Essentials of Executive Functions Assessment E-Book

George McCloskey

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Fachliteratur
• Serie: Essentials of Psychological Assessment
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 588

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2012

Beschreibung

Written by experts in the area of executive functioning, Essentials of Executive Functions Assessment equips mental health practitioners (school, clinical, developmental/pediatric, neuropsychologists, educational diagnosticians, and educational therapists) with all the information they need to administer, score, and interpret assessment instruments that test for executive functions deficits associated with a number of psychiatric and developmental disorders.

Leseprobe

Contents

Cover Page

Essentials of Psychological Assessment Series

Title Page

Copyright

Series Preface

Acknowledgments

Chapter One: A Multidimensional Model of Executive Functions

INTRODUCTION

WHAT ARE EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS?

DEFINING EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS AS A MULTIDIMENSIONAL CONSTRUCT

DEVELOPMENT OF EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS

LOCUS OF INTENTIONALITY

EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS IN LEARNING AND PRODUCING

SUMMARY

Chapter Two: Executive Functions and Related Psychological Constructs

INTRODUCTION

EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS AND INTELLIGENCE

EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS AND ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT

EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS AND MOTOR FUNCTIONING

EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS AND SOCIAL /EMOTIONAL FUNCTIONING

EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS AND ADAPTIVE FUNCTIONING

EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS AND CLINICAL DIAGNOSES

SUMMARY

Chapter Three: A Framework for the Assessment of Executive Functions

INTRODUCTION

CURRENT STATE OF THE ART IN EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS ASSESSMENT

MOVING BEYOND THE CURRENT STATE OF THE ART IN EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS ASSESSMENT

A GENERAL FRAMEWORK FOR EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS ASSESSMENT

CONDUCTING EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS ASSESSMENTS

SUMMARY

Chapter Four: Assessment of Executive Functions Using Clinical Assessment Interviews, Records Review, and Behavior Observations

INTRODUCTION

CLINICAL INTERVIEW METHODS

CONDUCTING INTERVIEWS

CONDUCTING INTERVIEWS WITH ADULTS WHO KNOW THE CHILD

CONDUCTING INTERVIEWS WITH THE CHILD

CAUTIONS RELATED TO THE USE OF INTERVIEW ASSESSMENT METHODS

BACKGROUND INFORMATION AND RECORDS REVIEWS

BEHAVIOR OBSERVATIONS ACROSS MULTIPLE SETTINGS

SUMMARY

Chapter Five: Assessment of Executive Functions Using Tests of Cognition

INTRODUCTION

PRINCIPLES UNDERLYING DIRECT ASSESSMENT OF EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS

DIRECT FORMAL ASSESSMENT OF EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS

INTERPRETATION OF DIRECT FORMAL TESTS USING CASCADING PRODUCTION ANALYSIS

CASCADING PRODUCTION DECREMENTS

CASCADING PRODUCTION INCREMENTS

PARADOXICAL CASCADING PRODUCTION INCREMENTS AND EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS—APLS DISSOCIATIONS

CAUTIONS RELATED TO INTERPRETATION OF EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS DEFICITS USING FORMAL COGNITIVE TESTS

DIRECT INFORMAL ASSESSMENT OF EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS—THE PROCESS APPROACH

STRUCTURED INFORMAL METHODS FOR EMPLOYING THE PROCESS APPROACH

CAUTIONS RELATED TO INTERPRETATION OF EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS DEFICITS USING DIRECT INFORMAL METHODS

SUMMARY

Chapter Six: Assessment of Executive Functions Using Tests of Academic Skills

INTRODUCTION

INVOLVEMENT OF EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS WITH BASIC ACADEMIC SKILLS

EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS INVOLVEMENT IN READING

EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS INVOLVEMENT IN WRITTEN EXPRESSION

EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS INVOLVEMENT IN THE USE OF MATHEMATICS SKILLS

DIRECT FORMAL ASSESSMENT OF EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS INVOLVED IN ACADEMIC FUNCTIONING

ASSESSMENT OF EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS INVOLVEMENT IN ACADEMIC SKILLS TESTS USING CASCADING PRODUCTION ANALYSIS

DIRECT INFORMAL ASSESSMENT OF EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS INVOLVED IN ACADEMIC FUNCTIONING

LEARNING AND PRODUCING DIFFICULTIES REVISITED

EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS AND ACADEMIC PRODUCTION IN THE UPPER GRADES

CONNECTING COGNITIVE ASSESSMENT OF EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS WITH ACADEMIC PRODUCTION

SUMMARY

Chapter Seven: Assessment of Executive Functions Using Behavior Rating Scales

INTRODUCTION

RATING SCALES AND WHAT THEY MEASURE

USING THE BRIEF INVENTORIES AS FORMAL MEASURES OF EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS

INTERPRETATION OF THE BRIEF NORM-REFERENCED SCORES

BRIEF GLOBAL COMPOSITE LEVEL INTERPRETATION

BRIEF INDEX LEVEL INTERPRETATION

BRIEF SCALE-LEVEL INTERPRETATION

BRIEF SCALE-LEVEL INTERPRETATION INVOLVING MULTIPLE RATERS

LIMITATIONS OF SCALE-LEVEL INTERPRETATION OF THE BRIEF VERSIONS

USING OTHER RATING SCALES AS IMPLICIT FORMAL MEASURES OF EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS

USING THE BRIEF INVENTORIES AS INFORMAL MEASURES OF EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS

ITEM RESPONSE PROFILES WITHIN SCALES

ITEM CLUSTER INTERPRETATION WITHIN BRIEF SCALES

ITEM CLUSTER INTERPRETATION ACROSS ALL BRIEF SCALES

USING OTHER RATING SCALES AS IMPLICIT INFORMAL MEASURES OF EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS

SUMMARY

Chapter Eight: Reporting Executive Functions Assessment Results

INTRODUCTION

STRUCTURING REPORTS

ANNOTATED CASE EXAMPLE

PSYCHOEDUCATIONAL EVALUATION REPORT

GEORGE MCCLOSKEY, PHD

CURRENT EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM

REASON FOR REFERRAL/PURPOSE OF REPORT

ASSESSMENT PROCEDURES

RECORDS REVIEW AND HISTORY

INFORMATION FROM THE PARENTS

INFORMATION FROM SCHOOL STAFF

CLASSROOM OBSERVATIONS

ASSESSMENT SESSION BEHAVIOR OBSERVATIONS

SUMMARY OF COGNITIVE ABILITIES AND ACADEMIC SKILL DEVELOPMENT REASONING ABILITIES

REASONING WITH ORALLY PRESENTED VERBAL INFORMATION

REASONING WITH NONVERBAL VISUAL MATERIAL

LANGUAGE ABILITIES

RECEPTIVE LANGUAGE ABILITY

EXPRESSIVE LANGUAGE ABILITY

BASIC LANGUAGE PROCESSES; FLUENCY AND SPEED

MEMORY CAPACITIES APPLIED WITH AUDITORILY PRESENTED VERBAL INFORMATION

INITIAL REGISTRATION OF VERBAL INFORMATION (IMMEDIATE MEMORY) AND HOLDING AND MANIPULATING VERBAL INFORMATION (WORKING MEMORY)

RETRIEVAL OF VERBAL INFORMATION FROM LONG-TERM STORAGE

VISUAL PROCESSING

EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS

EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS EVALUATION DURING ASSESSMENT SESSIONS

EXECUTIVE CONTROL OF BASIC ATTENTION AND EFFORT DURING ASSESSMENT SESSIONS

EXECUTIVE DIRECTION OF THE USE OF REASONING ABILITIES DURING ASSESSMENT SESSIONS

EXECUTIVE CONTROL OF VERBAL FLUENCY

EXECUTIVE CONTROL OF VISUOSPATIAL/VISUOMOTOR PROCESSING

INFORMATION FROM PARENT AND TEACHER BEHAVIOR RATINGS

SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL FUNCTIONING

ACADEMIC FUNCTIONING

READING SKILLS

WORD RECOGNITION

DECODING SKILLS

READING SPEED AND READING FLUENCY

PARAGRAPH READING COMPREHENSION

WRITTEN EXPRESSION SKILLS

GRAPHOMOTOR PRODUCTION (LETTER WRITING)

SENTENCE WRITING FLUENCY

SPELLING REAL WORDS FROM DICTATION

MATH SKILLS

MATH FLUENCY

SUMMARY OF ASSESSMENT

CONCLUSIONS

ADDENDUM TO THE INITIAL REPORT

RECOMMENDATIONS

WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE FOR ALAN (RECOMMENDATIONS FOR EDUCATIONAL INTERVENTIONS) AND WHO CAN DO WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE FOR ALAN?

SUMMARY

References

About the Authors

Index

About the CD-ROM

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

USING THE CD WITH WINDOWS

USING THE CD WITH A MAC

WHAT'S ON THE CD

CONTENT

APPLICATIONS

SOFTWARE CAN BE OF THE FOLLOWING TYPES

TROUBLESHOOTING

CUSTOMER CARE

CUSTOMER NOTE: IF THIS BOOK IS ACCOMPANIED BY SOFTWARE, PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING BEFORE OPENING THE PACKAGE

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Series Editors, Alan S. Kaufman and Nadeen L. Kaufman

Essentials of 16 PF® Assessment

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Essentials of Assessment Report Writing

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Essentials of Assessment with Brief Intelligence Tests

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Essentials of Autism Spectrum Disorders Evaluation and Assessment

by Celine A. Saulnier and Pamela E. Ventola

Essentials of Bayley Scales of Infant Development–II Assessment

by Maureen M. Black and Kathleen Matula

Essentials of Behavioral Assessment

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Essentials of Career Interest Assessment

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Essentials of CAS Assessment

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Essentials of Cognitive Assessment with KAIT and Other Kaufman Measures

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Essentials of Cross-Battery Assessment, Third Edition

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Essentials of Dyslexia Assessment and Intervention

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Essentials of Evidence-Based Academic Interventions

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Essentials of Executive Functions Assessment

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Essentials of Forensic Psychological Assessment, Second Edition

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Essentials of IDEA for Assessment Professionals

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Essentials of Individual Achievement Assessment

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Essentials of NEPSY®-II Assessment

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Essentials of Neuropsychological Assessment, Second Edition

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Essentials of Nonverbal Assessment

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Essentials of PAI® Assessment

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Essentials of Processing Assessment

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Essentials of Rorschach® Assessment

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Essentials of School Neuropsychological Assessment, Second Edition

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Essentials of Specific Learning Disability Identification

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Essentials of Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales (SB5) Assessment

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Essentials of TAT and Other Storytelling Assessments, Second Edition

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Essentials of Temperament Assessment

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Essentials of WAIS ®-IV Assessment, Second Edition

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Essentials of WISC ®-IV Assessment, Second Edition

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Essentials of WMS®-IV Assessment

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Essentials of WNV ™ Assessment

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:

McCloskey, George. Essentials of executive functions assessment/George McCloskey and Lisa A. Perkins. p. cm. — (Essentials of psychological assessment series) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-470-42202-1 (paper/cd-rom); ISBN 978-1-118-28517-6 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-28367-7 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-28183-3 (ebk) 1. Executive ability in children. 2. Self-management (Psychology) for children. I. Perkins, Lisa A. II. Title. BF723.E93M33 2012 150.28′7—dc22

2012022593

Series Preface

In the Essentials of Psychological Assessment series, we have attempted to provide the reader with books that will deliver key practical information in the most efficient and accessible style. The series features instruments in a variety of domains, such as cognition, personality, education, and neuropsychology. For the experienced clinician, books in the series will offer a concise yet thorough way to master utilization of the continuously evolving supply of new and revised instruments, as well as a convenient method for keeping up to date on the tried-and-true measures. The novice will find here a prioritized assembly of all the information and techniques that must be at one's fingertips to begin the complicated process of individual psychological diagnosis.

Wherever feasible, visual shortcuts to highlight key points are utilized alongside systematic, step-by-step guidelines. Chapters are focused and succinct. Topics are targeted for an easy understanding of the essentials of administration, scoring, interpretation, and clinical application. Theory and research are continually woven into the fabric of each book, but always to enhance clinical inference, never to sidetrack or overwhelm. We have long been advocates of “intelligent” testing—the notion that a profile of test scores is meaningless unless it is brought to life by the clinical observations and astute detective work of knowledgeable examiners. Test profiles must be used to make a difference in the child's or adult's life, or why bother to test? We want this series to help our readers become the best intelligent testers they can be.

The contents of this book represent a state-of-the-art approach to the assessment of executive functions based on a comprehensive theoretical model developed by the lead author. In his efforts to understand executive functions and how to assess them, Dr. McCloskey has researched a broad array of specialty fields to craft a comprehensive model to serve as a guide for assessment practices. The development of such a theory was deemed necessary as the constructs to be assessed must be clearly defined before valid assessment procedures can be specified. Although the behavior rating scales currently available for the assessment of executive functions touch on a broader range of executive-function dimensions, they do not provide full coverage of the comprehensive model and have their own set of methodological limitations.

Considering the current state of the art in the assessment of executive functions, McCloskey and Perkins have gone well beyond these current practices to provide a comprehensive assessment framework that places equal emphasis on a wide variety of techniques for assessing executive functions, including clinical interviews of parents, teachers, and students; formal and informal approaches to interpretation of individually administered norm-referenced assessment; and formal and informal approaches to the interpretation of behavior rating-scale results, records reviews, and behavior observations. This book introduces a number of unique methods and techniques, such as including the use of cascading production analyses of norm-referenced measures and the use of implicit measures of executive functions.

Because of the need to construct a comprehensive theory of executive functions to guide assessment, the book devotes the first three chapters to defining executive functions, discussing how executive functions are inextricably interwoven into the structure of multiple psychological assessment constructs, and constructing a multidimensional framework for the assessment of executive functions. The next four chapters discuss specific approaches to executive function assessment in the order in which they are typically encountered in the natural progression of a psychological evaluation. The primary emphasis is on the use of the BRIEF—the only norm-referenced rating scale currently available for the specific purpose of obtaining behavior ratings from children and their parents and teachers. The book includes a CD-ROM that provides tools for enhancing assessment efforts and samples of assessment reports. The breadth and depth of content provided in this book offer clinicians a cutting-edge perspective on the assessment of the executive functions of child and adolescent clients that is sure to enhance their assessment skills and promote best practices.

Alan S. Kaufman, PhD, and Nadeen L. Kaufman, EdD, Series EditorsYale Child Study Center, School of Medicine

Acknowledgments

My sincerest thanks are offered to the many individuals who helped make this book a reality, especially the following:

—Dr. Alan Kaufman, who invited me to write this book for the series and who has offered me encouragement and invaluable support not just throughout the preparation of this manuscript but also throughout my entire career as a psychologist. In 1979, before meeting Dr. Kaufman, his book Intelligent Testing with the WISC-R offered me the first glimpses of how to apply concepts from cognitive psychology and neuropsychology to the clinical practice of school psychology. A few short years later, Dr. Kaufman welcomed me into the AGS work community with an open mind and shared with me many insights into test development. Since my departure from AGS, Dr. Kaufman has continued to share his knowledge and support over many decades, and for that I am truly thankful.

—The late Dr. Edith Kaplan, who provided me with many opportunities to learn from her vast knowledge and insights about executive functions, to collaborate on workshop presentations, and to experience her generosity of spirit and her friendship.

—Dr. Lisa Perkins, who once again agreed to sacrifice her time and lend her considerable clinical expertise and discerning mind to assist me with the preparation of this manuscript.

—Drs. Matt Schure, Bob Cozzolino, Bob DiTomaso, and Roe Mennuti for their exemplary leadership of the academic community at PCOM and for creating the academic environment that enabled me to pursue this project concurrent with my teaching and research duties at the university.

—Dr. John Wasserman who over many years shared with me his insights into neuropsychology, reviewed and discussed with me at length the first draft of this book, and provided invaluable feedback and encouragement.

—Kathleen Radetich and Anna Stollar, EdS, graduates of the PCOM school psychology program, who assisted with BRIEF data file preparation critical to the initial analyses and subsequent development of the BRIEF item cluster analysis procedures presented in Chapter 7.

—The many participants of my workshops and the PsyD and EdS students at PCOM. Over many years, they have taught me much and offered information, insights, and challenging questions that have made me work harder to find answers, clarify perspectives, and improve my knowledge and skills.

—The children with whom I have worked over the years and their parents, who placed trust and faith in my ability to help improve the educational experiences of their children and the quality of life for all family members.

—Marquita Flemming, my editor, Sherry Wasserman, Rose Sullivan, and the other members of the editorial and production staffs at Wiley, who worked so hard to get this book to press as quickly as possible after waiting patiently for so long to receive it from me. My favorite adage regarding how long things will take certainly applies here: “Not forever, just longer than you'd like.”

—Finally, but most importantly, I would like to thank my wife, Laurie, and my sons, Michael, Nathan, and Matthew, for their patience, love, and support throughout this process. My wife, Laurie, a capable and compassionate teacher with elementary, secondary, and special education training and teaching experience, has always been there to help me think through difficult concepts and situations and to do the right things for children, parents, and educators. My sons, Michael, Nathan, and Matthew, have been a constant source of joy and inspiration over the years. They, and their friends who have spent time in our home, have taught me much about brain development and how children do, and sometimes do not, make use of their executive functions in daily life.

—GM

My sincerest thanks go to Andy Perkins: For his continued love, enduring patience, and steadfast encouragement and to Dr. George McCloskey: for his generosity in sharing his considerable knowledge about executive function use and disuse in children, for his confidence in my professional expertise, and for his friendship.

—LAP

Chapter One

A MULTIDIMENSIONAL MODEL OF EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS

INTRODUCTION

This introductory chapter offers a multidimensional definition of executive functions and a discussion of several topics related to executive functions development and use. These discussions are important for developing a common understanding of the authors' theoretical perspective on the multidimensional construct of executive functions and the assessment concepts and methods that are discussed in detail in the remainder of this book.

WHAT ARE EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS?

Although the term executive functions has been in use for several decades now, there is great variation in how the construct has been defined (Jurado & Roselli, 2007). Rapid Reference 1.1 lists elements of executive functions definitions offered by various authors in the fields of cognitive psychology, neuropsychology, neuroscience, human development, and education. The diversity of definitions presents a challenge for authors attempting to write a book on the assessment of executive functions. Effective assessment of a psychological construct hinges on effective operational definition of the construct to be assessed (Anastasi & Urbina, 2009; Kline, 2000; McDonald, 1999; Nunnaly & Bernstein, 1994). How then does one accomplish the feat of operational definition when such diversity of opinion exists about exactly what it is that is to be measured?

To resolve the predicament arising from a plethora of definitions, the authors of this book chose to provide a widely inclusive multidimensional definition in the form of a comprehensive theoretical model of executive functions specifying how they are manifested in daily functioning. To be effectively comprehensive in nature and to form an overarching framework for the assessment of executive functions, the theoretical model needed to incorporate as many as possible of the salient elements of the various definitions listed in Rapid Reference 1.1.

Rapid Reference 1.1

Definitions/Elements of Executive Functions From the Professional Literature

DEFINING EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONS AS A MULTIDIMENSIONAL CONSTRUCT

Consistent with the common thread throughout the defining literature, the term executive functions can be viewed as an overarching developmental cognitive neuropsychological construct that is used to represent a set of neural mechanisms that are responsible for cueing, directing, and coordinating multiple aspects of perception, emotion, cognition, and action (Gioia, Isquith, Guy, & Kenworthy, 1996; McCloskey, Perkins, & Van Divner, 2009; Stuss & Alexander, 2000).