of Performance criteria answered)

When does one typically use the NICHQ Vanderbilt Assessment?

This is typically issued to teachers when you've confirmed that they have gained permission to report their student to a pediatrician or psychologist to help screen their student for ADHD.

Once the student has been diagnosed and a care plan has been made, the pediatrician or psychologist may reissue this to help monitor the progress, especially if the teacher sets up another appointment to discuss their student's ADHD.

You can have them answer the scale on the spot, or you can have them take it to school if they want to observe their student first to make more informed ratings.

It's best to evaluate the child for several weeks or months so the teacher has enough time to thoroughly observe the child and make ratings that reflect that child's behavior.

Who can use this printable NICHQ Vanderbilt Assessment Scale?

The following healthcare practitioners can use the NICHQ Vanderbilt Assessment Scale for Teachers for their respective practices:

• Pediatricians
• Psychiatrists
• Psychotherapists

The student's teacher will engage with the scale the most since they will rate their student based on the prompts.

Do note that there is a parent version of the Vanderbilt ADHD scale. This version has 55 items and covers behavior and symptoms observable at home. We recommend providing the parent version to a child's parents so that you can cover all bases.

Why is this assessment popular and useful to pediatricians and psychologists?

It focuses on different aspects of a child's school life

The questionnaire has items that examine the different aspects of a child's school life. The ratings will give a good picture of the kid and will help determine if an ADHD diagnosis is apt for the child.

It helps in creating a care plan for the teacher

If the student is diagnosed with ADHD based on this assessment, then you can create a tailor-made care plan for the student. The ratings given per item will help you determine what to focus on regarding the child and what goes into your care plan.

It'll help establish continuity of the treatment

If the teacher comes back to you to inform you about any developments regarding their student's ADHD, you can give them the follow-up assessment scale, which is much shorter than the original one.

A fully-accomplished follow-up assessment will help you see if the student is improving when it comes to dealing with ADHD as well as if your care plan for the kid needs some improvements or changes.

Benefits

Since the teacher will be filling out this assessment, they will have a chance to properly reflect on their student and observe them well enough to make well-informed ratings per item.

If their answers lead to ADHD diagnosis, they will know what to focus on to help their student and themselves go about their daily school endeavors with the fact that the student has ADHD. Based on the care plan you'll make for them and the answers they gave, they might be able to determine how to adjust the way they educate the student and how they have them mingle with other students, in ways that could prevent ADHD from negatively impacting the student's school life and relationships.