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UPCOMING WORKSHOP
PREVIOUS WORKSHOPS
MASP Spring Professional Development and Annual General Meeting Thursday, May 20, 2010 Location: Shriners, 1155 Wilkes Avenue. Winnipeg, MB.
Speaker: Dr. John Walker is coauthor of Triumph Over Shyness, a self-help book for shyness and social anxiety and a book for practitioners titled Treating Health Anxiety and Fear of Death Although previously a practicing School Psychologist, Dr. Walker is currently a Professor in Clinical Health Psychology and service provider of individual and group treatment services for children, adolescents and adults with anxiety. Dr. Walker is author of numerous book chapters and research articles and is an active researcher whose work is known and respected world-wide. In this workshop, Dr. Walker reviewed research on the epidemiology of anxiety disorders and risk factors for anxiety disorders. Practical approaches to the assessment of anxiety disorders in children and adolescents were reviewed. Dr. Walker presented approaches to treatment that have been found to be effective. Session length: 1:00 pm - 3:45 pm. *FREE to all MASP Members* Check out these links: http://www.AnxietyBC.com and Spence Children's Anxiety Scale Annual General Meeting: 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm. (appetizers, dessert and beverages – complimentary for MASP members)
Working Memory and Academic Learning: Assessment and Intervention Friday, March 26,
2010
Working memory plays a critical, integral role in cognitive functioning and academic learning. Academic skills and performance depend heavily on working memory. The main purpose of this workshop was to provide psychologists with expertise in:
Information was provided on working memory sub-processes (e.g., phonological, visuo-spatial, episodic, verbal, executive). The assessment portion of the workshop included:
Cross-battery procedures for analyzing test scores gathered through selective testing were also demonstrated.
About The Presenter: Kenneth Merrell is a professor of school psychology at the University of Oregon, where he serves as head of the Department of Special Education and Clinical Sciences, and as co-director of the School Psychology Program. Dr. Merrell received his Ph.D. in school psychology at the University of Oregon in 1998, and held tenured faculty positions at the University of Iowa and Utah State University before returning to the University of Oregon in 2001. In addition to his academic experience, he worked for three years as a school psychologist for a public school district, and has extensive additional experience in providing psychological services and consultation in schools. Dr. Merrell's research and scholarly work in social-emotional assessment and intervention in schools has been published widely in the field of school psychology, and he has been recognized in three separate studies as one of the 20 most influential scholars in the field over the past two decades. His peers have acknowledged his impact by electing him a Fellow in the American Psychological Association's Division of School Psychology and Society for Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology. His research studies have been published in School Psychology Review, School Psychology Quarterly, Psychology in the Schools, the Journal of Psycho-educational Assessment, etc. He has authored more than 100 published works, including several books, assessment tools, and intervention curricula, and many journal articles. Currently, Dr. Merrell serves as editor of Guilford Press' influential Practical Intervention in the Schools book series, and is a member of the editorial advisory board for School Psychology Review. In addition, he is a member of the Board of Directors at the Oregon Social Learning Center in Eugene.
Topics Covered:
About The Presenter: Dr.
James B. Hale is a licensed psychologist, certified school psychologist, and
certified special education teacher. He joined PCOM in 2005 as an Associate
Professor in the School Psychology Program. Dr. Hale has over a decade of
experience teaching undergraduates, graduate students, and medical
residents/fellows in departments of psychology, pediatrics, neurology, and
neuroscience. He has served children and families in a variety of
school, hospital, and residential settings. Dr.
Hale has pursued multiple lines of research, including studies that examine
language and psychosocial functions associated with right hemisphere
dysfunction, challenge assumptions about standardized cognitive assessment and
the validity of global IQ scores for children with disabilities, and explore
frontal-subcortical circuit dysfunction in ADHD and medication response. His
legislative papers and testimony on assessment and treatment practices in the
schools have influenced the practice of school psychology at the local and
national level. Dr. Hale has mentored numerous students on theses and
dissertations; obtained both internal and external research and training
funding; provided numerous national and international presentations and
publications; served on editorial review boards for professional newsletters,
scholarly journals, and book publishers; completed local and national
accreditation portfolios for university programs; and consulted with numerous
professional organizations and governmental agencies.
Dr. Hale is also a member of several professional organizations including
the American Psychological Association, National Association of School
Psychologists, and International Neuropsychological Society.
Dr. Randy W. Kamphaus
Workshop Description: This full-day workshop provided a comprehensive description of the BASC-2 and its role in identifying emotional-behavioural disorders in children and adolescents. Participants learned to use and interpret the various components of the BASC-2 for the purposes of screening and assessing emotional-behavioural disorders, planning appropriate classroom interventions, and evaluating intervention effectiveness. Participants also learned to apply child psychopathology research to the processes of scale interpretation, report writing, oral communication, and the classification of emotional-behavioural disturbance. Case studies and research findings were used to demonstrate the utility of the various BASC-2 components for obtaining evidence of emotional-behavioural disturbance and in making differential diagnoses of Autism Spectrum Disorders, ADHD subtypes, depression, anxiety, and conduct disorders. An interesting difference between the BASC-2 and other similar instruments (e.g., CBCL, Conners' Scales) is the use of whole sample norms that do not use normalized T-scores. For example, Dr. Kamphaus feels that it is better to identify individuals in need of psychological help that match the natural disorder-specific male or female population bias as reported in the literature (e.g., more males have ADHD than females). This differs from other instruments that try to eliminate the natural gender bias by using separate male or female norms. By eliminating the gender bias, you actually deal with those who have the greatest problems, rather than distributing treatment equally based on gender. Dr. Kamphaus also believes that it is better to keep the natural skew found in the norm distributions, rather than create an artificial distribution by normalizing the T-scores. Toward the end of the workshop, Dr. Kamphaus recommended that school psychologists use the BASC-2 screening instruments to identify students in schools who need early intervention. This differs from the teacher-based referral system now used by many school psychologists, which has its own biases (e.g., some teachers refer more than others; there may be a preference to identify more externalizing students because they interfere more with teaching, etc.). About the Presenter: Dr. Randy W. Kamphaus is a co-author of the BASC-2. He is a Distinguished Research Professor and Head of the Department of Educational Psychology and Instructional Technology at the University of Georgia. In addition to classroom work, Dr. Kamphaus has served as Director of Training for the doctoral program in School Psychology, Director of the School Psychology Clinic as well as Faculty Administrator for Research in the College of Education. He is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association (APA) and a Past-President of APA’s School Psychology Division. Dr. Kamphaus is widely recognized for his research on classification methods, differential diagnosis, clinical test development, as well as learning disability and ADHD assessment. Dr. Kamphaus is an author or co-author of numerous books and psychological tests as well as more than 70 scientific journal articles and book chapters on topics related to the clinical assessment of children and adolescents. He is editor-elect of School Psychology Quarterly, the official journal of APA’s School Psychology Division. Dr. Kamphaus is also a frequent guest lecturer and speaker. MASP thanks PSYCAN for their support in sponsoring this workshop. PSYCAN representatives provided a display of the BASC-2 materials and other useful PSYCAN products.
Dr. Russell Barkley
October 13, 2006 Canad Inns Polo Park 1405 St. Matthews Avenue Winnipeg, Manitoba
This workshop was a great success, with 280 participants in attendance. Dr. Barkley is a true scientist-practitioner, who presented information about ADHD in a comprehensive, passionate, and scholarly manner. He discussed the symptoms and characteristics of ADHD as they are currently defined in the DSM-IV-TR, along with a sneak preview of the way the definition is likely to change in DSM-V. For example, the age requirement of demonstrating symptoms before the age of 7 years will likely be changed to showing symptoms before the onset of puberty. In addition, he mentioned how diagnostic criteria need to be adjusted based on gender, as well as age. For example, research shows that the number of symptoms to receive a diagnosis should be fewer in girls than in boys. Moreover, adults will manifest ADHD in a different manner than what is currently found in the DSM-IV-TR criteria, so he proposed a new set of criteria for ADHD diagnosis in adults.
Other topics included subtypes of ADHD, co-morbidity and differential diagnosis with other disorders (e.g., oppositional defiant disorder, conduct disorder, anxiety disorders, bipolar disorder, etc.), the executive functions affected by ADHD, the implications for functional impairment across the life span, and the biological causes of ADHD (e.g., genetic, low birth weight, maternal smoking, alcohol, lead poisoning, perinatal injury, etc.).
Of particular interest was Dr. Barkley's theory of ADHD based on inhibition and self-regulatory executive functions. His theory not only explained the various manifestations of ADHD and the resulting functional impairments, but it provided implications for treatment. Further to this, Dr. Barkley elaborated on the various types of treatment recommended for ADHD individuals (e.g., counselling parents, aerobic exercising, medication, external cueing systems, immediate feedback, increasing the frequency and saliency of consequences, using rewards before punishment, proactive planning, parent training, token systems, time out, classroom management, peer tutoring).
Near the conclusion of the workshop, Dr. Barkley offered specific guidelines for assessing ADHD (e.g., broad-band rating scales - BASC or CBC; ADHD specific scales - Conners; home/school situation scales; structured interview - as found in his workbook; brief IQ testing; screening for LDs - WRAT-III or WJ-III ACH; use of the BRIEF; measures of impairment - Vineland, ABAS-II; motivation to change - refer to work by Charles Cunningham; strengths/community resources).
Psychopharmacological Treatment of Children and Adolescents
This workshop provided participants with information on the common drug classes that are currently being used in the pediatric population. Medications that were discussed included stimulants, antidepressants, antipsychotics, and mood stabilizers. Treatment strategies for ADHD, Pediatric Bipolar Disorder, Juvenile Depression, and Anxiety Disorders was also explored.
The Development and Implementation of School-Based Protocols for Threat Assessment
This session
provided an opportunity to obtain
information on what’s been happening in some of our schools since the workshop
MASP hosted with Kevin Cameron. Representatives from a rural-based and an urban-based threat assessment
team shared their experiences in developing and implementing threat
assessment protocols within their respective school divisions.
An opportunity for open discussion of this topic was also provided.
The Role of the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF) in Assessing Executive Functioning
Presented by Dr. Steven Guy
Workshop Description:
In view of the complex
and varying presentation of executive function disturbance, it is critical that
psychologists be knowledgeable of the basic principles of executive function, as
well as the methods for properly assessing and treating difficulties within this
area of functioning.
This workshop introduced the BRIEF and gave a broad overview of the
executive functions in children and adolescents, including a review of basic
concepts and techniques for measuring executive functions.
Psychometric properties of the BRIEF were introduced, with an emphasis on
diverse populations.
Profiles of specific clinical groups were used to highlight
interpretations of the BRIEF.
About The Presenter:
Dr. Steven Guy is a pediatric neuropsychologist in private practice in Columbus, Ohio who works with children and adolescents having a wide variety of developmental and acquired conditions. He completed his undergraduate work at Judson College in Elgin, Illinois and his graduate work at DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois, with a two-year postdoctoral fellowship in neuropsychology completed at Mt. Washington Pediatric Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. Dr. Guy has been a clinical instructor at Ohio State University as well as the University of Maryland Medical Center’s Division of Pediatric Neurology/Department of Pediatrics. He is a co-author of the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF). Dr. Guy’s current research interests include learning disabilities and pervasive developmental disorders as well as the development of methods to assist in the assessment of executive functions.
The Revised Psychology Outcomes Program (POP)
Presenters: Allan Hawkins, Mark Robertson, Michelle Bahuaud
Allan
Hawkins, Consultant for Psychology with MECY, Mark Robertson, Program and Policy
Consultant with MECY, and Michelle Bahuaud, MASP representative and co-chair on
the POP committee, introduced the revised version of POP, which was released for use by school-based psychologists.
The presentation guided participants through the features and use of
this program. Not only will this
specialized database help track all of your cases, it can generate year-end
reports, produce numerous statistical graphs, allow for export to other
psychologists, and so on. The results of
initial data collection and analysis, as well as a recent inter-rater reliability study of
this program were also shared. For example,
there was a total average agreement of 88 % across five categories, using 4 case
scenarios, and 11 different psychologists. CD
copies of the POP software were provided to those interested in using this program.
Advanced Interpretation of the WISC-IV & WISC-IV Integrated
Presented by Dr. Amy Gabel Clinical Measurement Consultant with Harcourt Assessment/Psychological Corporation
Workshop
Description:
About The Presenter:Dr.
Amy Gabel is a Clinical Measurement Consultant with Harcourt Assessment/PsychCorp.
She earned her Ph.D. and M.S. in school psychology from Prior
to joining PsychCorp, Dr. Gabel worked in the Dr.
Gabel has extensive experience in providing training workshops at the state and
national levels on a wide range of topics, which have included executive
function disorders, ADHD, and reading disorders, as well as assessment and
intervention methodologies. View proceedings of the May 20th conference
The Role of Executive Functions in Learning and Behaviour:Strategies for Assessment and Intervention
Presented by: Dr. George McCloskey
Workshop Description:This workshop provided a practical approach to understanding cognitive processes now being labeled executive functions. The focus of the day was on the identification of executive function weaknesses, with emphasis on assessment methods and interpretation, intervention planning and intervention outcome measurement. Definitions, assessment methods and intervention strategies for children ages 5 to 18 were discussed. Case study material was used throughout the presentation, with plenty of opportunities provided for audience questions and answers.
About the Presenter:George McCloskey, Ph.D., is a Professor and Co-Director of Research in the Psychology Department of the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, and is an adjunct faculty member of the Long Island University Graduate Training Program in Psychology. He is also the Director of the SPARK Project (School Psychologists Adopting Refined Knowledge) for the New York City Department of Education, which provides updated skills training for 1,100 school psychologists. Dr. McCloskey presents frequently at national, regional and state meetings on the use and interpretation of assessment instruments and the linking of assessment with interventions. Dr. McCloskey has been involved in test development and publishing activities for the past 20 years. He was formerly a Senior Research Director and the Clinical Advisor to the Wechsler Test Development Group for The Psychological Corporation, and the Associate Director of Test Development for AGS Publishing.
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