Are any of you familiar with the BRIEF inventory?

Recently I attended a CHADD workshop which focussed on strategies for college success. The presenter talked about an assessment inventory published by Psychological Assessment Resources, Inc. called the BRIEF (Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function). The BRIEF consists of 2 rating forms – a parent questionnaire and a teacher questionnaire – designed to assess executive functioning in the home and school environments. To get an overview of the tool go to http://www.parinc.com/samprpts/BRIEF_Rpt2.pdf.

The presenter stressed that the results from this test could be beneficial in securing appropriate accommodations for a 504 plan at the college level. The results would provide written documentation which would establish the extent to which the student was affected by executive dysfunction.

I would like to know if anyone here is familiar with this assessment? If so, did the test results indicate areas that were addressed by your child’s IEP?

My son was diagnosed at age 14 with ADHD - inattentive type and as far as the school is concerned his problems with organization, planning, self monitoring, etc. are of little concern because he has not “achieved failure”. The school district accepted the results of his WISC-III, Gray Oral Reading Test, and Nelson-Denny Reading Tests which were administered independently after the district refused to test him since he didn’t “fit the profile.” I believe I will make a written request for this inventory to be administered.

By the way, the presenter stated that it is vital to have your child’s evaluations done no more than 3 years before applying to college. Each college has it’s own guidelines - but she said as a rule of thumb they want to see recent assessments.

Thanks! I’ll be looking forward to your replies.