Date of Award

5-11-2007

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Department

Graduate Department of Clinical Psychology

First Advisor

Gale H Roid, PhD

Second Advisor

Kathleen Gathercoal, PhD

Third Advisor

Mary A. Peterson, PhD

Abstract

The prevalence oflearning disorders (LD) and attention-deficit disorders (ADHD) in school-aged children has received a great deal of interest for decades. The history, defining characteristics and methods of assessment remain relevant as many school-aged children continue to receive these diagnoses. The assessment of LD and ADHD can be a difficult and time-consuming process which involves numerous testing instruments and clinical interviews. Both diagnoses typically require intelligence testing, achievement testing, personality assessment and behavioral or syndrome specific testing. The current study sought to develop subtest profiles for the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale, Fifth Edition that would serve to streamline the assessment battery for each diagnosis. Specific subtest profiles were constructed and found to have significantly different strengths and weaknesses as compared to those in normative control samples. However, due to variability within the clinical and control samples, the usefulness of the profile patterns or composites should not be used in isolation. Instead, subtest profiles should be used in conjunction with other measures of behavior, achievement or syndrome specific tests to establish clinical hypotheses of the presence ofLD or ADHD.

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