Evaluating students' academic impairment is essential to both neuropsychological assessment and evidence-based accommodation granting. However, most self-report impairment measures lack validity indicators and are susceptible to noncredible responding. The Academic Impairment Measure (AIM) is a multidimensional, norm-referenced, self-report instrument designed for postsecondary students that contains an embedded response validity scale to detect exaggeration. We conducted a simulation study to examine the scale's ability to differentiate students with genuine ADHD (n = 200), students without disabilities (n = 258), and students without disabilities instructed to feign ADHD (n = 236). Results suggested that simulators could convincingly feign ADHD and academic impairment with little preparation. Standard scores for simulators on measures of ADHD symptoms and academic impairment were significantly higher than controls and in the elevated range. The AIM response validity scale differentiated simulators from all honest participants (AUC = .88) and participants with ADHD (AUC = .82). A cut score differentiated simulators and participants with ADHD yielding a sensitivity of 0.48, specificity of 0.91, positive predictive power of 0.49 and negative predictive power of 0.91 assuming a noncredible base rate of 15%. The AIM may be an efficient means of assessing academic impairment and response validity in students with suspected nonapparent disabilities. It can be used by neuropsychologists to facilitate the diagnostic process, to tailor accommodations to students' specific academic limitations, and to monitor their effectiveness over time.
Weis et al. (Sun,) studied this question.