Author - Elaina Falcone Antonello

A mother and father sit together with their child across from a practitioner. The mother talks to her son.

Diagnosing Autism Spectrum Disorder with Dr. Sam Goldstein

We sat down with Dr. Sam Goldstein, co-author of MHS’ Autism Spectrum Rating Scales™ (ASRS®), to discuss challenges that can arise when diagnosing autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and emerging trends within the clinical field related to ASD. The interview below has been edited for length and clarity. An ASD...

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A school psychologist sits with a child and takes notes as the child plays with Lego.

How School Psychologists Can Test Performance Validity

Understanding performance validity is important any time maximum performance tests are used (e.g., tests of intelligence, aptitude, achievement, and/or neuropsychological performance). Knowing if a student has given their best effort during assessment is critical to the accuracy of test score interpretation. This need has long been recognized in adults; however,...

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A mother and child sitting down with a practitioner. The mother and child are both facing the practitioner.

Performance Validity Testing and Accuracy in Assessment Practices

The necessity of including performance validity measures in neuropsychological evaluations has been understood for some time (Chafetz et al., 2015; Greher & Wodushek, 2017). One cannot draw inferences about brain-behavior relationships unless they are confident the examinee performed to the best of their ability on all assessments. Understanding performance validity...

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A police siren on top of a police car standing in a line of cars.

Five Recommendations for Minimizing Bias in Risk Assessments

The use of pre-trial risk assessment tools around the world is widespread. In fact, risk/needs assessments are mandatory for sentencing in the adult system within 20 U.S. states. Since the use of these tools is so common, questioning the potential of their impact in creating racial disparity within the justice...

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