The casework techniques used by the social worker in a medical setting: a study of the casework techniques in fifty closed cases of the social service department of the Massachusetts General Hospital.

Thesis (M.S.)--Boston Universit

Profile Analysis on the WISC-IV and WAIS-III in the low intellectual range: Is it valid and reliable?

This paper examines how far it is valid to generate a profile of an individual’s cognitive abilities using the WISC-IV or WAIS-III for individuals in the low ability range. Data are presented which demonstrate that the WISC-IV and WAIS-III assessments produce different cognitive profiles, when given to the same 16-year-olds who receive special education. It is suggested that at the low IQ level, subtest and index scores may lack sufficient stability for the WISC-IV or WAIS-III to produce reliable cognitive profiles

A comparison of the WISC-IV and WAIS-III in the low IQ range

A diagnosis of intellectual disability (ID), mental retardation (MR) or Learning Disabilities (LD) can have a major effect on people’s lives. On the positive side it can provide services, finance, help in schools, and can even prevent the recipient from being executed (Flynn 2006; Flynn 2007; Schalock et al 2007). On the negative side it is may be regarded as a stigmatizing label that an individual may seek to avoid (Baroff 1999). Currently a necessary though not sufficient part of the diagnosis of ID is having an IQ below a specified figure, usually 70, or two standard deviations (SDs) below the norm (American Association on Mental Retardation, 2002; American Psychiatric Association 2000; Department of Health 2001; British Psychological Society 2001). This specification of a specific IQ figure implies that an individual has a “true IQ” that can be measured. If different IQ tests systematically measure either higher or lower than other tests it would raise the question as to which IQ test was providing the best estimate of an individual’s true IQ. In the absence of a test that is clearly an accurate measure of true IQ, the best that could be done would be to decide which of the many IQ tests is likely to be the most accurate, and take that as the “gold standard” assessment against which other assessment should be compared. The Wechsler assessments, the WISC-IV and the WAIS-III should have a good claim to be regarded as the gold standard assessments. However, for these assessments to be accepted as gold standard assessments for the diagnosis of ID, it requires that they should produce equivalent IQ scores in the low ability range. We compared the WISC-IV and WAIS-III on a group of 16-year-olds in special education. Sixteen being the age group at which both assessments can be used. Both the WISC-IV and the WAIS-III were given to seventeen 16-year-olds (9 female and 8 male) attending local special schools in counterbalanced order. The results were as follows: WISC-IV WAIS-III Diff r Mean Full Scale IQ 53.00 64.82 11.82 .93 In spite of a very high correlation between the two scales there was a highly significant difference between the mean FS IQ on each scale of nearly 12 points (P<.001 on t-test); none of the participants in the study scored higher on the WISC-IV than they did on the WAIS-III. It is therefore clear that either one or both of these assessments is failing to produce an accurate measure of an individuals true IQ. As the degree to which either assessment is in error is not known, it is clearly possible that either the WISC-IV is systematically underestimating true IQ by up to 12 points, or the WAIS-III is systematically overestimating true IQ by 12 points or both assessments are making systematic errors of less than 12 points. Clearly this has implications for the use of a specified IQ figure as a diagnostic criterion for ID. Summary of abstract The WISC-IV and WAIS-III were given to seventeen 16-year-olds in special education in counterbalanced order. The mean FS IQ on the WISC-IV was 53.00 and on the WAIS-III it was 64.82 a difference of nearly 12 points. The correlation between the two assessments was .93. It is therefore clear that either one or both of these assessments is failing to produce an accurate measure of an individuals true IQ

Restructuring Teacher Education

As part of the process of developing a four year Bachelor of Education in September 1994, Edith Cowan University conducted a public seminar entitled \u27\u27Restructuring Teacher Education . The invited speakers were Dr Shirley Grundy (Murdoch University), Professor Bob Meyenn (Charles Sturt University), Sandra Milligan (Ashenden Milligan Pty Ltd), Professor Paige Porter (University of Western Australia), Greg Robson (Education Department of Western Australia and Professor Gordon Stanley (Education Policy and Coordination Bureau). Two of the presentations are published here to inform others engaged in the tasks of restructuring teacher education

Cleft lip palate in Cape Town

No Abstract

Implanting Effects on Performance, Carcass Characteristics and Reproductive Parameters in Intact Beef Males

The research presented herein was designed to determine the effects of post-weaning implanting on performance, carcass characteristics, hormonal profile and reproductive parameters

The facilitators of communication with people with dementia in a care setting: an interview study with healthcare workers

Objectives: to describe the views of healthcare workers on the facilitators of communication with people with dementia in a care setting. Design: thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews. Setting: all participants were interviewed in their place of work. Participants: sixteen healthcare workers whose daily work involves interacting with people with dementia. Results: four overarching categories of themes were identified from the interviews that impact on communication: the attributes of a care worker, communication strategies used, organisational factors and the physical characteristics of the care environment. Conclusion: many strategies used by healthcare workers to facilitate communication have not yet been studied in the research literature. Participants’ views on training should be incorporated into future dementia training programmes

Effect of care assistant communication style on communicative behaviours of residents with dementia: a systematic multiple case-study

Objectives: To determine whether varying the communication style of care assistants, encouraging them to use direct instructions and allowing more time for residents’ responses, influenced the communicative behaviour of care home residents living with dementia.Design: This study used a multiple systematic case-study design. Participants were videorecorded during morning care routines in three communication conditions: usual communication, direct instructions and pacing (allowing more time for resident responses).Each dyad acted as its own control.Setting: The study took place in a residential care home in the East Midlands, UK.Participants: Three dyads (person with dementia/care worker)Measures: The level of compliance with instructions was measured. Validated measures were used to rate positive communicative behaviour (engagement with care tasks, eye contact, initiation of interaction) and negative communicative behaviour (e.g. shouting, kicking).Results: Care assistants were able to employ direct instructions after brief training. The use of direct instructions was positively correlated with positive communicative behaviour from residents (p [less than] 0.05). The pacing condition was not employed adequately to evaluate effectiveness. Negative communicative behaviour (resistiveness to care) was rare.Conclusion: The use of direct instructions by care assistants holds promise for effective communication with people with dementia and warrants further investigation in larger samples and in varied contexts