Blog

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Making Assessments Fair Using the Principles of Universal Design

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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ADHD in the Justice System: Underdiagnosed and Underserved

Individuals with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) may deal with symptoms such as inattention, disorganization, hyperactivity (often seen as restlessness in adults), and/or impulsivity. Symptoms of ADHD often continue into adulthood, causing challenges in social, academic, and professional functioning (American Psychiatric Association, 2022). Research suggests that ADHD occurs in most cultures in...

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Performance Validity Testing: Youth Assessment in Public Safety Settings

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 child or adolescent has given their best effort during assessment is critical to the accuracy of test score interpretation. This need has long been recognized in...

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The Sofa is Mocking Me and Other Tests of Resilience

“Summer,” for me, the word brings with it visions of long lazy days, sunshine, and splashing at the pool. Almost as soon as it starts, I also feel the existential dread that it will end too soon. This feeling is one many of my fellow educators share. Summer never seems...

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A red paper cutout of a child with their hands up. The background behind the cutout is a mountain landscape. The Conners 4th Edition logo is on the right side of the image.

Conners 4th Edition is Now Available!

MHS is excited to announce the highly anticipated release of the Conners 4th Edition (Conners 4™). Conners 4 is a revision of Conners 3rd Edition (Conners 3®), the world’s leading Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) assessment. This newest edition of the tool is rooted in 50 years of research on...

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The 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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How To Prevent Emotional Burnout Among Correctional Staff

Emotional exhaustion or burnout experienced due to work overload harms employees and the organizations that employ them (Lin, 2013). As Maslach and Leiter (2008) pointed out, emotional "...exhaustion is not something that is simply experienced… it prompts actions to distance oneself emotionally and cognitively from one's work, presumably as a...

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Providing Equal and Appropriate Mental Health Care to Marginalized Groups

National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month is observed each July, bringing awareness to the unique struggles that racial and ethnic minority communities face regarding mental illness in the United States. The COVID-19 pandemic negatively affected many people's mental health and created new barriers for people who experience mental illness and...

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