TOVA Test: Understanding Attention Deficit Disorders

The T.O.V.A., or Test of Variables of Attention, is a 21.6 minute continuous performance test administered to help physicians recognize attention disorders like Attention Deficit Disorder and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

Test Conditions

• Test subjects must sit through two 11-minute tests of matching target shapes, with a small white square inside a larger black rectangle, and a series of similar shapes flashing on the screen. The task is designed to be tedious and boring, and subjects are measured on their response time and accuracy.

Diagnosis

• It is important to note that the T.O.V.A. cannot diagnose ADD/ADHD by itself, only an expert physician can make this assertion.

Cost Saving

• The T.O.V.A. can be administered easily by a trained physician's assistant, saving valuable professional time. T.O.V.A. can also aid physicians in prescribing lower levels of medication for milder attention disorders.

T.O.V.A.-A.

• The T.O.V.A.-A., or Test of Variables of Attention-Auditory, uses two varying auditory tones to measure listening attentiveness and comprehension.

Credibility

• The T.O.V.A. has been used and endorsed in over 300 research studies on ADD/ADHD. However, it has not been officially endorsed by any federal or state health agencies such as the National Institutes of Health.