Psychological and Developmental Assessment

Reviews / Votes

There has long been a need for a comprehensive volume on the assessment of children with disabilities and chronic health conditions. These children can benefit greatly from individualized psychological assessment and treatment planning that is guided by a developmental approach. Scholarly yet practical, this book provides practitioners with the information they need to meet the challenge. The volume combines thoughtful overviews of relevant clinical assessment issues with chapters devoted to a range of specific conditions. Contributions from experienced practitioners and scientists provide very helpful guidance on requisite concepts and methods. This volume is likely to become the authoritative text in the field. It will prove highly useful for practitioners in clinical, developmental, and pediatric psychology, and for graduate-level students in these areas. --Dennis Drotar, PhD, Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.

This text is unique in its broad coverage of quantitative, qualitative, and ecological assessment approaches, all in one volume. The authors do a good job of highlighting the causes of many disabilities and showing how the nature of the disability affects the assessments that will be done. Useful special topics covered include the assessment of children with disabilities who have suffered from maltreatment or trauma. I was also impressed by the concluding chapter on ethical and legal issues. ---Joan Lieber, PhD, University of Maryland, College Park

This volume represents the state of the art in psychological assessment of children. Chapters on assessing children with a variety of special needs are accentuated with current research and compelling case studies. An excellent graduate-level text, the work will also serve as a reference for child psychologists in school or private practice settings. --Michael D. West, PhD, Rehabilitation Research and Training Center, Virginia Commonwealth University

Clinicians seeking a broader alternative to conventional testing practices and materials will rejoice as they read this book, and will be sure to refer to it repeatedly in their work. It makes a compelling case for moving beyond strictly psychometric testing, especially for hard-to-assess children and adolescents. --John T. Neisworth, PhD, Educational and School Psychology and Special Education, The Pennsylvania State University

This is the most sensible and useful resource to date on the psychological assessment of children with chronic conditions and disabilities. I am impressed with the authors' coverage of both qualitative and quantitative methods; their functional approach to classifying needs; and the linkages they establish between assessment, intervention, and progress/program evaluation. No other text on the subject offers this necessary, integrated perspective. Psychologists of all specialties who work with these populations--whether in training or in practice--will find this an invaluable resource. A superb contribution to the literature. --Stephen J. Bagnato, EdD, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh and the University of Pittsburgh.
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