> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.getrivet.ca/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Child and adolescent measures — which one, and who fills it in > Five measures for clients under 18 — PHQ-A, SDQ, RCADS, SNAP-IV and the ASRS. Who completes each one, the age range it was validated in, and how to choose between them. Measures for younger clients differ from adult ones in a way that matters more than the item wording: **someone other than the client often fills them in.** A parent-report and a self-report of the same child rarely agree, and neither is the wrong answer — they are two vantage points on the same presentation. ## Who completes which | Measure | Completed by | Ages | What it covers | | ------------------------------------------------------ | --------------------- | ----- | ------------------------------------------ | | [PHQ-A](/clinical-templates/child/phq-a) | The young person | 11–17 | Depression, with a self-harm item | | [SDQ](/clinical-templates/child/sdq-self) | The young person | 11–17 | Broad mental-health screen, five subscales | | [RCADS parent](/clinical-templates/child/rcads-parent) | A parent or caregiver | 6–18 | Anxiety and depression, six subscales | | [SNAP-IV](/clinical-templates/child/snap-iv) | A parent or caregiver | 6–18 | ADHD and oppositional behaviour | | [ASRS v1.1](/clinical-templates/child/asrs-v1-1) | The client | 18+ | Adult ADHD — for clients ageing out | ## Choosing between them **Start broad if the presentation is unclear.** The SDQ covers emotional symptoms, conduct, hyperactivity, peer problems and prosocial behaviour in twenty-five items. It will tell you which direction to look before you commit to a narrower instrument. **Go narrow when you already know the question.** RCADS if the referral is anxiety or mood and you want subscale detail. SNAP-IV if attention or oppositionality is the presenting concern. **Depression in a teenager is the PHQ-A, not the PHQ-9.** The adolescent version has its own cutoff and its own self-harm item. Using the adult instrument on a fifteen-year-old is a validation problem, not a convenience. **The ASRS is here for continuity.** A client who has aged out of the SNAP-IV still needs a measure; that is the one. ## Getting a parent-report completed Parent-rated measures are usually sent ahead of the session rather than filled in the room — the parent may not be in the room, and if they are, the young person is watching them answer. Sending it in advance gives you both a cleaner answer and something to open the session with. ## The five measures Depression for 11–17, with an adolescent cutoff and a self-harm flag. Goodman's broad screen — twenty-five items across five subscales. Parent-rated anxiety and depression, mapped to six disorders, read as T-scores. Parent-rated ADHD and ODD. Public domain — no licence and no fee. Adult ADHD screener, for clients who have aged out of the SNAP-IV. ## Related articles All seventy-one templates, and how they are organised. Finding a template and getting it to a client before you meet.