This immensely practical book provides child clinicians with essential information and guidance for conducting evaluations and writing virtually any kind of clinical report. An accessible one-stop reference, it helps the reader collect pertinent information from children, parents, and teachers; organize evaluation results into a high-quality report; choose just the right wording, terms, and phrases to express findings and describe tests used; and develop appropriate treatment plans. Special features include interview questions, developmental milestones, sample reports and report formats, treatment planning tips for particular disorders, and lists of commonly used medications and abbreviations. The book also contains reproducible consent forms, questionnaires, and other ready-to-use tools, all in a convenient large-size format.

Reviews

"What an incredible resource! Braaten has written what is clearly the most comprehensive child assessment handbook available. This indispensable book carefully walks the clinician through the entire assessment process and covers all conceivable areas of inquiry. This is an essential guide for the beginning practitioner and one that is sure to become a mainstay on every child clinician's bookshelf."

-Lee A. Rosén, PhD, Psychological Services Center and Department of Psychology, Colorado State University

"Braaten has crafted a much-needed clinical and educational resource. This book is packed with information on child psychopathology, psychometrics, and treatment that is essential to understanding and presenting evaluation results. In addition to its clinical utility, the book provides invaluable tools for beginning and advanced graduate students in cognitive, personality, and neuropsychological assessment courses and clinical practica. Given the particular challenges of teaching report writing, this guide will be extremely useful in helping students interpret test data and generate reports that are integrated, well written, and helpful to clients and their families."
-Steven R. Smith, PhD, Department of Counseling, Clinical, and School Psychology, University of California, Santa Barbara

"This book will be of considerable value for graduate students, interns, and residents who are learning to diagnose and make recommendations for children referred for mental health or developmental evaluation. Braaten demystifies the process by making the underlying techniques crystal clear, and by offering guidance for collecting and organizing needed clinical data."
-Dennis K. Norman, EdD, Department of Psychology, Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital

Contents

1. Questions for Conducting a Psychological Evaluation of a Child or Adolescent
   1. Beginning the Interview
   2. Questions for Parents on Signs, Symptoms, and Behavior Patterns
   3. Observation Procedures and Questions for Children and Adolescents
   4. Questions for Teachers or Other Professionals
   5. The Formal Mental Status Exam with Children and Adolescents
   6. Ending the Interview
2. Standard Terms and Statements for Wording Psychological Reports
   A. Introducing the Report
   
7. Beginning the Report
8. Reasons for Referral
   B. Background and History
   
9. History of Current and Past Symptoms
10. Medical and Psychiatric Background Information
11. Developmental and Family History
12. Academic and School History
    C. The Child or Adolescent in the Evaluation
    
13. Behavioral Observations
14. Attitude toward Testing
15. Affective Symptoms and Mood/Anxiety Disorders
16. Childhood Behavioral and Cognitive Disorders
    D. The Child or Adolescent in the Environment
    
17. Home and Family
18. School
19. Social and Work Relationships, Recreational Activities
    E. Test Results
    
20. General Guidelines for Presenting Test Results in a Report
21. Tests of Intellectual Functioning
22. Achievement Measures
23. Tests of Language Functioning
24. Memory Tests
25. Tests of Visual-Spatial and Motor Skills
26. Measures of Executive and Neuropsychological Functioning
27. Measures of Emotional and Personality Functioning
28. Behavior Rating Scales and Tests of Adaptive Functioning
    F. Ending the Report
    
29. Diagnostic Statements/Impressions
30. Summary of Findings and Conclusions
31. Recommendations
32. Closing Statements