Cognitive Assessment of Children and Young People

Wednesday 25th March and Wednesday 1st July 2015 at The Crowne Plaza, Leeds

Workshop Details

An opportunity for Clinical and Educational Psychologists working with children, to update their practice and increase skills in undertaking cognitive assessment of children and young people. The focus of the workshop will be on practical issues of choosing, administering and interpreting cognitive assessments appropriate for the specific clinical issues and service context.

The workshop is over two 1 day workshops separated by 6 months. In between the workshops there will be opportunity for online case based discussion with the facilitators. The second day will build on the content presented on the first day. Therefore, attendance at the first day is a requirement for attending the second day.

DAY 1: This will provide an introduction to underpinning constructs and practical aspects of cognitive assessment with children. Contemporary theoretical perspective on brain and cognitive development will be referenced. There will opportunity for participants to discuss issues around when and how to offer assessments, how to develop formulations incorporating cognitive assessment, how to fit the assessments into wider teams and services, and how to develop best practice. The aim of the workshop to offer a supportive forum for consideration these issues. The workshop will consider issues relevant to children and young people only.

DAY 2: This will build on the first day’s content and will focused on extended assessment and interpretation of around individual cases. Professional issues and limitations and precautions relevant to cognitive assessment will be introduced.

The focus of the two days is on helping participants to think critically about how to carry out cognitive assessments with children and young people in non-neuropsychology settings where there may be no access to child neuropsychology expertise. There will be a focus on when to assess and what cognitive assessments might be helpful in developing formulations. We will think about making best use of the assessments that clinical and educational psychologists in these settings have access to and discuss how to interpret assessment findings, and thinking about using neuropsychological concepts in these assessments.

There will be opportunity to discuss barriers and good practice in a non-judgemental setting with the aim of participants going away with a clear sense of when and how they can best use cognitive assessment within their work context.

There will be opportunity for participants to bring case material to discuss, but this is not a requirement.

The workshop is a joint venture between the DCP Faculty for Children, Young People and Families, and the Paediatric Faculty of the Division of Neuropsychology.

The workshop provides added value through focusing on applied (Clinical and Educational) psychologists working with children who often find themselves needing to use cognitive assessment in settings where there are few applied psychologists, or where there is little access to relevant expertise. Applied psychologists offering these assessments need to be able to access high quality and focused training to ensure an appropriate level of competence and quality in the assessments offered to families.

Who is the workshop intended for?

Clinical psychologists and Educational psychologists working with children and teenagers in non-neuropsychology specialist settings such as CAMHS, neurodisability and paediatric settings. Attendees should have experience of carrying out cognitive assessments with children and young people.

Participants need to have had experience of carrying out cognitive assessments with children in their roles as Clinical or Educational Psychologists, and should bring case information to share during day two.

Learning outcomes and objectives:

• Develop a good understanding of the role of cognitive assessment in developing formulations and delivering services for children in non-neuropsychology specialist setting.
• Develop understanding of how cognitive assessments should be interpreted, including relevant limitations.
• Develop an understanding of the role of neuropsychological knowledge in work that involves cognitive assessments with children and young people.
• Develop skills in communicating assessment results and report writing.
• Develop understanding of the limitations for applied psychologists who are not clinical neuropsychologists, and how to define the limits of competence.

If you have any queries please contact us via the event hotline on 01332 224506