Essentials of Conners Behavior Assessments

Elizabeth P. Sparrow

• Publisher: Wiley
• Year: 2010
• Print ISBN:
  9780470346334
• Edition: 1
• eBook ISBN:
  9780470599693
• Topic: Psychology
• Subtopic: Clinical Psychology
• Index: Psychology

Quickly acquire the knowledge and skills you need to confidently administer, score, and interpret the Conners 3, Conners CBRS, and Conners EC

The Conners 3rd Edition (Conners 3), Conners Comprehensive Behavior Rating Scales (Conners CBRS), and Conners Early Childhood (Conners EC) are sophisticated tools for the assessment of behavioral, emotional, social, academic, and developmental issues in children and adolescents. Authored by Elizabeth Sparrow, who was mentored by Keith Conners and worked closely with him on the Conners assessments, Essentials of Conners Behavior Assessments offers a comprehensive and user-friendly guide for mental health professionals who need to understand and apply results from these Conners assessments in educational, clinical, and research settings.

Like all the volumes in the Essentials of Psychological Assessment series, this book is designed to help busy mental health practitioners, and those in training, quickly acquire the knowledge and skills they need to make optimal use of major psychological assessment instruments. Each chapter features numerous callout boxes highlighting key concepts, bulleted points, and extensive illustrative material, as well as test questions that help you gauge and reinforce your grasp of the information covered.

The best practical guide to the Conners 3, Conners CBRS, and Conners EC, Essentials of Conners Behavior Assessments provides instruction for rating scale selection, administration, scoring, and interpretation, and advanced approaches to analyzing results, integrating findings from multiple Conners assessments, and evaluating response to intervention.

Seven

ILLUSTRATIVE CASE REPORTS

Elizabeth P. Sparrow

This chapter presents case studies of three children who were referred for neuropsychological evaluations. Each child was administered relevant tests, including the Conners assessments.

The first case report is of Brian Jones, a 9-year-old boy who was referred due to academic underachievement in the context of ADHD. His test battery includes the Conners 3, as well as tests of attention, executive functioning, memory, and other domains. The second case report is of Darby Reed, an 11-year-old girl whose initial referral sounded very similar to that of Brian Jones. Additional information gained from Darby’s parents indicated that ADHD might not be the only area of concern, so the Conners CBRS was used to gather a broader range of information about her functioning at home and school. Darby’s test battery includes IQ, achievement, and other assessment tools. The final case report is of Josh Kane, a 5-year-old boy whose parents were concerned about possible Asperger’s Disorder. His test battery includes the Conners EC, a test of cognitive ability, and other measures.

The goal of this chapter is to illustrate application of key principles described in this book, including the responsible use of the Conners assessments within a comprehensive battery. Written reports have many stylistic differences depending on the setting and the professional’s personal preferences, among other factors. The reports provided in this chapter are not representative of all report types (see Rapid Reference 7.1). Test data are presented in tables embedded within each report. The identifying information for each child has been changed to maintain confidentiality.

Rapid Reference 7.1

Written Reports

There are many ways to write reports, and the best solution varies by situation. Some of the things you see in these three case studies are stylistic. For example, I choose to write the history section in bullets, as it is easier for me to find important information quickly this way than if the history was written in paragraphs.

Unless you can guarantee that only a qualified professional will receive the report, it is important to provide sufficient context with the test scores to help reduce misinterpretation. For this reason, I choose to give parents and teachers a small table at the beginning of the test results table that lists the average range of different types of scores.

I include tables with test names and scores to facilitate review of these results by other qualified professionals. Within the text of the results section, I describe the tasks involved in the different tests rather than referring to them by name. This helps readers understand what the child was asked to do (which is more important than which test it was). I usually avoid listing the test names in the text, unless it is necessary to prevent confusion. For purposes of this book, I have added the relevant Conners assessment and scale—this was not present in the original clinical documents.

I try to write the report in basic language, while including and explaining terms that parents may need to know in the future (e.g., “executive functioning”).

I choose to embed the test results table within the report rather than append it at the end. This reduces the chances that the numbers will become separated from the interpretive context, as test scores must always be interpreted within the relevant context. Although not illustrated in this book, I put the text “CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION—DO NOT RELEASE WITHOUT PERMISSION” at the bottom of each report page to remind readers that they must obtain written consent from the child’s parent/guardian before giving the report to anyone else.

My recommendations tend to be specific and individualized for each child I see. Some recommendations are variations on a theme, adjusted for a child’s developmental stage and unique needs. In my experience, labeling a child’s struggles does not often lead to solving them. It is important for the assessor to take the next step to help parents and teachers translate the results into meaningful recommendations. Even though some of the recommendations may not be followed, they will help parents and teachers get started with ideas.

Finally, I try to include each child’s relative strengths throughout the report, including background, test results, diagnostic summary, and recommendations. This includes positive prognostic indicators, when these can be identified. I believe that everyone makes more progress when given a balanced review that includes strengths; it is important for children to know that you appreciate their skills and for parents/teachers to remember that a child is not just a list of problems. Without awareness of strengths, you do not know which tools a child has available for fixing his difficulties, and it is difficult to recruit and keep the repair crew (i.e., treatment team, including parents and the child).

NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL REPORT

Name: Brian Thomas Jones
Age: 9 years, 1 month
Grade: 3rd grade

Referral

Brian Jones, a 9-year-old boy, was referred for neuropsychological evaluation by his parents. This evaluation was recommended due to concerns about discrepancies between academic ability and academic performance. Specific concerns include:

• “Grades don’t reflect ability”; Brian is currently in the second tier groups for reading and math, despite scoring well above average on recent assessment of academic achievement.

• Written language “is not that great”; he has lost his enthusiasm. He has difficulty with getting started on written language assignments and organizing his writing.

Background Information

Family Background

• Born in Los Angeles, California; moved to Maryland when he was 4.5 years old.

• One sibling, sister Avery (5 years younger).

• Mother completed bachelor’s degree, worked as an office manager in the past, currently full-time mother.

• Father completed bachelor’s degree, currently employed as a mortgage banker.

• Extended family history includes: ADHD, underachievement in the context of high IQ, extreme shyness, situational anxiety, depression, heavy drinking, Down’s syndrome, clumsiness, moving too quickly.

Developmental and Medical History

• Pregnancy: Past-term (42 weeks), complicated by work-related stress. Drank 2 cups of coffee per day.

• Labor/Delivery: Induced with pitocin because past-term, 28-hour labor. Began preparing for C-section but he was delivered vaginally with vacuum extraction. Fetal monitor showed decrease in heart rate several times.

• Birthweight: 9 pounds, 8 ounces.

• Neonatal: Blue at birth, initial APGAR score was low but improved by second score. Discharged to home at 4 hours old with no concerns.

• Handedness: Right.

• Neurologic issues (brain injury, sustained fevers, loss of consciousness, seizures, etc.): None reported.

• Medications:

• Current: Stimulant medication. Parents note side effects including: reduced appetite and weight loss and difficulty sleeping. Positive changes include improved alertness.

• Past: None reported.

• Vision and Hearing: No concerns.

• Trauma, abuse, violence, or neglect: None reported beyond multiple changes at 4.5 years old (sister born, cross-country move).

• Infancy: Easy, quiet, contemplative, happy.

• First concerns: 4.5 years old, when moved to Maryland; Brian seemed withdrawn, had trouble making friends, and stopped making eye contact. Father notes some emotional changes predating the move.

• Development of skills and concerns:

• Motor: On-time to early acquisition of milestones; no current concerns.

• Cognitive: Early learning seemed appropriate. Current concerns include: attention, distractibility, learning, and math (addition and subtraction).

• Language: On-time to early acquisition of milestones; no current concerns. “Hears what you’re saying even if he seems to be ignoring you.”

• Social: On-time to early acquisition of milestones. Had a best friend in Los Angeles. Initial difficulty making friends after move to Maryland, but this has improved now that they are settled into the neighborhood.

• Play: Early play was age-appropriate. Played with peers in Los Angeles. After moving to Maryland, Mrs. Jones arranged playdates, but they played with her because Brian was “nonresponsive to them.” He now enjoys playing with neighborhood friends and schoolfriends.

• Emotion: Very close relationship with father. Has always been shy and introverted, but became more so around move to Maryland. This emotional change was attributed to departure of several friends from his daycare setting. Currently shows a variable range of affect and can label his emotions. He usually recognizes emotions in others and responds appropriately. When he is nervous, he often becomes silly.

• Behavior: No reported concerns.

• Sleeping: Difficulty sleeping since began medications; no concerns prior to that time.

• Activities of Daily Living: No concerns about eating and toileting. Independent for bathing, grooming, and dressing. Requires “a lot” of assistance to clean his room.

• Atypical Features: History of repetitive behaviors (e.g., repetitive throat-clearing, tapping chair with pencil/hand). Sensitive to loud sounds in crowded places, tags in shirts.

Past Evaluations, Diagnoses, and Treatments:

• 6 years old: Psychoeducational evaluation, referred by kindergarten teacher for suspected ADHD. IQ and achievement scores in average range. Below average scores on continuous performance test. No significant emotional or behavioral concerns. Diagnostic impression was ADHD. See Dr. Freet’s report for full results.

• 8 years old: School-wide standardized achievement testing, scores ranged from average to superior.

• 8 years old: Psychiatric evaluation for possible medication trial; continuing to struggle academically. Diagnosed with ADHD and prescribed stimulant medication b...

Table of contents

• Essentials of Psychological Assessment Series
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Series Preface
• One - OVERVIEW
• Two - ADMINISTRATION OF THE CONNERS ASSESSMENTS
• Three - SCORING THE CONNERS ASSESSMENTS
• Four - INTERPRETATION OF THE CONNERS ASSESSMENTS
• Five - STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF THE CONNERS ASSESSMENTS
• Six - CLINICAL APPLICATIONS OF THE CONNERS ASSESSMENTS
• Seven - ILLUSTRATIVE CASE REPORTS
• Appendix A - ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS USED IN CONNERS ASSESSMENTS
• Appendix B - CALCULATING A CONFIDENCE INTERVAL (CI) FOR CONNERS ASSESSMENTS
• Appendix C - SAMPLE TABLES FOR REPORTS
• Appendix D - CALCULATING CONNERS CI INDICATOR SCORES FROM FULL-LENGTH CONNERS ...
• References
• Annotated Bibliography
• About the Author
• About the Contributors
• INDEX