Children's drawings of headache pain were accurate for diagnosing migraine.

D e s c r i p t i o n o f t e s t a n d d i a g n o s t i c s t a n d a r d Children were given a blank, unlined, white piece of paper (8.5 × 11 inches) and a number 2 pencil with an eraser. They were asked to draw a picture of themselves having a headache, showing where the pain was, what the pain felt like, and any other changes or symptoms that occurred before or during the headache. When children complained of having > 1 type of headache, they drew a separate picture for each type (235 drawings). 2 pediatric neurologists who were blinded to the children’s clinical history analyzed the drawings. The diagnostic standard was a usual clinical evaluation including history, physical examination, formulation, and clinical diagnosis by a neurologist who did not view the drawings.