Autism Understanding Beyond IQ Scores
A practical handbook for clinicians providing neurodiversity affirming cognitive and developmental assessments.
Gain confidence in creating a neurodiversity-affirming assessment experience with BEYOND IQ SCORES, the essential handbook for clinicians seeking to navigate the complexities of cognitive and developmental evaluations.
This comprehensive guide by clinical psychologist Lydia Meem takes you through every stage of the assessment process - from initial engagement with children and families to the nuanced analysis of responses, observations and neurodiversity affirming report writing.
Drawing from Lydia Meem's clinical expertise and case review research, the book is a treasure trove of neurodiversity-affirming strategies, explanations and recommendations that seamlessly integrate into your reports.
Packed with practical insights, this handbook provides a user-friendly checklist of key observations to decode and understand. As well as invaluable suggestions for interpreting presentations in cognitive assessments, including subtle indicators of autism.
The book also guides practitioners on how to:
- bring families on the assessment journey;
- modify assessments to allow clients to engage;
- provide feedback on brain styles; and
- provide recommendations that truly make a difference.
BEYOND IQ SCORES is the go-to resource for clinicians committed to embracing neurodiversity affirming practice and advocating for reasonable supports and accommodations at school.
Topics covered in the Beyond IQ Scores book include:
Preparing for an assessment
- What are we really doing when we assess a child's development or cognitive ability?
- What is the reason for referral, and how else might the report be used?
Engaging with children and families
- Preparing the assessment room
- Gaining and maintaining rapport with children who are currently non-speaking
- Engaging children who are reluctant, anxious or self-directed
- Partnering with families through the diagnostic process
Research-based observation of thinking styles and interaction styles
- Lydia's case review research on how Australian Autistic children and adolescents approached cognitive and developmental assessments
- Cognitive Assessment Observation Checklist
- For the observations you identify in the checklist - whether they could be signs of Autism or other developmental differences, questions to ask parents and teachers, further assessments to consider, and recommendations for your report
Modifying assessments
- When and how to modify assessments, and how to write about the modifications in your report
Analysing response patterns
- What do patterns of errors tell us about the child's skills and strengths?
- Looking for patterns around language and communication, visual problem-solving, attention, working memory, processing speed, fine motor skills, sensory overload, impulsive responding, personal preferences, cognitive flexibility, and adjusting to feedback
Sharing results and answering questions
- Neurodiversity affirming conversations and common questions
- How to explain developmental delay, intellectual disability, and changes in scores over time
Recommendations for your report
- Recommendation Menu
- Assisting parents to seek further assessment and advocate for accommodations
Resources
Would you like to be more confident discussing children and adolescents' thinking styles and interaction styles, not just discuss their psychometric test scores?
Do you want to be neurodiversity-affirming in sharing results and making recommendations?
This book is what you need!
Beyond IQ Scores
A practical handbook for clinicians providing neurodiversity affirming cognitive and developmental assessments, covering the whole assessment process from first contact, to gaining rapport, modifying assessments, interpreting the scores and observations, report-writing and the feedback session.
PRINT LENGTH: 170 PAGES
About the Book
PUBLICATION
DATE: November 2023
ISBN-10 0645970409
ISBN-13 978-0645970401
AUTHOR
Lydia Meem
Clinical Psychologist
Sydney Australia
COVER ART
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Lydia Meem
Lydia Meem is a neurodivergent clinical psychologist, a Fellow of the APS College of Clinical Psychologists, and founder of Autism Understanding psychology practice in Newcastle, Australia. She has worked with neurodivergent individuals since 1998, and presented autism and assessment training for psychologists, allied health professionals and teachers from 2009. Lydia is a popular speaker, presenting on neurodiversity affirming practice and internalised presentation of autism at conferences around the world.
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/lydia-meem
Instagram: autismunderstanding
Facebook: Autism Understanding