Foundations of Behavioural, Social, and Clinical Assessment of Children

Abstract

The goal of this text is to help you make effective decisions about children, particularly decisions related to their cognitive abilities and emotional and behavioral health. In order to make effective decisions, you will need to learn how to develop appropriate assessment strategies; administer, score, and interpret assessment measures; develop good interviewing and observational skills; and interpret the resulting data to make effective diagnoses and recommendations for intervention. Good assessment practices rest on a foundation of knowledge of measurement theory and statistics, child development, personality theory, child psychopathology, and ethical guidelines, as well as appropriate clinical experiences in assessment. Developing effective consultation skills is essential to providing a complete and accurate assessment picture. For example, when you evaluate a child with an autism spectrum disorder, you will need to consult and work collaboratively with physicians, speech and language pathologists, and teachers with specific knowledge about the child and the associated disabilities. In addition, it is useful to learn about appropriate interventions for each disability. (Note that in this text we use the terms child and children to refer to young people of all ages, from infancy through adolescence—that is, birth to 18 years.) (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: book)