The DAWBA clinical rater's manual
Practice cases in numerical order
For each case:
- Click onto the case number to move to the rating screens for that case.
- Use the information from the rating screens to answer the questions.
- Check your answers by reading what we say in the text box in Note.
- You can also look at the DSM and ICD screens
to see our clinical diagnoses.
If you haven't yet learnt to navigate your way round the rating screens, we strongly recommend
you click here to work your way through the introductory tutorial
before starting on the practice cases listed below.
- Examine the ICD-10 criteria for generalized anxiety and obsessive-compulsive
disorder. Why does this child receive a computer-generated DSM-IV diagnosis for these two disorders but not an ICD-10 diagnosis?
- Does the information from the open-ended comments affect your decision as a
clinical rater on whether to allocate a diagnosis?
- Why doesn't this child receive a diagnosis of ADHD or hyperkinetic disorder?
- How does information from the open-ended comments inform your clinical diagnosis?
- What do you consider to be important criteria in terms of the impact of a
child's fear such that it may be considered to be a phobia?
- Does this case warrant a diagnosis of specific phobia?
- Review the evidence for the diagnosis of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Do you
think it should be retained?
- What diagnosis would you allocate to summarise this child's emotional symptoms?
- How do the other symptoms reported by this child relate to the primary diagnosis?
- Check the diagnosis of oppositional defiant disorder- is it consistent with the
open-ended comments?
- Why does the child receive a diagnosis of ADHD according to DSM-IV, and do
you think this is appropriate in this case?
- Explore why this child fulfils criteria for a diagnosis of PTSD according to
ICD-10 and not DSM-IV. Given the clinical picture revealed by the reports and the
open-ended comments, should this child be considered to have PTSD according to DSM-IV
after all?
- Do you accept the three other anxiety diagnoses generated by the computer?
- Do you agree with the diagnosis of depressive disorder?
- How does this child fulfil criteria for a computer
diagnosis of specific phobia?
- How might the information from the open-ended comments affect
your c
- How does this child fulfil criteria for a computer
diagnosis of specific phobia?
- How might the information from the open-ended comments affect
your clinical diagnosis?
linical diagnosis?
- Why does the computer generate a diagnosis of oppositional
defiant disorder according to ICD-10 and a diagnosis of conduct
disorder according to DSM-IV?
- What diagnosis would you as a clinical rater allocate?
- How can we make the diagnosis of ADHD/hyperkinetic disorder in
the absence of a teacher report to demonstrate pervasive symptoms
or impairment?
- How do the open-ended comments affect your clinical judgement
about the diagnosis?
- What would you do with this information?
- Is a diagnosis of generalized anxiety disorder consistent with
the history?
- If not, what might be a more appropriate diagnosis?
- Do you think this child's symptoms warrant a diagnosis of any kind?
- In what way do the open-ended comments not fit with the symptom reports
for this child?
- What are the issues in making a clinical diagnosis of
ADHD/hyperkinesis for this child?
- Do you think that his behavioural symptoms warrant a diagnosis
and if so which one?
- What diagnosis is revealed in the open-ended comments?
- How does this diagnosis fit with the other information supplied?
- Are this child's problems potentially relevant to a Child and
Adolescent Mental Health Service?
- If so, what diagnosis would you give him to acknowledge this?
- Why does the computer fail to diagnose separation anxiety disorder?
- As a clinical rater, what diagnosis would you allocate this child?
- What undiagnosed disorder does this child have?
- Consider the difference between ICD-10 and DSM-IV criteria for the
rating of tic disorders
- What diagnosis would be appropriate for this child?
- Do you think that the teacher's concerns should be recognised by
allocating a diagnosis?
- Do you agree with the diagnosis of oppositional defiant disorder?
- Why does the computer fail to diagnose ADHD or hyperkinesis?
- What ICD-10 conduct disorder diagnosis would you allocate to this
child?
- Why does this child receive a DSM-IV diagnosis of separation anxiety disorder but not an ICD-10 diagnosis?
- How should the child's disorder be recognised according to ICD-10?
- What significance do you attach to the depressive symptomatology?
- Is the diagnosis of Panic Disorder warranted?
- How do the open-ended comments help us in the assessment of the less
common disorders report?
- Do you think this child's symptoms warrant a diagnosis?
- Do you think that the diagnosis of specific phobia is a reasonable
one?
- How would you capture this child's conduct problems?
- From the open-ended comments, what is the primary diagnosis? How is this
consistent with the less common disorders report?
- What diagnoses does the diagnosis of pervasive developmental disorder overrule? Consider the difference between the DSM-IV and ICD-10 classifications
- Is the diagnosis of specific phobia appropriate?
- Work out why this child fulfils criteria for a computer diagnosis
of OCD
- What is the more appropriate clinical diagnosis?
- Why does this child receive a diagnosis of conduct disorder
according to DSM-IV but not according to ICD-10?
- Is the clinical diagnosis one of conduct disorder?
- Is the diagnosis of simple phobia appropriate for this child's
problems?
- What are the alternatives?
- Do you think that social phobia is an appropriate diagnosis for
this child?
- Does he require an additional diagnosis to cover other anxieties?
- Why doesn't this child meet criteria for separation anxiety?
- What other symptom described in the open-ended comments can be used to make
the clinical diagnosis in this child?
- Why doesn't he fulfil criteria for a diagnosis of specific phobia?
- Why does the computer diagnose PTSD on ICD-10 but not DSM-IV?
- What are the diagnostic criteria for generalized anxiety disorder,
and where is this child in relation to the threshold for diagnosis?
- In what way do the open-ended comments help with the clinical diagnosis?
- Why doesn't this child receive a computer-generated diagnosis of
specific phobia?
- Assess whether the child falls above or below the threshold for
diagnosis of specific phobia
- How do the open-ended comments help explain the teacher's impression of
the child as given in the reports?
- Would you use the information in the open-ended comments to modify the
diagnosis?
- What might be the reasons for the widely differing views of the parent and teacher about this child's symptoms?
- What psychiatric diagnosis could be used to recognise this child's difficulties?
- Do you agree with the computer diagnosis of depression?
- Why does the computer fail to allocate a diagnosis of generalized
anxiety?
- Why does the computer diagnose separation anxiety according to
DSM-IV but not ICD-10? Do you accept this?
- What do you think about the diagnosis of a conduct disorder?
- Apart from oppositional defiant disorder, what other disorder
would you rate as being present?
- Why does the child not receive a diagnosis of ADHD/hyperkinetic
disorder?
- What are the possible clinical diagnoses for this child?
- Which diagnosis would you allocate?
- Does this child's fear warrant a diagnosis of specific phobia?
- Why does the computer diagnose ADHD and not hyperkinetic disorder?
- What factors do you need to take into account in your decision as
to whether this is a clinically appropriate diagnosis?
- Why doesn't this child get a computer diagnosis of obsessive-
compulsive disorder?
- Would you, as a clinical rater, allocate a diagnosis to this child?
- Can you see why this child receives a computer-generated diagnosis
of specific phobia?
- What feature in the open-ended comments is most helpful when considering
the clinical diagnosis of specific phobia?
- In the light of the open-ended comments, who seems to be the most reliable
informant?
- Are the two computer-generated diagnoses appropriate for clinical
diagnoses?
- What other clinical diagnosis is missing?
- Do you agree with the computer diagnoses of ADHD and hyperkinesis?
- Should this child receive a diagnosis of a behaviour disorder?
- What are the issues in the decision as to whether this child has a
specific phobia?
- What diagnostic category would you use for the behavioural
symptoms?
- Do you think that this child should receive a diagnosis of a
depressive disorder?
- Why is this child not appropriate for a diagnosis of ADHD-
inattentive type?
- What aspects of the open-ended comments are consistent with a diagnosis of
post-traumatic stress disorder?
- Do you think the diagnosis of separation anxiety is appropriate?
- How could the teacher's concerns be recognised?
- Why wouldn't you allocate a clinical diagnosis of ADHD or
hyperkinetic disorder?
- What diagnosis can you use to capture this child's behavioural problems?
- How would you rate this child's problems?
- What diagnosis is most appropriate for this child?
- What features in the open-ended comments go against this child having a
diagnosis of a major depressive disorder?
- Do you think she should be given the diagnosis?
- What conclusion can you make about this child's panic symptoms?
- Do you think her anxiety symptoms are truly generalized?
- What would you do with the computer-allocated diagnosis of OCD?
- Review the diagnosis of specific phobia. How does the child
receive this diagnosis according to the computer algorithm?
- What is the specific fear? Could this be more appropriately
captured with an alternative diagnosis? Does the symptom report sheet
for the alternative diagnosis support this view?
- Why does the child not receive a diagnosis of social phobia?
- What would you do with the computer-generated diagnosis of major
depressive episode?
- What features of the open-ended comments and report are important in the
decision as to whether this child has a specific phobia? Do you think
she should be given the diagnosis?
- What other diagnosis should be considered in her case?
Last modified : 28/07/15