Abstract:
This study examined school psychologists’ assessment and intervention practices regarding ADHD. Five hundred school psychologists who practiced in a school setting and were regular members of the National Association of School Psychologists were randomly selected to complete and return a questionnaire titled Assessment and Intervention Practices for ADHD: A National Survey of School Psychologists. The instrument, which collected data on demographics, assessment practices, diagnostic practices, and intervention practices, was developed by the author for the purpose of this study. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson r and Spearman rho correlation coefficients, binary logistic regression, and Mann-Whitney U tests.
With a return rate of 49.2%, the main finding of this study was that the majority of school psychologists are conducting assessments and providing interventions for ADHD. Results showed that 77.2% of the respondents conduct ADHD assessments and 90.7% provide ADHD interventions, but only 26.8% reported that they provide an ADHD diagnosis. The majority of respondents indicated that they are well-trained, qualified, and confident within ADHD assessment, diagnostic, and intervention practices.
The most notable correlations were between level of education, licensure, and indication of providing a diagnosis of ADHD. A relationship existed between years of experience and beliefs about being well-trained to assess for ADHD and to provide ADHD interventions. Results showed that licensure was a significant predictor in determining if school psychologists were more likely to conduct assessments for ADHD. Level of education, SES, national certification, and beliefs about being qualified to diagnose ADHD were significant in differentiating whether or not school psychologists were more likely to provide a diagnosis of ADHD when warranted. State certification and beliefs about being qualified to assess for ADHD to determine if the disorder exists were significant in differentiating whether or not school psychologists were more likely to provide interventions for ADHD. Significant differences were found for level of education, licensure, confidence to assess and diagnose ADHD, and qualifications to diagnose ADHD and assess for ADHD to determine services and if the disorder exists between the groups of school psychologists who provide and do not provide an ADHD diagnosis.
