assessing children

Paediatric Cognitive Neuropsychology

Introduction to neurodevelopment

Black, J.E. (1998). How a child builds its brain: Some lessons from animal studies of neural plasticity. Preventive Medicine, 27, 168-171.

Assessment using the NEPSY-II

Stinnett, T.A., Oehler-Stinnett, J., Fuqua, D.R. & Palmer, L.S. (2002). Examination of the Underlying Structure of the Nepsy: A Developmental Neuropsychological Assessment.  Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 20, 66-82.

Attention/deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Mahone, E.M., Crocetti, D., Ranta, M.E., Gaddis, A., Cataldo, M., Slifer, K.J., Denckla, M.B. & Mostofsky, S.H. (2011). A Preliminary Neuroimaging Study of Preschool Children with ADHD. The Clinical Neuropsychologist, 25 (6), 1009–1028.

Autism & Pervasive Developmental Disorders

The trouble with autism: Delays in early identification and diagnosis
Associate Professor Cheryl Dissanayake    

Saitoh, O., Karns, C.M. & Courchesne, E. (2001). Development of the hippocampal formation from 2 to 42 years old: MRI evidence of smaller area dentate in autism. Brain, 124, 1317-1324.

Learning Disorders

Widmann, A., Schröger, E., Tervaniemi, M., Pakarinen, S. & Kujala, T. (2012). Mapping symbols to sounds: electrophysiological correlates of the impaired reading process in dyslexia. Frontiers in Language Sciences, 3.

Oppositional Defiant & Conduct disorders

Dick,D.M., Viken, R.J., Kaprio, J., Pulkkinen, L. & Rose, R.J. (2005).Understanding the Covariation Among Childhood Externalizing Symptoms: Genetic and Environmental

Influences on Conduct Disorder, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, and Oppositional Defiant Disorder Symptoms, Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 33,219-229.

Childhood Epilepsy

Ackermann, S.  & Van Toorn, R. (2011). Managing first-time seizures and epilepsy in

Children. CME, 29, 142-148.

Traumatic Brain Injury

Understanding and managing traumatic brain injury
Professor Jennie Ponsford

Resilience of people with traumatic brain injury and their carers Emeritus Professor Roger Rees   

Can psychological interventions be adapted for people with moderate to severe traumatic brain injury?
Dr Dana Wong. Dr Adam McKay and Dr Ming-Yun Hsieh

Ethical behaviour intervention for clients with a TBI: When is it OK to intervene?
Dr Brooke Froud-Cummins and Associate Professor Malcolm Hopwood

Savage, R.C. (2012). The Developing Brain after TBI: Predicting Long Term Deficits and Services for Children, Adolescents and Young Adults. North American Brain Injury Society. Retrieved 20 June 2012 from http://www.internationalbrain.org/?q=node/112

General texts

Anderson, V., Northam, E., Hendy, J. & Wrennall, J. (2001). Developmental neuropsychology: A Clinical Approach. Hove: Psychology Press.

Appleton, R. & Baldwin, T. (Eds.) (1998). Management of Brain-Injured Children. New York: Oxford University Press.

Baron, S. (2004). Neuropsychological Evaluation of the Child. New York: Oxford University Press.

Gillberg, C. (2003). Clinical Child Neuropsychiatry. Cambridge: Cambridge University press.

Johnson, M. H. (2005). Developmental cognitive neuroscience: An introduction, 2nd edition. Oxford: Blackwell.

Panteliadis, C.P. & Korinthenberg, R. (2005). Paediatric Neurology: Theory and Practice. New York: Thieme Verlag.

Helping troubled children: Seven things you should know about the origins of mental health disorders
Professor Mark Dadds  

The care team approach to helping troubled children
Christine Miller

Using play to help troubled children in the school setting
Dr Deborah Truneckova and Professor Linda L. Viney

Body image: Is it just for girls?
Assistant Professor Vivienne Lewis

Chapter 24: Projective Assessment of Adults and Children in South Africa

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Chapter 32: Qualitative approaches to career counselling

AUTHORS: M. Watson, M. McMahon

ABSTRACT: Sometimes viewed as a newcomer in the field of career psychology, qualitative career assessment has a long history that has been overshadowed by the dominant story of quantitative career assessment. This proposed book chapter explores the potential of qualitative career assessment to accommodate less tangible and therefore less measurable variables that may influence individual career development. Specifically, a qualitative approach to career assessment may be sensitive to variables such as culture, socio-economic background, barriers to career development and other contextual influences that have been less focused on in quantitative career assessment. The book chapter also considers the issue of complementarity between qualitative and quantitative career assessment from various international perspectives. This proposed chapter describes the development of a qualitative career assessment measure, My System of Career Influences (MSCI; McMahon, Patton & Watson, 2005a, b), which has been developed for use with adolescents in South Africa and Australia. The MSCI was developed according to guidelines suggested for qualitative career assessment by McMahon, Patton and Watson (2003). Subsequently, the MSCI has been translated for use with adolescents in The Netherlands, Iceland and Hong Kong. The chapter also describes the development of an adult version of the MSCI (McMahon, Watson & Patton, submitted a, b) which was trialled in Australia, England and South Africa. The chapter concludes with an overview of recent research using the MSCI on diverse South African population groups of adolescents and adults.

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Chapter 31: The IAC approach to assessment: A family consultation model of child assessment

AUTHOR: Z. Amod

ABSTRACT: Innovative assessment procedures which take into account contextual factors such as language, culture, education, socio-economic status and recent educational policy developments are needed in South Africa.  In the democratic South Africa, both Education White Paper 6 (2001) and Curriculum 2005 call for assessment practices that are less expert-driven, non-deficit focused and linked to curriculum support.  The Initial Assessment Consultation (IAC) approach, which is the focus of this chapter, encompasses and addresses such aims.  This shared problem-solving approach to child assessment has at its core a focus on collaboration with parents and caregivers as well as significant others such as teachers, with the purpose of facilitating learning and the empowerment of clients.  The approach is based on a sound philosophical and theoretical foundation and is a radical departure from the belief that assessment and intervention are discrete clinical procedures.  The IAC approach to child assessment, which represents a paradigm shift in assessment practice, was initially developed by Adelman and Taylor (1979) at the Fernald Institute at the University of California to address prevailing criticisms of conventional assessment procedures.  Over the last two decades the IAC family participation and consultation model of assessment has been adapted and implemented at the University of the Witwatersrand.  Research has supported the usefulness of this holistic and egalitarian form of assessment which mirrors the more democratic environment of post-apartheid South Africa with its strong endorsement of human rights, sensitive cross-cultural differences and its changing educational policies on assessment practice (Amod, 2003; Amod, Skuy, Sonderup and Fridjhon, 2000; Dangor, 1983; Manala, 2001; Skuy, Westaway and Hickson, 1989; Sonderup, 1998).  The post-modernistic IAC model of assessment which emphasizes interpersonal, intrapersonal and environmental transactional factors in assessment has also been perceived positively by post-graduate students who have been trained in this approach at the University of the Witwatersrand (Dangor, 1983; Warburton, 2008).

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Chapter 30: The ImPACT Neurocognitive Screening Test

AUTHORS: A. Edwards, V. Whitefield, S. Radloff

ABSTRACT: The recent development of computerized neurocognitive screening programmes has revolutionized medical management in the sports concussion arena where there is a need for mass testing of athletes, and repeat follow up testing of the concussed athlete to monitor recovery and facilitate safe return-to-play decisions.  Automated programmes of this type have the facility for more accurate evaluation on timed tasks than paper-and-pencil testing, are time and cost effective in that group testing can be undertaken, and multiple randomized versions of the tasks reduce the problem of practice effects on repeated test occasions.  In South Africa, the ImPACT test (Immediate Post Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing) that was developed within a research context at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, has been employed for clinical and research purposes since 2003, and is the only test of its type registered with the Health Professional Council of South Africa (HPCSA) for clinical use in this country.  This chapter reviews research data derived using the ImPACT test in respect of players of contact sport from school through to the professional level that attests to the clinical sensitivity of this test in the identification of subtle neurocognitive deficit in association with participation in the contact sport of rugby.  In addition, available South African normative indications in respect of the test are presented and discussed.  Finally, the potential to use the ImPACT test to facilitate medical management and increase safety within other contexts is discussed, such as screening of aviation personnel (pilots and ground control employees) on a regular basis to identify the onset of intellectual dysfunction that might have sinister consequences.

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Chapter 29: Using computerised and Internet-based testing in South Africa

AUTHOR: N. Tredoux

ABSTRACT: South Africa was an early adopter of computerised tests, with the earliest testing systems being developed in the late 1970’s. Initially computerised testing systems were developed by state-funded organisations, with some funding from the private sector. As a result of political changes in South Africa, financial support for research and development in Psychometrics in statutory organisations decreased. Psychometrics, and specifically computerised testing, was then advanced by various private commercial interests, with increasing involvement from foreign test publishers. With the development of the World Wide Web and the availability of broadband connectivity, delivery of tests and reports across the Internet became a reality.  Publishers were concerned about piracy of content and cheating by respondents who were doing the tests unsupervised.  The International Test Commission drew up guidelines for computer-based and internet-delivered testing, and these were adapted to the existing South African legislative framework and ethical guidelines for psychologist. A legal battle ensued, resulting in the repeated withdrawal and re-adopting of the South African guidelines. The main point of contention was whether or not unsupervised Internet-based testing should be allowed.  This legal battle eventually led to changes in legislation.  This chapter will discuss the regulatory framework as it currently stands.  The risks attached to different types of computerised implentations of tests will be considered, taking into account the rights of the respondent, the psychometric impact of computerisation, and the exposure for the practitioner to charges of possible misconduct. A proposal for best practice in South Africa will be formulated.

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Chapter 28: Ethical Perspectives in Assessment

AUTHOR: N. Coetzee

ABSTRACT: Psychological assessment practices in South Africa are informed by several governing bodies. Firstly, there are the codes of conduct proposed by the International Test Commission and the American Psychological Association (APA). Secondly, practitioners must adhere to statutory control in the form of the Health Professions Act 56 of 1974. Thirdly, practitioners working in organizational and institutional contexts soon discover that they must also deal with two other forms of important legislation, namely the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (1997) and the Employment Equity Act (1998). Add to this the fact that South Africa is in dire need of appropriate measures of assessment, and it soon becomes clear that practicing psychological assessment could approximate a walk through a mine-field. The aim of this chapter, however, is not to add to the sense of confusion South African practitioners currently experience, but to provide them with detailed step-by-step guidelines on how to interpret and integrate the ethical codes proposed by the International Test Commission, the APA and the Health Professions Act 56 of 1974. Discussions and guidelines on how to interpret the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (1997) and the Employment Equity Act (1998) when conducting psychological assessment within the organizational context will also be provided. Research findings of relevant South African studies on psychological assessment will be incorporated throughout the text to illustrate that, despite all the hindrances experienced by practitioners, the ethical use of psychological assessment is possible.

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Chapter 12: The Griffiths Scales in South Africa

AUTHOR/S: L. Jacklin, K. Cockcroft

ABSTRACT: The Griffiths scales were developed by Ruth Griffiths O. B. E. The Abilities of Babies was published in 1954 followed by The Abilities of Young Children in 1970.  These scales were used extensively in the United Kingdom and a variety of other countries. Eventually, it became clear that with greater exposure of children to electronic media and early childhood education that there had been acceleration in the development of children. The Griffiths scales had to be updated to keep pace with the changes. This resulted in the publication of the revision of the Birth to 2 years in 1996 and the   Extended Revised Scales for children of between 2 years and eight years in 2006 .This text will describe the history and development of the scales. The Griffiths scales are one of a variety of tests available for assessing the development of young children. What makes them unique is that they can be used to test children from birth up to the developmental age of eight years across all areas of development. They therefore give a complete profile of the development of the child. The strengths and weaknesses of the use of the Griffiths scales as a test and as a research tool in the South African context will be described. The use of the Griffiths scales is controlled by the Association for Research in Infant and Child Development (ARICD) to ensure that the test is administered by suitably trained testers. The training process is described. Assessment and the development of tools is a dynamic process. The future development of the scales is discussed.

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Chapter 10: The Learning Potential Computerised Adaptive Test (LPCAT) in South Africa

AUTHOR/S: M. de Beer

ABSTRACT: In the multicultural and multilingual South African context where differences in socio-economic and educational background and opportunities of individuals further complicate psychological assessment, the measurement of learning potential provides additional information in the cognitive domain that has shown positive results.  This chapter deals with the history of dynamic assessment internationally and locally and provides empirical results on the LPCAT that provide support for utilizing this approach in conjunction with standard tests of cognitive ability and aptitude.  It further elucidates how the use of Item Response Theory (IRT) and Computerised Adaptive Testing (CAT) addresses a number of practical and measurement issues that have been hampering the wide-scale implementation and use of dynamic assessment of learning potential in assessment in education and in industry.

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Chapter 9: Dynamic Assessment in South Africa

AUTHOR/S: Z. Amod & J. Seabi

ABSTRACT: This chapter outlines current developments in Dynamic Assessment (DA), an interactive assessment procedure that uses deliberate and planned mediational teaching and assesses of the impact of that teaching on subsequent performance. The objective of the chapter is to critically review the major criticisms of the traditional “static“ testing approach, discuss the theoretical basis of the DA approach and its relevance within the South African context, present current empirical research on the Dynamic Assessment of children, and suggest some directions for future research. The DA approach has been motivated by the inadequacy of traditional “static” tests to provide accurate information about the individual’s ability. Given that the history of “static” testing in South Africa closely resembles the racial policies of apartheid, which attempted to preserve and perpetuate social structures (Benjamin & Lomosfky, 2002), and that many of such tests have been standardized on middle class children, concerns regarding the relevance of traditional testing have been raised.  DA is presented in this chapter as an alternative approach that minimizes discriminatory approaches to the assessment of culturally different populations and facilitates a strong link between assessment and intervention.  DA is aimed at changing and modifying the individual’s cognitive structures within the assessment process. The theoretical foundations of DA are derived primarily from Vygostky’s socio-cultural theory, specifically the zone of proximal development, and Feuerstein’s Mediated Learning Experience theory. DA has been applied with different educational and clinical groups of children and adolescents both abroad and in South Africa and has been found to be more accurate in reflecting children’s learning potential. Although the DA approach has a great appeal to many professional psychologists and educators, it has not yet become a central part of prevailing practice. Major critiques leveled against the DA approach are discussed.

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