New York, NY (PRWEB) August 19, 2015
Pearson today unveiled the third edition of its comprehensive clinical assessment for identifying, remediating and managing emotional and behavioral issues in children and young adults. For more than 20 years, the Behavior Assessment System for Children (BASC) has provided school and clinical psychologists with a complete picture of a child's behavior.
In the third edition, authors Cecil Reynolds, Ph.D., and Randy Kamphaus, Ph.D., provide a rating system that delivers a wealth of information to support diagnostic and classification decisions in areas that have an impact on a child’s ability to thrive at home and at school, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism and executive functioning. The BASC-3 analyzes a child or young adult’s behavior from three perspectives—self, teacher and parent—providing a more complete and balanced picture.
An experienced professional who has worked with elementary, middle and high school students as well as taught at the graduate level, Daniel C. Hurley is starting his 11th year as one of two school psychologists at Franklin Delano Roosevelt High School in New York’s Hyde Park Central School District. Hurley and his colleague serve approximately 1,300 students. One of the unique aspects of the school is that it hosts a number of intensive special education programs. Hurley said, “While many other schools place students with high behavioral and management needs in out-of-district placements, we have developed in-district programs for students with emotional disturbances, intellectual disabilities and autism.”
As a school psychologist, Hurley uses the BASC to detect the presence and severity of emotional and behavioral problems in students. He said that the BASC, along with direct observation from multiple raters, such as parents, teachers and the student, structured interviews, a social history, and any other available records, allow the school to provide the most appropriate support for students as well as effectively monitor their progress.
Hurley said, “There is no other rating scale or behavioral assessment system that assesses a student's functioning to the breadth or the depth of the BASC. I particularly find it useful in assessing broad information such as internalizing problems, but also use it to assess more specific difficulties such as anxiety.”
In the last year, the BASC became available online via Q-Global, Pearson's web-based system for administering, scoring and reporting clinical assessments. Hurley is looking forward to delivering the BASC-3 online. He said, “Since I began utilizing the online Q-Global system to administer and score BASC forms, I have had an increase in the response rate and decrease in response times from parents and teachers. Q-Global also has saved my time, eliminating the need to manually enter item responses.”
The BASC-3 now includes the Flex Monitor, a computer-based collection, scoring and reporting system that allows clinicians and school psychologists to track a child’s behavioral progress over time. Coupled with the Behavioral and Emotional Screening System (BESS) and the Behavior Intervention Guide, the BASC-3 family of instruments provides end-to-end solutions for identification and effective remediation of behavioral and emotional problems that impact academic functioning and overall health of children and adolescents.
“Pearson is committed to providing school psychologists and other clinicians with high-quality assessments that deliver comprehensive information to support diagnostic decisions for children and young adults,” said Aurelio Prifitera, Ph.D., managing director of Pearson’s clinical assessment group. “As Mr. Hurley and his colleagues around the country begin using the BASC-3, they will find that it provides an even more complete picture for diagnosing and targeting interventions for the students that they serve.”
BASC-3 co-author Cecil R. Reynolds, Ph.D., is emeritus professor of educational psychology, professor of neuroscience and distinguished research scholar at Texas A&M University. Well-known for his work in psychological testing and assessment, he is author or editor of more than 45 books, including "The Handbook of School Psychology", the "Encyclopedia of Special Education", and the two-volume "Handbook of Psychological and Educational Assessment of Children".
Randy W. Kamphaus, Ph.D., is a professor and dean of the College of Education at the University of Oregon. He is best-known for his research in classification methods, differential diagnosis, test development, and learning disability and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) assessment. He has authored or co-authored numerous books, psychological and educational tests, scientific journal articles, test reviews, and book chapters on these topics.
About Pearson
Pearson is the world’s leading learning company, with 40,000 employees in more than 80 countries working to help people of all ages to make measurable progress in their lives through learning. Pearson’s clinical assessment group provides sensory, motor, and development instruments for occupational and physical therapists and related clinicians to help develop insights that support evaluations and shape treatment plans. For more information about Pearson’s clinical assessments, visit http://www.pearsonclinical.com.