I am pleased to introduce four diverse and interesting articles, all related to the theme of assessment, in the practitioner section of the journal: Applied Practices.
In the first article, ‘Making Sense of Inconsistencies in Psycho-Educational Assessment: A Case Report’, by Linda Gilmore, Robyn Miller and Heather Ward, key assessment issues that we all face as practitioners are presented using an illustrative case study. The authors explore the integrating of different sources of findings, which are also often differing in content, to best recommend, assess further and implement interventions.
Interestingly, through a focus on the area of trauma, Debra Mainwaring's paper, ‘Creating a Safe Space: A Case Study of Complex Trauma and a Call for Proactive Comprehensive Psychoeducational Assessments and Reviews’, explores similar issues through a complex case study. Debra emphasises the importance of dynamic ongoing assessment as part of the process of intervention and program delivery. She wisely also stresses the need for comprehensive in-depth assessment, acknowledging that specific training will be needed so that practitioners can provide high quality, dynamic assessment work.
In her article, ‘Assessment of School-Aged Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder’, Jessica Paynter also challenges practitioners to be well prepared, both specifically and in terms of knowledge of ASD, to ensure their assessments are reliable, but also relevant and valid. Most of us will have experienced the specific complexities that are part of assessing a child with ASD. I personally found Jessica's confirmation and acknowledgement of these real difficulties in reliably assessing children presenting with ASD supportive and helpful. As well as addressing the dilemmas that arise, she provides excellent suggestions and resources, in addition to a comprehensive reference list.
Finally, we have published Laura Jellins' fascinating article on ‘Assessment in the Digital Age: An Overview of Online Tools and Considerations for Practitioners in Schools’. As a somewhat suspicious and uncertain novice in this area, I was pleased to read Laura's clear and practical introduction to the role of digital adjuncts to our assessment work. Her data on her colleagues' responses to this new technology was also heartening as Laura made it clear that smart technology and the digital revolution are something for us all, not just the obviously smart young!
All four articles successfully open up and challenge us to widen our views on assessment, to remember Sattler's four pillars of assessment, which optimally complement one another and that ‘information from the various sources must be woven together so that the final tapestry is integrated, understandable, meaningful and consistent’, as quoted in Gilmore et al.'s paper. Assessment is a key role for psychologists and counsellors working in school settings, with these four papers reminding us of all of its significance and the importance of assessing reliability, validity and well, in order to enhance the lives of children and young people we work with.
The guidelines for the Applied Practices' section are reiterated below as a reminder to colleagues that you too can prepare a paper for this practitioner section and become a successfully published author.
In this section of the journal, papers need to have an applied focus, with scope for colleagues to offer papers such as:
• small-scale evaluations of practice where the findings are interesting and noted as preliminary and worthy of further exploration, even if these are not methodologically at the standard required for contributions to the main journal (e.g., no control group);
• conceptual or research literature reviews with implications for practice, with a specific reflective argument addressing practice, possibly provocatively;
• linked case study/ies in therapeutic, learning, and behaviour areas of intervention integrated around a common theme.
Papers are refereed and review guidelines include the following:
1. The article is of interest and relevance to members;
2. It is well written, and properly referenced using APA 6th edition guidelines;
3. It has a literature base for the work/findings/thinking;
4. It is approximately 3,000 words, with some flexibility;
5. It contains a 120-word abstract;
6. It has a clearly articulated argument, looks to future direction and so forth; thus, it goes beyond simple description and is analytic.
