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A psychological evaluation is an assessment that is conducted by a professional to check whether the person is facing any mental problems or not. James who is an 8 year 4-month-old British Caucasian child is studying in the third year at St. John's Scholl in Wiltshire. James's parents are following their divorce proceeding which is considered an important event for a child's life at a young age. James's parents were very much concerned about the mental and social condition of James. The repeated aggressive behavior and disobedience was the main reason behind his parent's concern. The purpose of this evaluation is to analyze the mental condition and social well-being of James. Various tools and procedures are used for this evaluation "Critical Interview" was considered the most essential tool as discussed in this report. His behavioral issues, and the experience of difficulty in reading, and writing is the main concern for James's parents. Here are various issues and assessment procedures discussed in the following report. His analysis of the problems that James is facing with his sounds and his numbers, especially with her mathematics indicates his reason to be Dyslexia and Dyscalculia. The analysis of his special education needs and the best ways to reduce the impact are discussed in the following report.
Assessment procedure
The psychological assessments include broader goals and clinical tools (Dror and Murrie, 2018). Clinical skills are also required to interpret the data and synthesize the results. These assessment procedures include tests of intelligence, tests of achievements, tests of aptitude, and tests of interest, which provide data about the mental and social well-being condition of James. The following are the list of tests that are conducted for the evaluation:
Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-4)
The PEBL Psychological Test Battery for Children
Clinical Interview
Child behavior checklist for children ages 6-18
Children's Behavior Questionnaire
Gray Oral Reading Test
Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales
Behavior Assessment System for Children
These are the different methods that are used for the assessment of the mental and social well-being of James. These are the different methods that are used for analyzing the learning disability, disability in reading, anxiety level, and OCD which are observed in the children facing dyslexia and dyscalculia.
Background Information
In this part of the report information regarding James, family, and social, legal, medical, and family mental health is considered. The assessment of all these factors is made by synthesizing the results of the assessment.
Information about James
James is an 8 year 4 months old British Caucasian male child. James is studying in their third year at St. John's School in Wiltshire.
Family context
James's parents were following the divorce proceedings which showed that his parents are not sharing good terms between themselves. This is the main reason behind the normative functioning of James.
Complaints and symptoms
Repeatedly aggressive behavior and disobedience, breaking rules with the home environment, smashing objects, and spitting on his parents were some of the complaints about James. She was also having difficulties in reading and writing. James was not able to establish the connection between the letters and the sound. Which are considered as the symptoms of dyslexia and dyscalculia. A clinical interview was conducted to gather this information about James's condition. The interview included the Children's Behavior Questionnaire which was asked of the teacher, parents, and peers (Frohn, 2017). James's parents and teachers provided the most valuable information regarding James' personal and academic behaviors.
Relevant personal history
The problem has been faced by James for several months. The increase in aggressive behavior was also observed by James's teacher who considers the main reason for this is that James is not able to express his feelings and is unable to calm down. This issue has been faced by James for the last several months till now which is the reason behind James being prescribed psychological testing and treatment intervention. The divorce proceeding which is running onset is also an issue causing this mental and social illness for James.
Academic history
James's learning was affected because of the disability in reading and writing. He is unable to adopt the relationship between letters and sounds. Misspelling words and continuous reading errors are the issues James has been facing in his academics for the last several months. James is not able to blend the sounds to make words. James is also facing difficulties in math as he is not able to organize and memorize the numbers and signs which is degrading his mathematics skills. James's parents are concerned as the problem seems to be increasing and this may result in a learning disability for James. Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-4) is used to analyze the mental condition of James (OKADA, 2017). This was very essential to evaluate the intellectual ability of the child. This procedure provides the idea about verbal comprehension which was observed poor as per James's academic history. Gray's oral reading test was also used to check the verbal speaking ability James had which will provide a better idea about James's learning and speaking ability (Brown, 2017).
Quality of interaction
James was not having good-quality interactions with their peers, family members, and teachers. The post-divorce processing of James's parents was not providing them with the time they should spend with their child. This is the reason parents were not having quality interaction with James. Lack of friends and aggressive rule-breaking behavior in the school shows the impact on interactions with peers and teachers. Some of these behaviors observed in James are considered adaptive behaviors and this is the reason Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales and Behavior Assessment System for Children is used for testing and analyzing the level of impact that is affecting James's social interaction and well-being (Farmer et al. 2020).
Social History
James was becoming aggressive with friends and peers. Fighting and throwing chairs in the school indicates the aggressiveness in James's social behavior. James had too few experiences of typical social activities. James was facing dissatisfaction in a family relationship because of the divorce process of his parents. This is the reason James is not having good quality interaction with friends and family.
Prior psychological condition
The recent aggressiveness in the behavior and disability in reading and writing is observed in James's behavior in the last several months. This is the prior psychological condition observed in James' behavior. The learning disability was indicated in the symptoms of dyslexia and dyscalculia in James. The current version of the test Battery for Children Battery 0.8 is designed to work with the PEBL version 0.13 which is used for the evaluation of the neuropsychological, cognitive, and clinical community abilities of James. This included a wide range of computer-administered psychological tests which will provide the actual psychological condition of James (Scarpina et al. 2020).
Behavioral observations
The ongoing divorce proceedings of James's parents were affecting his present home environment. James was facing dissatisfaction due to the night terrors due to the unkind voices he heard at night while sleeping. This was observed as one of the results of the evaluation of James's home environment. The difficulties in making the connection between the letters and sounds which is affecting his ability to blend these sounds and make words. This is the reason behind the misspelling and the reading errors James is facing. Speech problem is one of the main results of evaluation which is observed in James after the mental status exams conducted. James was not able to express feelings and calm the anger down which was affecting his social behavior as well.
Aggressiveness in the behavior and the night terrors James is facing are also the results of the behavioral evaluation and mental tests. The night terrors and hearing of the unkind voices are the reasons for dreams and hallucinations. James was facing issues of hallucination which is the main reason behind the screams and thrashes disturbing the night sleep. Based on James's behavior and his apparent effort and cooperation the test results are likely to be an assessment of James's present behavioral functioning and potential functions as well (Slade, 2019).
Results of evaluation
This section includes the interpretation of the data which is collected from the history, mental status exam, and the behavioral observations of James.
Cognitive Functioning
James's performance on the WISC-4 places him in the borderline range of intellectual functioning. The general intelligence of James is higher than 11% of the children of his age. The current implications are observed that James was developing poor general ability. The seven indexes are used in the WISC-4 which are integrated to analyze James's mental condition. This is one of the most appropriate ways to check the impact of the learning disability and environmental issues in his family (OKADA, 2017). The results of the WISC-4 show that James had a very poor mental condition. The IQ and the index scores which are below the average show that James was mentally weak than the other children of his age. There were signs of anxiety while adapting to the environmental conditions of James's home.
Achievement tests
The clinical interview provides an idea about James's behavior towards his parents, teachers, and friends. The critical interview included the interaction with James's parents and teachers which provided the detail about his behaviors. The PEBL was used to analyze the psychological behavior of James towards his family and peers. The behavioral assessments and Gray's oral test were used to analyze James's behavior and his reading and writing abilities. This provided a clear idea about the issues which he faces in math. The results of these assessments show that James had very poor overall cognitive functioning.
Social-emotional functioning
James was not able to develop a friendly nature which is essential for a child. The most important factor was the condition of the relationship James's parents were sharing. The ongoing divorce proceedings were one of the reasons for this unworthy home environment. Children do not choose their environment. Therefore, parents play the most vital role in the creation of the environment in the house.
James was not able to calm down easily and was also not able to express his feelings which indicated poor self-control of his emotions. James still shares his problems with his parents and family which shows that James's empathic ability is very stable. James's weak emotional ability and increased aggressiveness are the main reasons that are affecting James's social-emotional functioning.
James is very aggressive and is observed spitting on his parents. The fights with friends in school and also throwing chairs at them show James's predominant mood. With the help of the Vineland behavior adaptive scales, it was analyzed that James had a high level of anxiety. The current situation shows that James is not able to generate a relationship between the sounds and the words. Which is affecting his reading and writing skills and especially the mathematical ability of James.
Recommendations
Providing James with flexible academic scheduling is one of the most effective ways to support his educational needs. Another intervention that is needed is the individualization of the educational plans for James. Providing the teachers and the staff with the best form of education related to learning disability handling is the most essential step which is needed to be taken in the school. The therapist needs to take James's emotional feelings into account in an effective manner to support his ability (Nasir and Efendi, 2017).
The psychological treatment for children with such symptoms and learning disabilities is warranted. Specifically, issues related to reading and writing which is a kind of learning disability with high intensity are affecting James's social well-being and education. The intervention treatment is needed to reduce the impact of the disabilities on James. 3 months in the expected duration for this intervention treatment. If the results stay the same or degrade then hospitalization is warranted based on the mental exam report.
References
Dror, I.E. and Murrie, D.C., 2018. A hierarchy of expert performance applied to forensic psychological assessments. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 24(1), p.11.
Frohn, S.R., 2017. An evaluation and revision of the children's behavior questionnaire effortful control scales.
OKADA, S., 2017. Factor structures of the Japanese version of WISC-4 and cognitive profiles of children with autism spectrum disorder.: Investigation of ASD subtypes based on Cattel-Horn-Carol theory factors. In 39th Annual Conference of the International School Psychology Association (Manchester, UK) (p. 223).
Brown, R., 2017. Comparison of the Orton-Gillingham and a Web-based Program in Children with Reading Difficulties. ARCHIVOS DE MEDICINA, 3(3), p.12.
Farmer, C., Adedipe, D., Bal, V.H., Chlebowski, C. and Thurm, A., 2020. Concordance of the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales, second and third editions. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 64(1), pp.18-26.
Scarpina, F., D'Agata, F., Priano, L. and Mauro, A., 2020. Difference Between Young and Old Adults' Performance on the Psychology Experiment Building Language (PEBL) Test Battery: What Is the Role of Familiarity With Technology in Cognitive Performance? Assessment, p.1073191120918010.
Nasir, M.N.A. and Efendi, A.N.A.E., 2017. Special education for children with disabilities in Malaysia: Progress and obstacles Muhamad Nadhir Abdul Nasir. Geografia-Malaysian Journal of Society and Space, 12(10).
Slade, P.D., 2019. Psychological treatment of auditory hallucinations: focusing or distraction? In Cognitive-behavioural interventions with psychotic disorders (pp. 45-70). Routledge.
