There are several assessment tools that are applicable when assessing RAD. It is critical that the research community works to establish a universally, accepted assessment protocol for RAD so that practitioners and clinicians are confident when assessing and diagnosing this disorder. Assessment is a key piece to putting the puzzle of RAD together, and any diagnosis for that matter, because an official diagnosis helps identify and offers some answers to the problems that are occurring for a child, it helps guide treatment plans and assists in obtaining any funding. RAD is already a difficult diagnosis to make with it being rare and having subtle symptoms that are easily missed, and the lack of resources adds to the difficulty for practitioners to identify children with RAD. It is very problematic that there are limited resources and tools to assess for RAD. There is no consensus amongst the research community regarding which assessment tools are most valid to use when assessing for RAD.There is a lack of assessment tools that are made specifically for RAD.Three General Issues with Assessment for RAD:

This lack a universal assessment protocol, along with the lack of knowledge regarding RAD, has led to 3 overarching problems. RAD is one of the few diagnoses in the DSM-V where very little is known about the disorder, so a valid, universal assessment protocol has yet to be established. The assessment protocol for RAD is one of unique nature.

Ihnbited rad disorder symtomps