Paradoxes in report-writing

Eighty-four percent of neuropsychologists
believe that referral sources do not, or only
occasionally read their reports.

As I've discovered from my own clinical work and in talking with other assessment psychologists, report writing is a difficult task, and is difficult on many levels. For example, it is difficult to translate technical assessment data and terms into language that non-psychologists will understand. It's also difficult to create a report that will describe the unique strengths, weaknesses, and characteristics of a particular individual, let alone in such a way that will help facilitate change. And, of course, report-writing is time-consuming.

I have recently been rethinking the way in which I write my reports, and in doing some related research, I discovered some interesting statistics. The Massachusetts Neuropsychological Society has initiated a research project, The Stakeholder's Project in Neuropsychological Report Writing, that looks at the unique perspectives of neuropsychologists, referring physicians, and families who participate in assessment on assessment reports.

Although data collection is ongoing (click here to complete the survey), the preliminary results are fascinating. On average, neuropsychologists are spending between 2 and 10 hours writing a single report, with a sizeable minority spending between 10 and 20 hours on a report, with report lengths ranging from 6 to 13 pages.

But here's the kicker - 84% of neuropsychologists feel that the individuals who refer patients for assessment don't read the assessment reports, or only read them occasionally.

What does this mean? What's to be done?

Stay tuned, there's more to come...

The Clinical Neuropsychologist Volume 27, Issue 6

Click here to see a full list of articles.

Forthcoming book on the Boston process approach to neuropsychological assessment

Over the past two years, my interest in neuropsychology and the assessment of executive functioning has increased. As I was searching the web for related topics the other day, I ran across this book, which is scheduled to be published in the next couple of days, and looks to be excellent.

The phrase Boston Process Approach refers to a particular approach to neuro-psychological assessment developed by Edith Kaplan. In contrast to traditional models of assessment, which focus on "achievement" (i.e., whether or not an individual can complete an assessment task), the Boston Process Approach focuses on "process" (i.e., the process through which an individual goes in order to complete an assessment task).

As I have learned more about the Boston Process Approach to assessment, I have been surprised to learn that many of the techniques I learned for assessing process within the fields of clinical and school psychology have their roots with Kaplan.

This book holds promise for clinical and school psychologists who want to get more from their tried and true tests, and look at assessment through new lenses.

Read more about the book at the publisher's web site:

The Boston Process Approach to Neuropsychological Assessment edited by Lee Ashendorf, Rod Swenson, and David J. Libon (Oxford University Press)

Book chapter published!

Back in 2007, Peter Weiss, a friend and fellow Rorschach enthusiast, invited JoAnne Brewster, Michael Stoloff, and me to present a paper on the use of the Rorschach in police psychology in a symposium at the Society for Personality Assessment conference. Though I thought I botched the presentation pretty badly, Peter invited us to write it up in an expanded version for an edited volume on personality assessment in police psychology.

To make a long story short (too late), the book Personality Assessment in Police Psychology: A 21st Century Perspective was just published. Though I've made a couple of attempts, our chapter Using the Rorschach Comprehensive System in Police Psychology is actually my first published work. Much more so than the symposium paper, I think the chapter turned out very nice!

Although I'm obviously biased, I actually think this is an outstanding volume and is a must-have for anyone who is either doing, or would like to be doing assessment for local police departments. Click here to check it out at Amazon, including a preview, the table of contents, etc.

Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 28 (3), 2010

A belated post as I ease my way into the blogosphere. I received a table of contents alert for the new issue of the Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment. Click here for access to abstracts, etc.

Comparison of the Bender Gestalt-II and VMI-V in Samples of Typical Children and Children with High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorders

Martin A. Volker, Christopher Lopata, Rebecca K. Vujnovic, Audrey M. Smerbeck, Jennifer A. Toomey, Jonathan D. Rodgers, Audrey Schiavo, and Marcus L. Thomeer

Discrepancy Score Reliabilities in the WAIS-IV Standardization Sample

Laura A. Glass, Joseph J. Ryan, and Richard A. Charter

Adjustment Scales for Children and Adolescents: Factorial Validity Generalization with Hispanic/Latino Youths

Gary L. Canivez and Katie Sprouls

Concurrent and Predictive Validity of the Raven Progressive Matrices and the Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test

Giulia Balboni, Jack A. Naglieri, and Roberto Cubelli

Effects of Parental Education Level on Fluid Intelligence of Philippine Public School Students

Alvin D. Vista and Tarek C. Grantham

The Reliability and Validity of a Chinese-Translated Version of the Gifted Rating Scale- Preschool/Kindergarten Form

Angela F. Y. Siu

Greek EPQ-J: Further Support for a Three-Factor Model of Personality in Children and Adolescents

Constantinos M. Kokkinos, Georgia Panayiotou, Kyriakos Charalambous, Nafsika Antoniadou, and Aggeliki Davazoglou

Test Review: Kamphaus, R. W., & Reynolds, C. R. (2006). Parenting Relationship Questionnaire. Minneapolis, MN: NCS Pearson

Danielle Rubinic and Heather Schwickrath

Book Review: Elizabeth O. Lichtenberger and Alan S. Kaufman, Essentials of WAIS-IV Assessment. New York: John Wiley, 2009. 432 pp. $46.95. ISBN 978-0-471-73846-6

S. Kathleen Krach

Book Review: L. A. Suzuki and J. G. Ponterotto (Eds.) Handbook of Multicultural Assessment: Clinical, Psychological, and Educational Applications (3rd ed.) San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2008

Norma S. Guerra

The Clinical Neuropsychologist, 24 (4), 2010

I just received a table of contents alert for the new issue of
The Clinical Neuropsychologist.
Click here to read abstracts for the articles listed below.

From the Academy
AACN's 8th Annual Conference & Workshops

Program

Abstracts for the AACN Scientific Poster Session

Clinical Issues
Evaluation of the Functional Activities Questionnaire (FAQ)
in Cognitive Screening Across Four American Ethnic Groups

Normative Data for Composite Scores for Children and Adults
Derived from the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test

Diagnostic Efficiency of an Ability-Focused Battery

Grand Rounds
Neurocognitive Profile in a Case of Maple Syrup Urine Disease

Forensic Applications
Updated meta-analysis of the MMPI-2 symptom validity scale (FBS):
Verified utility in forensic practice

Book Reviews
When Kids Grow Up: Understanding Learning Disorders In Adulthood

Clinician Alert: How to provide research-informed assessments
of adult learning disabilities and ADHD

New items in the SPA mall

The Society for Personality Assessment has just added a few fun items to their mall that allow you to drop your flag anywhere and any time. Check out their new t-shirt and sticker. Not quite as witty as I remember past merchandise to be (e.g., "L > .99: Just the facts ma'am"), but essential gear for assessment nerds everywhere for sure.