Practitioner's Guide to Developmental and Psychological Testing

Book excerpt: The practice of primary health care has expanded beyond the "traditional" medical model. Primary-care physicians and allied professionals are called upon more frequently to address parental concerns about develop mental delays, poor school performance, or behavioral problems. As a result, pediatricians, family practitioners, pediatric nurses, social workers, and speecManguage specialists are faced with the issue of developmental and psychological testing. The degree of the clinician's involvement in testing varies from interpretation of reports to performing screening or assessments. In many cases, the primary health care professional assumes the role of case manager. Unfortunately, cooperation between disciplines often has been lim ited because of poor communication, particularly in regard to develop mental and psychological testing, where acronyms, statistics, and jargon abound. Even professionals from mental health disciplines such as child psychiatrists or psychiatric social workers sometimes are overwhelmed. The purpose of this book, therefore, is to provide the clinician with practical information regarding developmental and psychological testing, thereby making the health care professional an "educated consumer. " This text does not simply describe how psychologists perform testing; rather, it provides information to help clinicians understand what the tests con tain, what their strengths and limitations are, and how they can be incorporated into practice.