Conners’ Rating Scale for Parents (Revised - L)
Issue this revised long-form Conners’ Rating Scale for Parents to those who suspect their child might have ADHD.
Fact Checked by Ericka Pingol.
What is ADHD?
Before discussing the Conner’s Rating Scale for Parents (Revised - L), let’s briefly talk about ADHD.
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, or ADHD for short, is a developmental disorder where people find it challenging to keep their attention on something for long, and their attention is often pulled into different directions. A person with ADHD will also become impulsive and hyperactive.
Depending on the severity of the disorder and the capability of the person to manage their symptoms, it’s possible for the disorder to negatively impact a person’s daily life and overall mental well-being. Here are some of the symptoms that make up ADHD:
- Frequent mood swings
- Becoming frustrated easily
- Tempers run hot
- Restlessness
- Jumping from one activity to another
- Trouble completing a task or activity
- Loss of focus
- Difficulty with prioritizing something
- Being disorganized
- Difficulty in planning well
ADHD screenings and diagnoses are usually done during childhood. You know the old adage, “The earlier, the better.” The earlier that ADHD is diagnosed in a person, the earlier it can be treated. This lessens the negative impacts of the disorder and can prevent it from becoming a nuisance in their daily life.
To assess a child for ADHD, there are numerous ADHD scales to choose from. One group of ADHD scales that healthcare professionals, parents, and teachers can use is the Conners’ Rating Scale.
Printable Conners’ Rating Scale for Parents (Revised - L)
Download this Conners’ Rating Scale for Parents (Revised - L) to assess ADHD.
How to use the Conners’ Rating Scale - Parent (Revised - L)
There are numerous Conners’ Rating Scales, each of which varies in length. We will discuss the Conners’ Rating Scale for Parents, specifically the revised long-form version from 1997. And just to put it out there, we will show you how it’s answered, what it generally looks like, how it is answered, and how healthcare professionals score Conners’ Rating Scales in general.
As with all other versions, this version of the Conners’ Rating Scale is easy to use. You simply need to issue this to parents concerned that their child might have Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.
The scale comes in the form of a list of characteristics. It has eighty items that need to be rated using preset options:
- Not true at all (never, seldom) = 0 points
- Just a little true (occasionally) = 1 point
- Pretty much true (often, quite a bit) = 2 points
- Very much true (very often, very frequent) = 3 points
The list is essentially about the common problems that a child might have. The parent answering the scale must think about these common problems in light of their child based on the past month, including the day they’re answering the scale. Here are some of the items that they need to rate:
- Angry and resentful
- Difficulty doing or completing homework
- Is always “on the go” or acts as if driven by a motor
- Timid, easily frightened
- Has no friends
- Fights
- Has difficulty sustaining attention in tasks or play activities
- Argues with adults
- Afraid of people
- Keeps checking things over and over again
Once you receive a fully accomplished copy, you must add up the scores. Normally, healthcare professionals who use Conners’ Rating Scales use the T-score standardized measure to assess results. If a child’s T-score is less than 60, that means they don’t have ADHD. If the child has a T-score that’s higher than 60, that means they likely have ADHD. If the score is higher than 70, their ADHD symptoms are severe.
Do note that using Conners’ Rating Scales is just one way of assessing a child for ADHD. It’s highly recommended to use other rating scales to find consistency and cross-check your findings with the ADHD criteria of the most recent version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.
Conners’ Rating Scale - Parent (Revised - L) Example
Now that you know the basic gist of ADHD and the revised long-form parent version of the Conners’ Rating Scale, it’s time to see what it looks like. Our template for the Conners’ Rating Scale - Parent (Revised - L) simply takes the original 1997 version created by C. Keith Conners, Ph.D. We’ve added radio buttons for parents to tick, whether using a pen or when using the PDF file.
If you like what you see and believe this is a great clinical resource to add to your roster of ADHD scales, feel free to download our free Conners’ Rating Scale PDF template. Remember that this is for clinical and non-commercial purposes only.
Download this Conners’ Rating Scale for Parents (Revised - L) Example:
When is it best to use the Conners’ Rating Scale - Parent (Revised - L)?
The best time to use this version of the Conners’ Rating Scale will depend on the person using it.
If you’re a healthcare professional who specializes in diagnosing and treating patients for developmental disorders, it’s best to have copies of this scale prepared and ready.
If the parent discusses things about their child that are indicative of ADHD, you must first educate them about ADHD and ask them if they would like to answer some assessments that can help determine the possibility of ADHD. If they agree, you may introduce this version of the Conners’ Rating Scale to them alongside other scales.
Make sure to give them the option to answer the scale on the spot or take it home and submit a fully-accomplished copy during their next scheduled appointment with you.
If you’re not a healthcare professional and you’ve found this guide, you can download the template that we have and answer it anytime you want. However, if you are going to do that, please keep in mind that this is not a diagnostic tool, and under no circumstance should you decide that your child has ADHD based on the total score. Please see a professional so they can properly interpret the total score on this scale. Comprehensive evaluations involving numerous assessments are required to accurately diagnose ADHD in a child.
What are the benefits of using this version of the Conners’ Rating Scale?
It’s an easy scale to answer.
This version of the Conners’ Rating Scale is long, but it’s a simple scale to answer. Parents answering this scale will only need to rate their child for each item based on how they were the past month. It doesn’t require parents to expound on their answers (this will be reserved for the later parts of the comprehensive evaluation of the child with potential ADHD). All they need to do is tick whichever of the four answer options applies to their child based on each statement. It shouldn’t take longer than twenty minutes to answer.
The scale can help professionals decide what to do next.
One of the great things about this version of the Conners’ Rating Scale is that it covers numerous problems children commonly have, many of which indicate potential ADHD. Since there are eighty items to rate, healthcare professionals have a lot to look at, which means they have good material to work with after they receive fully-accomplished copies. Depending on the scores, they can conclude that the child has no ADHD, or they can proceed with more tests to find consistency in the results and see if everything matches the ADHD criteria of the most recent edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Once they diagnose the child with ADHD, they can use the results of this scale and other assessments to develop a treatment plan that focuses on managing key areas of concern.
It can be used to monitor the child later on.
The use of ADHD screening tools doesn’t have to be a one-time, big-time thing. They can be used again to check the progress of children diagnosed with ADHD and how their disorder is being managed. If you’re still in contact with the parents of a child you diagnosed with ADHD, you can schedule a routine checkup or consultation and hand the parents another copy of the scale. If the total score is lower than before, you can safely assume that your treatment plan is working and the parents and child can manage and work around the child’s ADHD. If not, you might want to give it time or tweak your plan to see if the changes will help.
Commonly asked questions
It should take you around 20 minutes to complete it, possibly less if you already know the appropriate rating for each item.
No. It is a screening tool that helps with the diagnostic process. It’s best to use this to determine the possibility of ADHD in a child, then use other assessments to see if the results are consistent.
You can answer the scale, yes. But please see a professional and show the scale to them. It’s best that you have someone who knows how to interpret the results of this test. Under no circumstance should you assume your child has ADHD based on the results of this test. Remember that this only determines the possibility. Confirming it is another discussion.
