Essentials of Assessment Report Writing -- Essentials of Psychological Assessment Series -- CONTENTS -- SERIES PREFACE -- One: INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW -- PURPOSES OF ASSESSMENT REPORTS -- FOCUS ON THE PERSON AND THE PROBLEM -- COHESION AND ORGANIZATION OF THE REPORT -- Reason for Referral -- Background Information -- Behavioral Observations -- Test Results and Interpretation -- Diagnostic Impressions and Recommendations -- Two: TECHNICAL ASPECTS OF WRITING -- REPORT FRAMEWORK -- COMPONENTS OF WRITING STYLE -- Logical Organization -- Smooth Transitions -- Concise Wording -- Paragraph Organization -- Clear and Accurate Writing -- GRAMMAR -- PUNCTUATION -- CAPITALIZATION -- OTHER DETAILS OF WRITING -- Verb Tense -- Page Numbering -- Spacing -- Signature and Credentials -- BEFORE AND AFTER WRITING -- Use an Outline Before Writing -- Read Your Rough Draft and Edit and Revise It After Writing -- Three: REFERRAL AND BACKGROUND INFORMATION -- TITLE AND IDENTIFYING INFORMATION -- REASON FOR REFERRAL -- BACKGROUND INFORMATION -- How to Collect Background Information -- Four: BEHAVIORAL OBSERVATIONS -- OBSERVATIONS DURING THE ASSESSMENT -- Physical Appearance -- Ease of Establishing and Maintaining Rapport with Examinee -- Communication -- Response to Failures -- Response to Feedback -- Attention -- Activity Level -- Mood and Temperament -- Problem-Solving Strategies -- Attitude Toward Self -- Unusual Mannerisms or Habits -- TOOLS TO ASSESS BEHAVIOR OBJECTIVELY -- WRITING BEHAVIORAL OBSERVATIONS -- Influences of Behavior on the Assessment -- Statement Describing the Validity of the Test Results -- OBSERVING IN NONTESTING ENVIRONMENTS -- Event Recording -- Duration Recording -- Time Sampling -- Narrative Recording -- PUBLISHED OBSERVATIONAL SYSTEMS -- Behavioral Assessment System for Children-Student Observation System.

Child Behavior Checklist-Direct Observation Form -- Controls for No Norms in Structured Observations -- Five: TEST RESULTS AND INTERPRETATION -- PRINCIPLES OF ORGANIZATION -- Decide upon a Basic Format -- Use Subheadings -- Move from Global to Specific -- Move from Standardized to Informal Results -- Use Global Themes to Organize -- Use Contrast to Organize -- CONSISTENCY OF THE FINDINGS -- How Are the Findings Consistent? -- What Patterns of Data Support the Common Themes? -- Which Data Are Contradictory? -- How Can You Explain the Contradictions? -- INTERPRETATION AND REPORTING OF SCORES -- Examine Global, Factor, and Subtest Scores -- Focus on the Individual and Not the Test Scores -- Describe Exactly What the Person Could and Could Not Do -- Report Scores so They Are Easy to Understand -- Six: DIAGNOSTIC IMPRESSIONS AND SUMMARY -- DIAGNOSTIC IMPRESSIONS -- Describe the Data That Support the Diagnosis -- Provide Enough Data to Support the Conclusions -- Use a Diagnostic Code When Appropriate -- Consider the Setting -- Describe Your Clinical Impressions -- Determine Whether or Not You Are Qualified to Make a Diagnosis -- SUMMARY -- Inclusion of a Summary Section -- Contents of the Summary Section -- Main Principles for Writing Summaries -- Seven: PERSONALITY ASSESSMENT -- FUNDAMENTAL QUALITIES OF A PERSONALITY REPORT -- Psychologists Serve as Consultants in the Personality Assessment -- A Personality Report Is an Interpretation -- The Diagnostic Understanding of Personality Is Dynamic -- Identifying the Level of Personality Functioning Helps Organize the Report -- Identifying Patients' Strengths Is as Important as Conceptualizing Their Weaknesses -- Comprehensive Personality Reports Describe the Range of Functioning -- Psychological Testing Is a Clinical Intervention -- The Challenges of Writing for Children and Adolescents.

Good Reports Are Written in Good Prose -- CASE ILLUSTRATION -- PSYCHOLOGICAL EVALUATION OF ELIZABETH R [BY RITA W. McCLEARY] -- Background Information and Reason for Referral -- Tests Administered -- Diagnostic Understanding -- Summary and Recommendations -- Appendix to Elizabeth R's Report: WAIS-III-III Results -- Eight: RECOMMENDATIONS -- GENERAL PRINCIPLES -- Focus of the Recommendations -- Placement of the Recommendations -- Complexity of Recommendations -- Number of Recommendations -- Specificity of Recommendations -- Prescriptive Nature of Recommendations -- Implementation of Recommendations -- Organization and Introduction of the Recommendations -- SUBSECTIONS -- Further Assessment or Evaluation -- Accommodations -- Interventions -- CONCLUSION -- Nine: SPECIAL ISSUES IN REPORT WRITING -- FEEDBACK -- Conference Participants -- Multiple Participants -- Responses to Findings -- COMPUTERS IN THE ASSESSMENT PROCESS -- ETHICAL STANDARDS IN ASSESSMENT -- CONFIDENTIALITY -- Ten: ILLUSTRATIVE CASE REPORTS -- ILLUSTRATIVE CASE REPORT 1: COGNITIVE AND EDUCATIONAL EVALUATION -- Reason for Referral -- Background Information -- Prior Evaluations -- Behavioral Observations -- Tests Administered -- Test Results -- Summary and Conclusions -- Educational Recommendations -- Mathematics -- Money -- ILLUSTRATIVE CASE REPORT 2: PSYCHOLOGICAL EVALUATION -- Identification and Reason for Assessment -- Means of Assessment -- Committing Offense and Precursors -- Mental Status Examination -- Neuropsychological Screening -- Personality Functioning -- Treatment Planning Recommendations -- ILLUSTRATIVE CASE REPORT 3: PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT -- Reason for Referral -- Background Information -- Tests Administered -- School Observation -- Behavioral Observations -- Test Results and Interpretation -- Summary and Diagnostic Impression -- Recommendations.

ILLUSTRATIVE CASE REPORT 4: PSYCHOEDUCATIONAL REPORT -- Reason for Referral -- Background Information -- Behavioral Observations -- Assessments Used -- Interpretation -- Conclusions -- ILLUSTRATIVE CASE REPORTS: PSYCHOEDUCATIONAL EVALUATION -- Referral and Background Information -- Appearance and Behavioral Characteristics -- Tests Administered -- Test Results and Interpretation -- Summary and Diagnostic Impression -- Recommendations -- Psychometric Summary for Brianna Bailey -- KTEA-II Error Analysis -- Appendix Information About Tests Cited in the Text -- References -- Annotated Bibliography -- Index -- EULA.