This opinion piece considers the current predominance of assessment tools and strategies in working with people at risk of suicide, and questions their efficacy and how they are privileged in day to day mental health practice. While such tools and an evidence-based "scientific" approach to assessment clearly has its place, the author…

Adolescence is a developmental period that affords both risk as well as enormous opportunity. Ripple effects can extend far and wide and speak to the nuance and complexity in understanding and treating ADHD during the adolescent period. The studies in this special issue provide novel and important insights into the lives of adolescents with ADHD,…

Adolescence is a developmental period that affords both risk as well as enormous opportunity. Ripple effects can extend far and wide and speak to the nuance and complexity in understanding and treating ADHD during the adolescent period. The studies in this special issue provide novel and important insights into the lives of adolescents with ADHD,…

Linking evaluation methods to the several phases of a program's life cycle can provide evaluation planners and funders with guidance about what types of evaluation are most appropriate over the trajectory of social and educational programs and other interventions. If methods are matched to the needs of program phases, evaluation can and should…

The purpose of this extended commentary article is to frame the set of studies in the first of two issues and recommend areas of inquiry for future research. This special series issue features studies examining the technical qualities of formative assessment procedures that were developed to inform intervention. This article intends to emphasize…

The author was favorably impressed with the breadth, scope, and quality of the articles in this issue that dealt with the various aspects and correlates of social behavioral functioning as well as assessment and intervention considerations. Each of these articles dealt with a unique aspect of social behavioral functioning in children and youth and…

In this webinar, Janice A. Dole, Professor and Director of the Reading and Literacy Program in the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Utah, discussed different strategies for delivering literacy instruction to meet a range of student needs, including the ways in which teachers can collaborate with reading specialists to…

A "big idea" is a concept that gives meaning to discrete facts. In this article, the author proposes a small number of big ideas, as well as his own views on where he thinks the field needs to move to achieve its full promise in school-based behavioral and social-emotional assessment. The three big ideas he has selected include: (1) universal…

This invited commentary includes observations about the article "Building Local Capacity for Training and Coaching Data-Based Problem Solving with Positive Behavior Interventions and Support Teams," published in the July 2011 issue of the "Journal of Applied School Psychology." In this article Newton and colleagues present an interesting field…

The belief that randomized controlled trials provide a "gold standard" for evaluating therapeutic interventions is challenged. The need for research designs that produce valid and reliable information about interventions, which is clinically/educationally relevant and personally important, is discussed together with possibilities for broadening…

Presents self-confrontation as method of assessment in counseling with both diagnostic and process-promoting functions. Notes that method gives overall picture of content and organization of client's self while promoting reorganization of self over time. Illustrates method in case study where a young man made important change in his school career.…

A subtheory of intellectual giftedness is presented that centers on the role of insight. Component processes of insight (selective encoding, combination, and comparison) are reviewed, and approaches to its evaluation are noted. Results of an intervention study are cited to suggest the feasibility of training insight. (CL)

This special series focused on treatment integrity in the child mental health and education field is timely. The articles do a laudable job of reviewing (a) the current status of treatment integrity research and measurement, (b) existing conceptual models of treatment integrity, and (c) the limitations of prior research. Overall, this thoughtful…

The paper proposes a methodological expansion in evaluation research--an eco-behavioral approach. Implications of using the eco-behavioral approach in the evaluation of preschool programs for the disabled are discussed. This methodology is said to allow both determination of early intervention effectiveness and specification of factors responsible…

The author responds to a previous article (EC 122 795) explaining and critiquing various efficiency index formulas to quantify the effectiveness of intervention in preschool program for the handicapped. (DB)