Psychological Assessment Report (FINAL PAPER)

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About Timothy Childers

Timothy Childers is a 15-year-old, right-handed, male who was referred for neuropsychological evaluation for possible learning disability and/or Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Timothy was brought to the appointment by his mother, Ms. Childers. Because of his age, a basic initial interview and orientation session was conducted with Timothy and his mother together. Then, the mother and Timothy were interviewed separately. Information provided by Timothy: Timothy stated he does not have a real problem serious enough for a “doctor visit,” and that it is his parents and teachers who have the problem. Timothy admitted to some difficulty learning if his teacher does not follow the text book closely, indicating that it is then difficult to integrate his lecture notes with what the textbook says. He said if he has “good teachers” who just follow the book, he learns well. No test taking anxiety was reported but Timothy claims he often does poorly on tests because he his teacher says he does not show his work and that his writing is disorganized. This has been especially challenging for him in mathematics because, as he stated, “I don’t always follow the steps. I see the solution and just figure out the answer my way. My teacher wants me to show all the steps and solve the problems his way. He hates it that my way gets the right answer faster than his.” When asked about his writing— grammar and vocabulary, he said, “No one can do that stuff. That’s why they invented spelling and grammar check.” Timothy talked about his brother and sister with a smile on his face. He said they get along well and he admires his sister “for standing up to our parents.” He did not elaborate further. He said the he likes going out with his friends to games and goes to support his older brother. He denied any personal interest in playing on the football or basketball team. He said he like to race cars. He plays drums in the band and takes dance classes (hip hop). He has a 7-year-old golden retriever, Lucky, who he is close to. He “talks to” girls he finds attractive and said, “Girls like me. They think I’m cute.” He said he goes out when his parents let him—mostly to the mall, games and the movies. He denied use of alcohol, tobacco or other drugs. He said he saw what “booze” did to his uncle and that he is just not interested “in looking that crazy.” When asked about his career goals, Timothy stated he wanted to be a NASCAR racer or a drummer in a rock band. On a questionnaire, Timothy described himself as “mixed-race”: Anishinaabe, Scottish and French on his father’s side and Irish on his mother’s side. For religion, he wrote: “Seeking”. Timothy stated that he gets along with his parents “good enough—they’re pretty cool for parents.” His parents married 3 years before the children were born and are still married to each other. His father is an account manager at a bank. His mother is an electrical engineer.

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Information provided by his mother, Ms. Childers: Ms. Childers reported that Timothy was first noted to have academic difficulty in 1st grade. He stated that Timothy’s grades are average overall, but with a lot of variability (e.g., He will go from Bs to Ds, then up to As). Ms. Childers noted that Timothy has difficulty with multistep tasks and may omit an important step. He also has difficulty organizing his homework assignments and study space. Other concerns noted include difficulty with grammar and vocabulary. According to his mother, there has been much conflict between Timothy and his math teacher. Timothy reportedly always enjoyed mathematics and solving problems, but there is a lot of conflict between him and his math teacher. His teacher has even accused him of cheating because Timothy doesn’t always show his work. Timothy was born and raised in Minnesota. He is the youngest of 3 children and there is no family history of learning disability or ADHD in either of his parents or siblings. His mother stated his development was normal for his age. Medical history includes asthma and seasonal allergies. No psychiatric or substance use history was reported. Timothy is not taking any medications. Timothy has two older siblings—a sister (5 years older) and a brother (1 year older). His sister left home at age 16, when she and her fiancé asked (and were given permission) to marry. His brother still lives at home and is reportedly an average student. His brother plays football and basketball. His sister played basketball and was in honors. His sister did complete high school while she was married and attended the local community college. Timothy is currently in the 10th grade of High School. He enjoys playing in the school band and taking dance classes after school. His mother said he practices his drums a lot—“He would practice all night if we let him.” His mother described him as having a good circle of friends and had no concerns about his social development. His mother stated Timothy would like to go to college and become a writer. His mother indicated that Timothy’s ethnicity was “Caucasian”. She indicated that his religion was Baptist. Behavioral Observations: Timothy was very pleasant and easy to work with. Initially, he seemed reticent to be at the appointment. However, after the first interview, he appeared more relaxed with the psychologist. He readily engaged in the evaluation and presented as mature, friendly, and confident. There were no behaviors that suggested a reason to be concerned about the validity of the test results. The examiner deems the results to provide a reasonable estimation of his current level of cognitive and emotional functioning. Parent Report: Timothy’s mother completed the BRIEF to provide information on Timothy’s executive skills in daily life. Within the Behavioral Regulation domain, only the Inhibit subscale was elevated (T = 72). This indicates that she sees Timothy as having difficulty resisting the urge to act on impulse or to otherwise inhibit his behavior appropriately. His mother reported no problems with emotional control. Within the Metacognition Index, 2 scales related to planning and organization were elevated. This indicates that she sees Timothy as having difficulty organizing his work and play spaces (e.g., keeping a messy room or closet) and having difficulty planning and sequencing the steps needed to achieve a goal (e.g., planning ahead for school assignments).

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Tests Administered: Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, 4th Edition (WISC-IV); Children’s Memory Scale (CMS); Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST); Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Achievement, 3rd Edition (WJ-3, select subtests); Gordon Diagnostic System; Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System (DKEFS, select subtests); Rey-Osterreith Complex Figure (Copy); Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF: Parent Form); Children’s Depression Inventory; Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-Adolescent Form (MMPI-A).

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TEST Standard Score Range WISC-IV Verbal Comprehension Similarities Vocabulary Comprehension Perceptual Reasoning Picture Concepts Block Design Matrix Reasoning Working Memory Digit Span Letter-Number Sequencing Processing Speed Symbol Search Coding

SS = 83 ss = 10 ss = 4 ss = 7 SS = 100 ss = 10 ss = 11 ss = 10 SS = 97 ss = 9 ss = 10 SS = 100 ss = 10 ss = 9

low average average extremely low low average average average average average average average average average average average

WJ-III Reading Letter Word Identification Word Attack Passage Comprehension Reading Fluency Writing Spelling Writing Fluency Writing Samples Math Calculation Math Fluency Applied Problems

SS = 97 SS = 92 SS = 98 SS = 99 SS = 96 SS = 93 SS = 98 SS = 97 SS = 93 SS = 92

average average average average average average average average average average

Children’s Memory Scale Stories Immediate Stories Delayed Stories Recognition Word Pairs Learning Word Pairs Total Score Word Pairs Delay Word Pairs Recognition Faces Immediate Faces Delayed Dots Immediate Dots Delayed

ss = 7 ss = 6 ss = 7 ss = 10 ss = 9 ss = 12 ss = 10 ss = 12 ss = 12 ss = 12 ss = 13

low average low average low average average average high average average high average high average high average high average

* Wisconsin Card Sorting Test 4 sorts in 128 cards Perseverative Errors

>16th percentile SS = 76

at least average borderline

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D-KEFS Trail Making Test Visual Scanning Number Sequencing Letter Sequencing Number-Letter Sequencing Motor Speed Verbal Fluency Test Letter Fluency Category Fluency Category Switching Total Correct Design Fluency Test Total Correct Color-Word Interference Test Color Naming Word Reading Inhibition Inhibition/Switching Tower Test Total Achievement Score

ss = 10 ss = 12 ss = 12 ss = 5 ss = 11 ss = 14 ss = 13 ss = 7 ss = 9 ss = 12 ss = 12 ss = 9 ss = 6 ss = 6

average high average high average borderline average superior high average low average average high average high average average low average low average