Use the SNAP-IV Rating Scale for Your Child's Behavioral Problems

Your child seems like he's acting up a lot. He's becoming defiant, distracted, and a little too smart with you. You suspect he's got a behavioral issue like ADHD but he doesn't seem like he's being bad ALL the time. In fact, he's normally a sweet kid- just not lately.

Maybe the SNAP-IV can help you.

Not every child's behavioral problems are related to mental disorders, yet most children express disorders through behavior. But if you suspect that there's more going on than a random tantrum or act of defiance, consider the SNAP-IV.

The SNAP-IV is a 90-item questionnaire with a 4-point rating scale designed to assist in diagnosing a child's behavioral problems. The SNAP-IV's items have questions or statements related to disorders like Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity (ADHD) and Oppositional Defiant Disorder. Both can display symptoms of defiance, aggression and inattentiveness. This is also used by mental health professionals to see if other disorders are prevalent in conjunction with a previously diagnosed disorder.

A SNAP-IV item will display a symptom and the rating scale afterwards. For example, one statement reads "Often loses things necessary for activity". You would read that statement and then mark either Not At All, Just A Little, Quite A Bit, or Very Much.

Once the SNAP-IV is completed, you would give it to your mental health provider for scoring. It is possible to score it yourself, but it's best to let the professionals do it so they can make the proper diagnosis and treatment. Your child might score high for ADHD but may also indicate a possible diagnosis for Oppositional Defiant Disorder as well, which have overlapping symptoms yet require different treatment methods.

You should not be the only person to complete the SNAP-IV for your child. Every adult involved in the child's life should do it. This will give you a better overall assessment of what symptoms a child is displaying and when they are displayed. It isn't uncommon for a child to "act up" in a classroom setting but be perfectly fine at home, or a child to have lack of focus or respect for authority except when with a specific adult like the grandmother or music instructor.

Finding common issues among all surveyors can help better pinpoint symptoms that your psychologist or therapist can use for a proper diagnosis. For example, if every adult's SNAP-IV seems to have high ratings in impulsivity and inattentiveness may indicate ADHD. Again, the SNAP-IV does not make a diagnosis, but it does help point in the proper direction for possible diagnosis and treatment options.

The SNAP-IV can also help eliminate behavioral disorders and illuminate other issues. A learning disorder might be present if the results show high ratings or commonality with questions related to distraction, losing temper, and crying easily while your child does schoolwork. If your child's negative behaviors only occur during one specific setting and timeframe such as gym class, there may not be a mental health issue at all and, instead, a situational problem that sometimes bleeds over into other activities. Anxiety, depression, and personality disorders may also be indicated on the SNAP-IV.

Find a free copy of the SNAP-IV here.