Designing an Assessment Process: The Case of Kenny

Designing an Assessment Process: The Case of Kenny

Jean Wheatley

Assignment 2

Designing an Assessment Process: The Case of Kenny

My client is an eight year old, third grade student named Kenny. He has been referred to me for assessment by his teacher, who is concerned about his reading ability and classroom behaviour.  According to his teacher, he cannot read. However, it is not known which reading assessments, if any, have been used to formally assess his reading level.  He also displays a number of behavioural issues and has trouble complying with requirements to attend to classroom instruction.  He appears inattentive and jumps out of his seat during class.  When he is frustrated, he cries and lashes out at other children.  His teacher wants to know how to help him.

I will assess Kenny’s behaviour using a combination of informant interviews, assessment tools and direct observation.  I will then interpret and analyze the data I gather and report this information to Kenny’s parents and teacher.

Informants and Interview Outline

In determining the best course of action in assessing Kenny, it is important to gather as much information as possible from a variety of sources, including Kenny’s parents, his teacher, and his family doctor.  Since Kenny is a minor, I will first need to confirm that his parents are his legal guardians and then work with them through the informed consent process.  I will need to ensure that all informants understand the process of informed consent and any limits to confidentiality (Neilson, Chaimowitz, & Zuckerberg, 2015).  

Therapeutic alliance has extensively been found to be the greatest predictor of positive therapeutic outcome (Martin, Garske, & Davis, 2000; Norcross, 2002; Zuroff & Blatt, 2006) and it will therefore be important to establish a positive relationship with Kenny, his teacher and the parents before proceeding.  One approach to assessment that has shown to have a positive impact on the therapeutic relationship is the Therapeutic Model of Assessment (TMA) (Finn & Tonsager, 1997).  The TMA is a client-centered approach to assessment, which utilizes information from a variety of assessment methods, clinical data, history and observed behaviour to form a holistic understanding of the presenting issues (Finn & Tonsager, 1997).  I will follow this approach through the assessment process in order to maintain a positive relationship with all parties involved.

Following along the principles of the TMA, I will gather information on Kenny’s history from his parents and teacher.  Information from the parents will be collected through an intake form, and will include details about family health history, pregnancy and birth, infancy and early childhood.  This will allow me to notice any health concerns or environmental factors that I may want to explore further. By gaining an understanding of Kenny’s history from a variety of angles, I may be able to see patterns in behaviour.  For example, if Kenny had complications at birth, this may be a factor affecting his current behaviour and may be something I would want to explore further.  I will also seek consent from Kenny’s parents to obtain medical and psychological records.  This will allow me to see if Kenny has experienced any medical problems that may be contributing to his behaviour or if he has taken any medication in the past (Adamou, Russell, & Sanghera, 2012).

I will also gather information about the parents, including demographic and socio-cultural information, medical and psychological history, and educational background.  This information may help to provide additional context for Kenny’s current behaviour (Adamou et al., 2016).

I will inquire about current functioning and concerns from Kenny’s parents and teacher.  Since most diagnoses require a behaviour to be present across a variety of settings (Ickowicz et al., 2006), I will interview both the parents and the teacher about the presenting problems they see in Kenny and listen to their concerns.  Although this conversation will be largely unstructured, I will seek clarification or a thicker description if necessary.

I will then conduct a semi-structured interview with Kenny.  I will ask him about his interests, his experience at school, his home environment and his social interactions.  This will further allow me to establish a positive therapeutic alliance with the family and demonstrate to Kenny that his opinions are valued (Finn & Tonsager, 1997).  

Finally I will explain the assessment tools I plan to employ to Kenny, his parents and his teacher.  Since Kenny’s behaviour may indicate a number of disorders, I will administer a standardized and a non-standardized test to gain a deeper understanding of his actions.  I will score and interpret the results, and in doing so will analyze whether any of his behaviour is indicative of a disorder.  To conclude, I will clearly communicate all information gained through assessment to Kenny’s parents and teacher, ensuring that they understand the data and have a chance to ask questions if necessary.