Test of Variables of Attention (T.O.V.A.)

What is The Test of Variables of Attention?
The Test of Variables of Attention (TOVA) is a psychometric test, which is approved by the FDA. TOVA is used to measure an individual’s attention while evaluating and screening for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Test of Variables of Attention is a computerized psychometric test normed by gender for every one of ages between four and eighty plus. This assessment test is presented in the form of a simple and dull computer game, and it takes about precisely, twenty-one minutes and six seconds to finish. This neuropsychological test has no cultural or language boundaries and requires no discrimination or sequencing. It aids professionals in healthcare to measure inhibitory and attention control objectively.

According to the test taker’s response towards an auditory or visual stimulus, TOVA is used to evaluate multiple variables. The objective and accurate measurements procured are later compared with the reported measurements of a group of people who are not suffering from attention disorders and took the TOVA test. To make a diagnosis, The Test of Variables of Attention is designed to be used along with a bunch of psychometric tests, for example, interviews, in-depth history, subjective questionnaires, and symptom checklists.

Benefits of T.O.V.A
According to the statistics provided over time, The Test of Variables of Attention has proved to be efficient and successful to accurate diagnosing eight seven percent of persons without ADHD, ninety percent of the hyperactive ADHD and eighty-four percent of non-hyperactive ADHD. These results produce by TOVA has earned it a reputation as one of the efficient evaluating tools to be used when curating a diagnosis. The only drawback of T.O.V.A is that it is not capable of providing sufficient data to conclude a diagnosis on its own. For procuring accurate results, it is never to be separately utilized as a tool for diagnosing and testing traumatic brain injury or attention deficit disorders.
A major specialty and point of The Test of Variables of Attention is to record response time via the use of a microswitch. The microswitch allows to obtain immaculately accurate response times, the error in the measurement of time is only 1 ms in contrast to other tools like computer mouse and keyboards which can make errors in the time measurements of 28 ms. There are eight determining factors involved in the assessment of the presence of ADHD in an individual, out of which five factors are time-based. Hence, any hindrance can impact the scoring and the accuracy of the diagnosis significantly.

This psychometric test is relatively cheaper to administer as trained individuals and assistants can administer this assessment test as well, mitigating the need to go to a doctor and cutting costs as a consequence.