Andy: A Story of Screening and Referral

In this unit, you are introduced to the clinical psychology, counseling psychology, and neuropsychology branches of psychology. While these three specialty areas share overlap with goals for clients and the tools they employ in the process of assessment, they each have unique content knowledge and skill they acquired through training and provide differentiated roles and services. Subsequently, the referring concern and the needs of an individual will likely indicate which professional may be best suited to complete the assessment.

In Units 6 through 9, you have studied different applications of tests and measurements in a variety of settings and specialty areas. Regardless of the specialization, it is likely that at some time, a psychologist will have a client with one of the referral concerns including possible neurological problems. In this unit, you read about psychologists using a standard battery to gather information on an individual from a variety of tests and instruments as a means of screening for a neurological deficit. A minimum amount of testing for an adequate neuropsychological screening includes an intelligence test, a personality test, and a perceptual, motor, or memory test.

In this discussion, you will refer to the following case study to answer the questions in Part 1 and Part 2 of this activity. Andy was referred to you, a psychologist.

Case Study

Details:

• Name: Andrew “Andy” Davis.
• Age: 6 years, 0 months.
• Mother: Emily Davis, single parent.
• Sibling: Molly.
• Recent changes: Relocation to a smaller house, father abandoned family.
• Referral concerns (reported by mother): Frequent intense imaginative play, significantly reduced social interactions, talks to self in his room, destroys toys (for example, rips arms of dolls), falls frequently, and concerns that he fell down stairs (with no open head injury) at the new house (that is, Andy reported falling down and off staircase railing).

Part 1

Based on this referral information, what would be the three tests you would include in a standard battery for screening purposes that include neurological concerns?

You may use, as a guide, the same test list that was provided to you in Unit 2. You are allowed to choose tests outside of those on the list. This task will allow you to review tests covered in earlier units of this course, as well as some that are introduced in this unit. However, remember to address a minimum of three recommended areas of assessment for a screening of this type. Be sure to take into consideration age range appropriate for the tests and instruments you select. Then, provide an explanation for using each instrument and how it connects to your working hypothesis on Andy and his mother’s concerns.

Part 2

You complete your evaluation using the three (or more) tests in your standard battery and obtain signs signaling that a more thorough neuropsychological evaluation is recommended. Subsequently, Andy is referred to Dr. Woody Pride, a neuropsychologist. Dr. Pride decides to administer Andy the Brief Neuropsychological Cognitive Examination (BNCE) published by WPS since it can be administered in one sitting and reports that it minimizes reading skills to complete it.

Based on this information from Dr. Pride, and after conducting your own research on this test selection, determine if this is an appropriate test to obtain additional data on Andy regarding neuropsychological concerns. If it is appropriate, then state that and provide your rationale for supporting this as a test selection. If it is not appropriate, then state that and provide your rationale for rejecting this as a test selection. Finally, regardless if you find the BNCE appropriate or not for Andy and the referring concerns, identify a second neuropsychological test that would be highly recommended for its use with Andy (you may select one from the list provided you in Unit 2, or another neuropsychological test battery).

As a test user, identify any AERA standards regarding The Rights and Responsibilities of Test Users, which are implicated in this case study of Andy Davis.

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