¶ … Psychological Assessment
Confidentiality Disclaimer
Reason for Referral
Identifying information
Developmental History
Medical and Psychiatric History
Short Family and Social History
Short History of School Behavior
Tests Administered
Standardized Instruments
Information Assessment Techniques
Mental Status Examination and Behavioral Observations
Results Form Testing
The following results were obtained with respect to the different domain of functioning of Sebastian based on information from multiple sources.
Cognitive-Intellectual-Executive Functioning
Social-Emotional Functioning
Diagnostic Impression
Confidentiality Disclaimer:
There is a chance that the subject of the report or those who are closely associated with the subject of the report could get psychologically and/or emotionally hurt as the report contains sensitive information about the subject. This report is meant only for people trained enough to read such reports and should not be given to the subject named in the report. In order to ensure that the name of the person who is also the subject of the report is protected, a trained mental health professional should only be the one who should disseminate the report to the subject of this report or to any other individual who is not a trained professional in this field. Liability for any damage that may be caused due to their actions would rest only and wholly with people who release this report.
Sebastian Smith
Gender
Male
Birth Date
5/5/1999
Age
16 years 3-month
Dates of Evaluation
7/17; 7/27/15
Date of Report
8/3/2015
Examiner
Grade
Completed ninth Grade
Reason for Referral
The reason for conducting a psychological evaluation on Sebastian, a 16-year 3 months old Caucasian adolescent, is to find out the current cognitive and emotional status of the individual. Sebastian is troubled with poor school performance for quite some time now for reasons that are not very apparent. He has not been able to perform well despite the school arranging for extensive private tutoring and accommodating the child o many occasions.
According to the preliminary report from the school, poor school attendance, complex family dynamics and possible attending and learning problems are the primary factors that lead to him underperforming in school.
Sources of Information:
Information about Sebastian was got from the ones who ware close to him like his mother, his previous social worker and his former psychologist. Some information was also obtained from his school. Apart from these numerous psychological, educational and medical reports were consulted to link, tally and compare the information and the established facts to come to the conclusion. Medical reports, interview, rating scales and developmental history were the methods to get the information.
The information gathered seemed credible and reliable while observation during testing and standardized psychological, neuropsychological and achievement tests formed the basis for the present state of Sebastian's learning and behavior. The cooperation and motivation to perform the tests by Sebastian made the validity of his performance on most tests to be accurate.
Background Information:
Identifying information
Sebastian Smith is a 16-year 3 months old Caucasian adolescent who studies in grade 9 and has had problems with his performance at school for quite some time now.
Developmental History
Academic performance and proper social behavior has been the weak points for Sebastian for quite some time now. Sebastian does not enjoy a free flowing relationship with his parents but rather has a complex relationship with both his parents which often leaves him torn between both.
A matter for concern is Sebastian's ability to maintain motivation in his schoolwork and the study would identify and list recommendations for him. What is most concerning about Sebastian's condition is his tendency to use of illegal substances or marijuana.
Medical and Psychiatric History:
Sebastian's mother reported that her child, Sebastian was born without any difficulty through Caesarean section when she was 29 and his father was 31. While the weight of the new born was normal, Sebastian suffered from jaundice as an infant.
There were some medical conditions that he experienced as an infant like sleep difficulties and he rarely slept for more than 2 to 3 hours at a stretch.
For language and gross motor development, the developmental milestones were normal and within the specified range of time for growing children even as Sebastian had a poor appetite as an infant. Sebastian developed bladder and bowel control at night at somewhat later stage in life compared to normal kids. There numerous occasions when Sebastian met with accidents with soccer, skateboard and moped resulting in several broken bones. As a child he has had the usual chickenpox, ear infections and strap throat.
Short Family and Social History:
Sebastian's mother, serving as an administrative assistant is reported to have no learning or attention problems....
However his biological father is unemployed much of the time. It was reported by Mrs. Smith that her husband has been violent on her on a number of occasions until they got divorced. Mrs. Smith is reported to have a history of depression on both sides of the family.
Short History of School Behavior
Sebastian was reported to have low motivation for school achievement and has been troubled with problems related to reading and classroom behavior, as reported by his former teacher. However Sebastian is reported to be creative and has good abstract thinking and understands language well. There are some distinct characteristics in Sebastian that are considered to be harmful such as being nervous and with repetitive habits, being fidgety and restless and has the occasional mood swings. He has a problem with follow through and has difficulty in planning and he does not learn from mistakes as well as being disorganized. However Sebastian fares better in one on one situations. However frustration and depression sets in when Sebastian realizes that he has a problem with his schoolwork. There has been an improvement in the social interactions and his self-confidence is picking up slowly. What is amazing the despite the poor faring in school, Sebastian has shown a flare for compassion and leadership as he responds well to structure and boundaries.
Tests Administered
The assessment of the intelligence, learning processes, academic achievement and emotional and psychological development of Sebastian was done through targeting the domains that govern these functions.
Standardized Instruments:
Weschler Adult Intelligence Scale-Third Edition
Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory -- Adolescent Form
Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory
Information Assessment Techniques:
Development History Form
Interviews
Primary Sources Inventory
Diagnostic Checklist for AD/HD symptoms
Observation of behavior
Review of the medical reports
Mental Status Examination and Behavioral Observations
Sebastian is a 15-year-old adolescent boy who is reported to be not doing well in school despite all efforts of extra coaching and concessions by the school. During the interview, Sebastian was dressed in formals unlike other adolescents of his age but looked very presentable and averagely impressive.
Sebastian seemed a little distracted during the interview process. He was fidgety and often entwined his fingers or rubbed them unnecessarily. There were obvious indications of lack of concentration o Sebastian's part as a number of questions had to be repeated during the course of the interview.
It can be said that in general, the mood of Sebastian was positive but appeared to be flat at times. While Sebastian tried to maintain good eye contact during the test sessions, he seemed lost at times which were obvious signs of a lack of concentration. However he interacted quite well socially as is expected from an adolescent of his age. It was thus quite easy to develop a rapport with Sebastian and the conversation was easy and free flowing for most of the time. Often he took cue and started a conversation. While he understood instructions and directions during the tests, Sebastian was also good at following the instructions and leading the instructions. However there were occasions when it seemed that there was lack of motivation in him especially in certain tasks that he took more time to get over with than other ones although all were of the same level of difficulty.
It was ensured that there were no distractions at the testing site and thus it is believed that the results of the evaluation reflected a valid and reliable estimate of Sebastian's present condition of functioning.
Results Form Testing:
The following results were obtained with respect to the different domain of functioning of Sebastian based on information from multiple sources.
Cognitive-Intellectual-Executive Functioning:
The Weschler Adult Intelligence Scale-Third Edition was used to measure the intellectual potential and cognitive processing abilities of Sebastian. The general intelligence for adults who are over 16 years of age is tested by the WAIS III test.
There are two scales in the test and each of them comprise of 14 subtests. The two scales are - a verbal scale and a performance scale. IQ is the composite of all the subsets. Verbal Comprehension, Processing Speed Working Memory and Perceptual Organization are also measured.
WAIS-III Results
(Index Scores have a Mean of 100 and a Standard Deviation of 15)
Index
IQ
Percentile Rank
Classification
Verbal IQ
77
45.0
50
Performance IQ
85
10.0
35
Verbal Comprehension
95
25.0
40
Perceptual Organization
90
50.0
60
Working Memory
79
18.0
33
Processing Speed
83
35.0
53
Full Scale
84.3
55.0
65
(Subtest Scaled Scores have a Mean of 10 and a Standard Deviation of 3)
Subtest
Scaled Score
Percentile Rank
Classification
Verbal Comprehension
55
Vocabulary
75
Similarities
78
Information
80
Comprehension
77
Perceptual Organization
45
Picture Completion
87
Block Design
85
Matrix Reasoning
83
Picture Arrangement
88
(Object Assembly)
90
Working Memory
35
Arithmetic
78
Digit Span
80
Letter-Number Sequencing
80
Processing Speed
25
Digit-Symbol Coding
79
Symbol Search
75
A measure of the Full Scale IQ (FSIQ) on the WAIS-III that indicates the general cognitive ability of Sebastian has an average range of intellectual functioning (FSIQ=84.3). The reading and thinking abilities of Sebastian was more than those of his same age group by more than 40%. The verbal comprehension, processing speed skills, the working memory and the perceptual reasoning of Sebastian were in coordination with one another and…
References
Goldfinger, K. And Pomerantz, A. (2010). Psychological assessment and report writing. Los Angeles: SAGE.
Groth-Marnat, G. (2003). Handbook of psychological assessment. Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley & Sons.
No authorship indicated, (2003). Psychological Assessment: Editors. Psychological Assessment, 15(1), pp.1-1.
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