Clinical

The long-term effects of COVID-19 on cognition

According to Harvard Health Publishing, “brain fog,” a term used to describe slow and sluggish thinking, has been cited as a lasting symptom post-COVID-19 infection. The highly contagious virus has been reported to affect various aspects of an individual’s cognition, including executive function. Sam Goldstein and Dr. Jack A. Naglieri’s...

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The importance of normative comparisons in diagnosing Autism Spectrum Disorder

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by deficits in social communication and social interactions and accompanied by restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities (American Psychiatric Association, 2022). The degree to which these symptoms manifest can vary considerably across different individuals and can even differ among...

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Trust, Equity, Fairness and Bias Reduction in Assessments

Tests are gateways to opportunity. An opportunity to get mental health treatment and receive learning supports, to be selected for special academic programming. To get hired, coached, or promoted, and to guide decisions regarding risk, levels of supervision, and treatment in criminal justice settings. They are a gateway to life-changing...

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The importance of assessing executive function across the lifespan

Children and adults with problems related to executive functioning may struggle to organize materials, regulate emotions, set schedules, and stick with tasks. For example, they misplace papers, reports, and other school materials. They might have similar problems keeping track of their personal items or keeping their bedroom organized. Dr. Sam Goldstein...

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baby with parents

Changes in development milestones for children: What you need to know

Parents and professionals alike pay close attention to a child’s progress towards key developmental milestones. While the rate that a child speaks, walks, learns, and plays will certainly vary for each individual, tracking milestones is an important way to monitor potential concerns and ensure early identification of missed milestones or...

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The importance of Multi-Rater Assessments in ADHD evaluation

The Conners 4th Edition is designed to measure symptoms and impairments associated with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), along with common co-occurring problems and disorders in youth ages 6 to 18 years. It is also designed to collect this information from multiple sources including one or more parents/guardians (using the Parent form),...

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Were the Conners 4 Norms Affected by the COVID-19 Pandemic?

The COVID-19 pandemic and its associated public health response have led to the enforcement of restrictions such as physical distancing, in-person school closures, shifts to online learning, and reductions in community and school-based services and extracurricular activities. While these measures helped control the spread of COVID-19, they were unprecedented and...

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Kids

Making assessments fair using the principles of universal design: The Pediatric Performance Validity Test Suite

What is the Pediatric Performance Validity Test Suite (PdPVTS)? When a youth undergoes any kind of assessment of their cognitive skills or abilities (e.g., tests of intelligence, tests of achievement, or neuropsychological assessment), they are asked to demonstrate the upper limit of their performance. Such tests are commonly known as maximum...

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The critical need to address self-harm during youth ADHD assessment

Youth with ADHD are at a greater risk of self-harm (Simioni et al., 2017). These behaviors include non-suicidal self-injury (i.e., self-directed, deliberate harm of self in the absence of suicidal intent, such as cutting or burning), as well suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, and completed suicide (i.e., direct, self-injurious behavior with...

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