Psychological Assessment of Child and Adolescent Disorders

CLI PA604 - Psychological Assessment of Child and Adolescent Disorders

Credits: 3

This practice-oriented course will teach the administration, scoring, and interpretation of several psychological measures designed for use with children and adolescents, including those of behavioral adjustment, cognition (intellectual ability, memory and executive functions), adaptive behavior, emotions, and personality.  Procedures used to assess some disorders will be taught at the mastery level; these include Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), intellectual disorders, and the childhood or adolescent variants of depressive disorders, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorders, eating disorders, psychosis, and substance use disorders, among others.  Procedures used to assess other disorders will be presented at the introductory level, with students being taught the standards for a competent assessment and for referral to other specialists but not direct evaluation; these include autism spectrum disorders and learning disorders.  The course will also cover methods of integrated report-writing and providing oral feedback of test results to children, families, and educators.  The proper use and misuse of tests with Black, Latino, immigrant, and English Language Learner clients will be emphasized.  The focus will be on those assessment measures that are not taught or are introduced but not taught fully in other courses. Overlap with pre-requisite courses will be minimized through close coordination among instructors.