An Interview with Cecil Reynolds on Current Issues in Pediatric Assessment

1.5 CE Credit

Presented by:
Cecil R. Reynolds, PhD
Editor-in-Chief, Archives of Scientific Psychology
Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Pediatric Neuropsychology
Emeritus
Professor of Educational Psychology
Professor of Neuroscience
Distinguished Research Scholar
Texas A&M University


This interview with Dr. Cecil Reynolds will focus on issues related to assessing children and adolescents. Dr. Reynolds is a leader in both research and test development related to the assessment of school-aged students. Discussions will include how cognitive assessment supports other assessment and intervention planning, what pediatric neuropsychology and school psychology can learn from each other, the difference between testing and assessment, and current issues in assessing youth from vulnerable populations. 

After the webinar, participants will be able to: 
1. Identify the role of cognitive assessment in common developmental disorders (e.g., LD, ADHD)
2. List ways that pediatric neuropsychology and school psychology overlap and where they diverge
3. Explain how focusing on assessment rather than testing can inform case conceptualization and improve the utility of reports
4. Discuss current issues in assessing children and youth from vulnerable populations (e.g., homeless youth, new immigrants, etc.) 

Target Audience: Psychologists
Instructional Level: Intermediate

Cecil R. Reynolds is Emeritus Professor of Educational Psychology, Professor of Neuroscience, and Distinguished Research Scholar at Texas A&M University. He is the author of over 300 scholarly publications, more than 50 books, and the creator of numerous widely-used psychological tests including the Behavior Assessment System for Children, the most frequently individually administered in the English-speaking world. He is past president of the National Academy of Neuropsychology (NAN) and APA Divisions 5, 16, and 40 (Evaluation, Measurement, and Statistics; School Psychology; and, Clinical Neuropsychology).  He is editor-in-chief of Archives of Scientific Psychology and the Journal of Pediatric Neuropsychology and a past EIC of Psychological Assessment, Applied Neuropsychology, and Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology. Dr. Reynolds has received awards recognizing him for excellence in research (e.g., Lightner Witmer Award, Senior Scientist Award from APA, and NAN’s Distinguished Neuropsychologist Award).  His service has been recognized through the President's Gold Medal for Service to NAN, NAN’s Distinguished Service Award and the UNC at Wilmington Razor Walker Award for Service to the Youth of America, and others.  In November of 2021 he was included in the top half of Stanford University’s list of the top 2% of all scientists worldwide.

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2018 Presidential Address: Ecological Validity and the Measurement of Executive Functioning in Children

1.0 CE Credit

Presented by:
Cheryl H. Silver, Ph.D.



 







The objective of this presentation is to summarize the issue of ecological validity as it applies to the measurement of executive functioning in children.  Topics will include comparing and contrasting information obtained from performance-based tests and parent rating scales.  The audience will be invited to consider informant bias in ratings of child behaviors.  Methods that could be used to increase ecological validity of child behavior assessment will be discussed. 

After the webinar, participants will be able to: 
1. Explain the challenges of measuring executive functioning in children.
2. Discuss the differences between measurement of executive functioning using performance-based tests vs. rating scales.
3. Describe at least one methodology that could be used to increase ecological validity of executive functioning measurement in children.

Target Audience: Neuropsychologists
Instructional Level: Introductory 

Dr. Cheryl H. Silver earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology and obtained her first real professional job writing behavioral objectives for a federal study of effective educational settings for children with learning disabilities.  Recruited as a teacher’s aide for the impressive annual salary of $3,000., she became fascinated with the kinds of cognitive impairments displayed by children with reading disabilities and decided to make that her career.  She earned a master’s degree in psychology at the University of Richmond in Richmond, Virginia, where she studied with a local learning disabilities expert and obtained a position in pediatric neurology at the Medical College of Virginia.  It was at MCV in the late 1970s where she first learned of a discipline called neuropsychology.  However, the specialty of School Psychology appealed to her interest in childhood learning disorders, and she moved to Texas in 1980 to study with school psychology, special education, and neuropsychology faculty (including Erin Bigler) at the University of Texas at Austin.  In 1984, she moved to Dallas to take a combined internship in clinical, school, and neuropsychology settings, and stayed for her postdoctoral fellowship, becoming the first neuropsychology postdoc at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.  After a short but worthwhile period of employment in a rehab hospital, she returned to UT Southwestern as a faculty member, involved in clinical services, teaching, and research.  Attaining the academic rank of professor, she became the Program Director for a master’s degree program in Rehabilitation Counseling, which she held for the last 12 years of her 30-year career.   

 


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Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders: Misunderstood and Misdiagnosed

1.0 CE Credit

 

Presented by:
Sarah N. Mattson Weller
Professor, Department of Psychology
San Diego State University


Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) affect as many as 5% of the population, making it one of the most common developmental disorders. However, many affected individuals remain unidentified. In one study of youth in foster or adoptive care, only 13.5% of youth diagnosed with an FASD were previously identified; 6.4% were previously misdiagnosed, and 80.1% had not been previously identified. Reasons for low rates of accurate diagnosis include multiple diagnostic schema and changes to diagnoses, traditional reliance on physical features, professional reluctance, and social stigma. This webinar will define and describe fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, summarize neuropsychological features of the disorder, discuss progress towards developing a neurobehavioral profile that is both sensitive and specific, and present a newly developed tool for identifying youth affected by prenatal alcohol exposure.


 After the webinar, participants will be able to:
1. Define common diagnostic features of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders.
2. Describe the neurobehavioral profile of youth with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders.
3. Discuss the overlap between FASD and ADHD.
4. Identify youth affected by prenatal alcohol exposure using commonly available tools.

Target Audience: Professionals in fields that see children and adolescents, primarily including psychologists, neuropsychologists, social workers, psychiatrists, general practitioners, family medicine physicians, nurses, and pediatricians.

Instructional Level: Introductory to Intermediate

Dr. Mattson is a licensed clinical psychologist with expertise in neuropsychology and behavioral teratology. She received her Ph.D. from the SDSU/UCSD Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology and is a professor in the psychology department at San Diego State University. She is also the Director of Clinical Research for the SDSU Center for Behavioral Teratology, a campus-wide center focused on the brain and behavioral effects of heavy prenatal alcohol exposure and other developmental disorders and Co-Director of the SDSU Center for Clinical and Cognitive Neuroscience (CCN), a cross-disciplinary program bridging the department of Psychology with the School of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences. Her research on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders has been continuously funded by the National institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. She has served on the National Advisory Council on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism and was awarded the 2018 Henry Rosett Award for Outstanding Contributions to the FASD field from the Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Study Group of the Research Society on Alcoholism.

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Linguistically and Culturally Appropriate Evaluations for Bilingual Children

1.5 CE Credit

Vindia Fernandez, Ph.D.
Evelyn Ramirez-Coombs
Alberto Miranda, Psy.D.

Bilingual Latino/a children are rapidly becoming the majority among their peers in several states, increasing from 17% of all children in the US in 2000 to 25% of the pediatric population in 2016.  In densely populated states such as California, Latino children comprise more than half of the child population at 52%. Despite this increasing proportion of students, there remains a paucity of bilingual assessment tools, normative data, cohesive strategies amongst assessors, and bilingual pediatric neuropsychologists that together threaten the validity of assessments in this population (e.g., over- or under-identifying neurodevelopmental disorders). While many school districts have adopted careful guidelines regarding testing English learners in their native language, significant challenges remain with respect to determining the appropriate testing language in the school setting, as well as more broadly in the community and academic medical centers. This workshop will aim to explore these clinical decision points by examining the current literature on neurocognitive functioning in bilingual children, outlining typical bilingual language development trajectories, reviewing instrumentation for language assessment in bilingual children, and discussing limitations in the literature about language development in children with neurodevelopmental disorders. We will also present case studies to illustrate the many linguistic and cultural nuances of working with multicultural families and children, including evaluation of neuropsychological data summary sheets, provision of “mock supervision” on the conceptualization and formulation of bilingual cases, and discussion of effective treatment planning for this population. Emphasis is placed on academic-community and legal partnerships ensuring that the treatment planning is systematically implemented and monitored.

After the session, participants will be able to:
1. Describe current empirical findings regarding neurocognitive correlates of bilingualism in children. 
2. Implement specific strategies for determining language dominance in bilingual children. 
3. Discuss how the intersection between bilingualism and assessment strategy affects the validity of neuropsychological evaluations.
4. Evaluate the impact of culturally- and linguistically-appropriate evaluations on diagnosis and treatment planning through a case series discussion.

Target Audience: Neuropsychologists and trainees
Instructional Level: Intermediate
 
Dr. Fernandez obtained her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Houston where she studied pediatric neuropsychology and completed research on the neuroanatomical markers of dyslexia.  She completed her APA-accredited internship and postdoctoral fellowship at the UCLA Semel Institute.  Her specialty training includes working with children, adolescents, and young adults with neurodevelopmental issues including autism, epilepsy, ADHD, and learning disabilities as well as schizophrenia-spectrum disorders.  Dr. Fernandez has also worked closely with the UCLA PEERS Program and developed a passion for teaching social skills to neurodiverse youth.  In 2017, Dr. Fernandez founded the Center for Pediatric Neuropsychology in part to address the growing need for culturally and linguistically appropriate evaluations for Latino/a children.  She is an attending clinician and volunteer clinical faculty member in the UCLA Hispanic Neuropsychiatric Center of Excellence and collaborates with the Los Angeles Department of Mental Health on program development and training.

Alberto A. Miranda, Psy.D. is the chief postdoctoral fellow at UCLA”s Cultural Neuropsychology Program (CNP) within the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior. He received his B.A. in psychology and B.S. in biology through the University of California, Riverside, followed by his doctorate in clinical psychology through the American School of Professional Psychology (Argosy University). He completed his predoctoral internship at the Federal Correctional Institution, Terminal Island, and later postdoctoral training in neuropsychology at Fullerton Neuropsychology Services. He is currently in his second year of fellowship at the CNP where he has developed the expertise in assessing Spanish-monolingual and bilingual Latino/a individuals across the lifespan. He has worked under the direct clinical supervision of Drs. Xavier E. Cagigas and Paola A. Suarez, Co-Directors of the CNP and Associate Directors of UCLA's Hispanic Neuropsychiatric Center of Excellence. Through this experience he has gained mentorship and supervision in pediatric neuropsychology under Drs. Vindia G. Fernandez and Carlos Saucedo, attending clinical psychologists in pediatric neuropsychology.


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Pediatric Mild Traumatic Brain Injury: A Neuropsychological Perspective

1.5 CE Credit

 

Presented by:

David Baker, Psy.D, ABPP-CN
Assistant Clinical Professor of Pediatrics
University of Colorado School of Medicine














Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), or concussion, is an increasingly common diagnosis that neuropsychologists encounter in their clinical practice. In fact, the assessment and management of youth mTBI or concussion is uniquely suited for neuropsychologists. This webinar will explore numerous aspects of pediatric mTBI, from injury to recovery, by examining the most current research and best practices in assessing and managing this common yet often misunderstood condition.  Through careful exploration of the current literature on youth mTBI, discussion of best practices, and presentation of select case examples, the audience will gain a better understanding of this condition with the ultimate goal of improving pediatric mTBI outcomes.

After the webinar, participants will be able to:
1. Recognize the expected natural clinical course of concussion and list what factors can complicate recovery. 
2. Define the expected neurocognitive deficits following a concussion and their expected course.
3. Distinguish between outdated and current evidence-based concussion management techniques.
4. Evaluate their own concussion knowledge and practices and how they align with current research and evidence-based practices.

Target Audience: Clinical neuropsychologists who evaluate children, adolescents, or young adults

Instructional Level: Beginner to intermediate

David Baker, Psy.D, ABPP-CN is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and serves as a Pediatric Neuropsychologist in the Rehabilitation Psychology Program at Children’s Hospital Colorado. Dr. Baker is involved in the supervision and training of externs, interns, and postdoctoral fellows. Dr. Baker has specific interest and expertise in traumatic brain injury- more specifically, concussion or mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) in children and teens. He has published numerous journal articles and book chapters related to mild TBI and performance validity assessment. Along with seeing hundreds of concussion patients each year, he also routinely conducts evaluations on children with various other neurodevelopmental conditions, as well as serving as an expert for medico-legal evaluations.

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Pediatric stroke as the ideal human model of developmental plasticity: The outcomes may surprise you!

1.25 CE Credit

 

Presented by:
Adam Kirton MD MSc FRCPC
Professor of Pediatrics, Radiology, and Clinical Neurosciences
The University of Calgary









Stroke in newborns and young children causes lifelong disability for millions. As a focal injury of defined timing in a healthy brain, stroke represents an ideal human model of developmental plasticity. By contrasting divergent motor, language, and neurocognitive outcomes and combining with advanced neuroimaging and brain mapping technologies, we are starting to understand the mechanisms underlying this plasticity. One result is the identification of key brain targets where therapeutic non-invasive neuromodulation strategies are being realized.  

After the webinar, participants will be able to:
1. Define the specific types of perinatal and childhood stroke.
2. Contrast the effects of timing of stroke on varying motor, language, and cognitive outcomes.
3. Describe how advanced neuroimaging and brain mapping are informing personalized models of how the brain develops after stroke early in life.
4. Discuss the potential of emerging neurotechnologies to enhance function, participation, and quality of life for children disabled by stroke.

Target Audience:  Anyone interested in the brain, pediatrics, and developmental clinical neuroscience.
 
Instructional level:  Introductory to advanced


Dr. Kirton is Professor of Pediatrics, Radiology, and Clinical Neurosciences at the University of Calgary and an attending Pediatric Neurologist at the Alberta Children’s Hospital. He serves as the Deputy Head (Research) for the Department of Pediatrics. His research focuses on applying technologies including non-invasive brain stimulation and neuroimaging to measure and modulate the response of the developing brain to early injury to generate new therapies. Dr. Kirton directs the Calgary Pediatric Stroke Program, Alberta Perinatal Stroke Project, the ACH Brain Computer Interface Laboratory, and the University of Calgary Noninvasive Neurostimulation Network (N3).

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Sluggish Cognitive Tempo: A Dimensional Approach to Attention in Children

1.5 CE Credits

Presented by:
Lisa A. Jacobson, Ph.D., NCSP
Pediatric Neuropsychologist
Kennedy Krieger Institute
Assistant Professor, Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

Sluggish Cognitive Tempo (SCT) is a construct that evolved from field trials for the ADHD criteria in DSM-IV.  It includes such characteristic symptoms as lethargy, low initiation, mental "fogginess," and slowed speed of information processing.  Although SCT shows some overlap with Inattentive ADHD symptoms, evidence is mounting for consideration of SCT as a separate, but related, construct. This workshop will review descriptive evidence for SCT as a separate clinical disorder and empirical data from a variety of research studies characterizing SCT and its related comorbidities and areas of impairment. The NIMH's Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) project provides a framework for shifting our understanding of disorders from categorical to dimensional, taking development, multiple levels of assessment, and environmental expectations into account. Data will be presented that reflect a dimensional approach and the need for further behavioral clarification of the construct, but also suggest areas for potential intervention and/or accommodation within classrooms and daily activities. 

After the webinar, participants will be able to:

  1. Describe the characteristic diagnostic and associated features of SCT.
  2. Explain the current empirical support for the construct of SCT.
  3. Identify assessment techniques for SCT symptoms and relevant supports. 

Target Audience:This workshop is designed for practicing or research psychologists and neuropsychologists interested in understanding attentional disorders in children and developing their understanding of sluggish cognitive tempo. The workshop is of intermediate level in terms of assumptions regarding familiarity with clinical practice with youth with ADHD, current literature on ADHD, and child development.

Instructional Level:Intermediate

About Lisa A. Jacobson, Ph.D., NCSP 
Lisa Jacobson received a B.A. in Psychology from Davidson College and earned an Ed.S. in School Psychology from the College of William & Mary in VA. She worked as a school psychologist for several years before completing her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology and Neuropsychology at the University of Virginia. She completed her predoctoral Clinical Psychology Internship at the Mailman Center for Child Development, in Miami, FL, and a postdoctoral fellowship in Clinical Neuropsychology at the Kennedy Krieger Institute/Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. She is currently Assistant Professor in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and a pediatric neuropsychologist in the Kennedy Krieger Institute Department of Neuropsychology, where she coordinates the executive function and neuro-oncology outpatient assessment clinics, is involved in training pre-doctoral interns and post-doctoral fellows, and conducts clinical research. 

Dr. Jacobson is interested in brain development and attentional control, processing speed, and executive functions in children, and associations of these functions with learning and behavioral disorders. She is interested in studying children with identified disorders affecting executive functioning (e.g., ADHD, movement disorders, Spina Bifida, cancers and cancer treatment, etc.) as well as children at risk for developing executive dysfunction, and investigating ways in which parents and teachers can support children's development of EF skills. She is working to develop clinical screening tools for identifying children with executive dysfunction that can be used as part of typical medical care visits for specific clinical populations. She has collaborated on a variety of projects examining response variability in children with ADHD, characteristics of attentional disorders in referred children, influences of working memory on reading fluency in ADHD, neurocognitive profiles of childhood cancer survivors, executive functioning in spina bifida, and validation of the Kennedy Krieger Independence Scales - Spina Bifida Version (KKIS-SB). She is also involved in collaborations with the Maryland State Department of Education and Towson University designed to improve teacher training regarding neurodevelopment and interventions for children with various developmental disorders.

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Executive Skills in Children and Adolescents: A Framework for Assessment and Intervention

1.5 CE Credit

Description

Presented by:
Margaret M. Dawson Psychologist
Center for Learning and Attention Disorders
Seacoast Mental Health Center Portsmouth
New Hampshire 

Youngsters with poor executive skills are disorganized or forgetful, have trouble getting started on tasks, get distracted easily, lose papers or assignments, forget to bring home the materials to complete homework, or forget to hand homework in. They may rush through work or dawdle, or make careless mistakes that they fail to catch. They don’t know where to begin on long-term assignments, and they put the assignment off until the last minute in part because they have trouble judging the magnitude of the task and how long it will take to complete it. Their workspaces are disorganized, and teachers may refer to their desks, backpacks, and notebooks as “black holes.” Students with executive skill deficits present tremendous challenges to both parents and teachers who often find themselves frustrated by children whose problems in school seem to have little to do with how smart they are or how easily they learn.

This workshop will outline an approach that links assessment of executive skill challenges to intervention design targeting behaviors impacting school performance and overall cognitive and neurobehavioral health. Relying on a variety of assessment tools, both formal and informal, the presenter will make the case that assessment is most useful when it can lead to practical interventions to address the most pressing problems both at home and at school that arise as a result of executive skill challenges.

After the session, participants will be able to:
1. Identify how executive skills impact school performance and daily living.
2. Describe a variety of formal and informal assessment strategies for evaluating executive skills.
3. Describe how to make environmental modifications to support weak executive skills.
4. Explain how to design protocols for teaching executive skills.
5. Develop a process for designing a “student-centered” intervention targeting problem situations associated with executive skill challenges.

Target Audience: Neuropsychologists and trainees 
Instructional Level: Intermediate

In over 40 years of clinical practice, Dr. Peg Dawson has worked with thousands of children and teens who struggle at home and in school. At the center of their struggles are often weak executive skills. Along with her colleague, Dr. Richard Guare, she has written numerous books on this topic for educators, mental health professionals, and parents, among them Smart but Scattered, Smart but Scattered Teens, Executive Skills in Children and Adolescents, and Coaching Students with Executive Skills Deficits. Peg is also a past president of the National Association of School Psychologists, and the International School Psychology Association, and is a recipient of NASP’s Lifetime Achievement Award.


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Unraveling the Impact of Childhood Conditions on Learning and School Performance

3 CE Credits

Presented by:
Robert M. Gray, Ph.D., ABPP
Director - Pediatric Neuropsychological Services
Advanced Neurobehavioral Health of Southern California




Natasha E. Wade, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego





Gianna Locascio, PsyD, ABPP
Board Certified in Clinical Neuropsychology
Board Certified in Rehabilitation Psychology
Board Certified Subspecialist in Pediatric Neuropsychology
Clinical Associate Professor of Neurology and Rehabilitation Medicine
NYU School of Medicine
Director of Pediatric Neuropsychology, NYU Langone Health Brooklyn

Pediatric neuropsychology is a sub-specialty of neuropsychology, focusing on the study of brain behavior relationships within a developmental context, typically in individuals under the age of 18. Pediatric neuropsychologists working in a clinical setting typically see children with a medical condition and/or a developmental delay to elucidate how these conditions may affect cognition and other aspects of the child’s functioning. This 3-hour virtual workshop is designed to provide an overview of childhood conditions and behaviors that impact learning and school performance from the perspective of pediatric neuropsychologists. In particular, the speakers will focus on common medical and neurological conditions impacting children and adolescents, the role of substance use on cognition and psychiatric functioning, and cognitive rehabilitation applications within a school setting.

After the webinar, participants will be able to: 
1. Describe how pediatric neuropsychological evaluations can help to inform individualized treatments and school-based interventions for children and adolescents with medical and neurological conditions.
2. Discuss ways in which substance use impacts cognitive functioning and mental health in adolescents. 
3. Explain how cognitive rehabilitation can be effectively implemented in educational settings. 

 

Target Audience: School psychologists and school counselors are the primary audience, although other health care professionals (e.g., clinical psychologists, social workers, pediatricians, nurses) who provide care to children and adolescents would also benefit from attending this workshop.  

Instructional Level: Intermediate

Dr. Robert Gray received his Ph.D. in School Psychology from the University of Texas at Austin. He went on to specialize in pediatric neuropsychology through completion of his internship and postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Minnesota Medical School. Dr. Gray has held positions as Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Staff Pediatric Neuropsychologist at the Kennedy Krieger Institute, and Voluntary Assistant Clinical Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of California, San Diego. Dr. Gray is the clinical director of pediatric neuropsychology services and training director of the postdoctoral residency program in pediatric neuropsychology at Advanced Neurobehavioral Health of Southern California. Dr. Gray also provides neuropsychological evaluation and consultation services for Rady Children’s Hospital of San Diego. Dr. Gray has been awarded diplomate/board certification status in clinical neuropsychology and pediatric subspecialization status through the American Board of Clinical Neuropsychology and American Board of Professional Psychology.

Dr. Natasha Wade completed her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, her clinical neuropsychology internship at the VA Puget Sound American Lake, and her postdoctoral fellowship at UC San Diego. Her research interests center on the influence of substance use on adolescent and emerging adult neurodevelopment. She uses both large, longitudinal projects and small, focused studies to better understand how substance use, cognition, and mental health intersect in youth.

Dr. Gianna Locascio is a Clinical Associate Professor of Neurology and Rehabilitation Medicine at NYU Grossman School of Medicine. She is a licensed psychologist, board certified clinical neuropsychologist, board certified subspecialist in pediatric neuropsychology, board certified rehabilitation psychologist, and a certified school psychologist. Dr. Locascio is the director of pediatric neuropsychology at NYU Langone Health – Brooklyn through which she oversees clinical services for children/adolescents and young adults with a wide range of neurological and medical conditions. She is also actively involved in training externs, interns, and post-doctoral fellows. Dr. Locascio’s research and scholarly publications focus on cognitive rehabilitation interventions for children and adolescents with neurological compromise.

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