Pre-Intervention
Assessment
SATTLER & HOGUE (2006): CHAPTER 5
SATTLER & HOGUE (2006): CHAPTER 8
Case Conceptualization Chart
Initial
Referral
Information
Apriori
Questions
Tools
Case Conceptualization Chart
Initial
Referral
Inattentive
Information
Apriori
Questions
Tools
Case Conceptualization Chart
Initial
Referral
Inattentive
Information
Apriori
Questions
Health problems?
System = worries?
Sleep problems?
Comprehension
problems?
ADHD?
Tools
Case Conceptualization Chart
Initial
Referral
Inattentive
Information
Apriori
Questions
Tools
Health problems?
Interview-Bckgrnd
System = worries?
Interview-Dx
Sleep problems?
Observation-home
Comprehension
problems?
Observationschool
ADHD?
IQ
Achievement
Rating Scales
Observational Methods
SATTLER & HOGUE (2006): CHAPTER 8
Systematic Observations
 Time/event appropriate
 Operationally define the behavior you are observing
 Have a planned recording technique
 May want to have more than one setting.
 May want to have more than one observer.
 Generally works best for high incidence behaviors.
 Must have a plan for how to handle injurious
behaviors.
 Can take place in a planned (forced) situation or in a
natural situation.
Observations should include…
 Setting information:
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what does it look like
comfort levels
anything unique or unusual in the setting.
 Patterns:
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including leaders/ followers (organizational patterns)
communication patterns
interactions with the settings (ecological patterns).
 Opportunities:
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Are basic needs met?
Are individuals receiving developmentally appropriate stimulation?
Are individuals receiving social stimulation?
Designing an Observation
 How many times will you observe?
 How long will you observe?
 When/ where will you observe?
 What behaviors will you observe?
 How will you record the data?
Recording Data
 Write a narrative describing the observation.
 Create an audio or video record the observation
 Use a specific form to collect the data.
 Anecdotal record form: You write the time and a description of
each significant behavior following a narrative section on
settings, patterns, and opportunities.
 Quantitative record form
Interval recording (time sampling, interval sampling, & interval
time sampling).
 Event recording (event sampling)

Time Sampling: Types
 Partial Interval Time Sampling
 Record the behavior if it happens once during a set time
period. For example, if it occurs at all during a 60 second
period.
 Whole-Interval Time Sampling
 Record the behavior if it occurs during the whole interval. For
example, if it occurs lasts from the first second to the last in a
60 second interval.
 Other time sampling methods
 Other methods are available but not often used.
Time Sampling: Pre-planning
 Choose the type that you want to use
 Choose the length of the observation
period
 Choose the length of the interval
 Select target behaviors
 Choose a method of recording the
behavior.
Time Sampling: Example
Targeted
Behaviors
@10
sec
@20
Sec
@30
Sec
@40
Sec
@50
Sec
@60
sec
Time Sampling: Example
Targeted
Behaviors
@10
sec
Out of his seat
X
Making noises
Not working
Partial-interval
@20
Sec
@30
Sec
@40
Sec
@50
Sec
X
X
X
X
X
X
@60
sec
X
X
X
X
X
Event Sampling
 Record every time the client performs a certain
action.
 For example:
Targeted
Behaviors
Number of times
In 3 min period
Out of his seat
|||
Making noises
|||| |||
Not working
||
Observation: Quantitative Data
 Frequency: How many X in Y minutes
(e.g., 3 times per min).
 Duration: How long is this happening
(e.g., he cried for 3 min).
 Duration: What percentage of time is this happening
(e.g., he cried for 45% of the time).
 Latency: How long does it take between the stimulus
and the response.
(e.g., he started crying 20 seconds after his mother
left)
Other People’s Observations
 Rating Scales:
Have other people rate the client’s behavior.
 Based on a general feeling and not a direct observation.
 Likert scale: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 (1=never; 5=always)
 Review of Records:
 School records
 Background questionnaires
 Medical records
 Interviews
 Parent
 Teacher
 Other
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General Interviewing
Techniques
SATTLER & HOGUE (2006): CHAPTER 5
Qualities of a Clinical Interview
 Formal
 Planned
 Structured
 Purposeful
 One-way question/ answer pattern
 Interviewer does not show emotional reactions
 Confidential
Assessment Interview vs. Therapeutic Interview
 Therapeutic Interview: Purpose is to get the client to
open up and identify their own problems.

Open questions mostly
 Clinical Interviews: Purpose is for the clinician to
understand the client’s problems.

Mixture of open and closed questions.
 Indirect open (questions):
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Describe how you feel about school?
How do you feel most days?
 Direct (closed) questions:
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Do you have friends?
Have you ever tried to hurt yourself?
Assessment Interview &Therapeutic Interview
 Similarities between assessment and therapeutic
interviews include:

Rapport: client must feel comfortable with the clinician.
Clinician is usually:
Respectful
 Genuine
 Empathetic
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Skills: knowledge of interviewing, counseling techniques, child
development, etc.
Goals: sets of questions are purposeful and planned to reach a
single goal (either information gathering or client
improvement).
Function of assessment interview
 Communicate the assessment process
 Obtain background information
 Better describe the problem (severity, context, etc.)
 Clarify misunderstandings about the assessment and
counseling services held by parents or children.
 Verify previous dx and hx
 Formulate hypotheses about the child and system
 Learn about the receptiveness of the child and family
to treatment.
Weaknesses in the Assessment Interview
 Psychometric weaknesses (reliability, validity, etc.)
 When the interviewer is weak or novice, then the
wrong information is solicited and/or no useful
information is obtained.
 Interviewees may have something keeping them
from being clear (e.g., a young child, elderly,
psychotic, etc.) or truthful (e.g., personality disorder,
fear, abuse, etc.).
 Strongly influenced by clinical rapport with the
interviewer.
Types of Interviews
 Unstructured Interview
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Tells their story
Guided by the interviewer based on a loose agenda.
Example, “what brought you in today?”
 Semi-structured Interview
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Interviewer gives some questions, but lets the interviewee have some
freedom in their response.
Guided by the interviewer based on a firm agenda.
Example, “describe your problems with depression.”
 Structured Interview
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Interviewer has concrete questions that are formalized.
Guided by the interviewer based on a set agenda.
Example, “how many times have you attempted suicide?”
Types of Interviews
 Unstructured Interview
 Strengths: May get more information than just “what is asked.”
 Weaknesses: Poor psychometrics
 Interviewer skill level needed: Expert
 Semi-structured Interview
 Strengths: provides a guided overview of all of the client’s potential
issues without making them feel “unheard.”
 Weaknesses: May miss information, problems with psychometrics.
 Interviewer skill level needed: Moderate
 Structured Interview
 Strengths: Designed to cover most topics, better psychometrics
(however, there are still problems with this).
 Weaknesses: Children may not understand the question as asked, may
not be culturally relevant, may miss important information.
 Interviewer skill level needed: Novice
Before the Interview
 Know why you are conducting the interview.
 Review records and obtain as much info about the
client before the interview.
 Make sure you are aware of any client-specific issues
that might effect your interview (e.g., culture, health,
language proficiency, etc.)
 Be prepared to describe confidentiality at the
appropriate level to the client’s needs.
 Pay attention to the client’s mental health status to
determine the validity of the information at the time
of the interview.
During the Interview
 Be prepared to answer questions as well as ask them.
 Monitor how the client is making you feel and react to their
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words or actions.
Evaluate how things are going and be willing to change your
interview style if need be.
Do not try to fill all of the silences.
Pay attention to when their words and actions do not connect.
Record the information accurately.
Do not feel that you have to have all of your assessment
interview completed in the first session. More questions may
arise or you may need more time.
Before ending the interview, allow for questions from the
client.
Plan how you want to end the interview. The client should
leave feeling respected.
Listening
 Be prepared ahead of time.
 Listen to what they are actually saying, not what you
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think (or expect them to be) they are saying.
Pay attention to who you are paying attention to (e.g.,
when 2 people are in the room are they both being
listened to equally… why or why not?)
Meta-listen (listen to how they are saying things and not
just what they are saying).
Let silences happen.
Pay attention to when they are deflecting, only answering
partially, or may be trying to “not” say something.
Types of Questions to Avoid
 Yes-no questions
 Double-barreled questions
 Long, multiple questions
 Leading questions
 Coercive Questions
 Embarrassing or accusatory questions
 Why questions
Asking Tough Questions
 Must have rapport.
 Must be sensitive to body language, silences, and refusal to
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speak.
Be patient; you may have to build a relationship before you can
ask these questions.
Allow for silences.
Admit that the conversation/ topic can be difficult and/or
awkward.
Monitor for anxiety from the client.
Acknowledge the client’s stress and be positive about their
ability to open up.
Use reflective statements for what they say and do.
Diagnostic Interview
 Usually is a specific form of clinical interview.
 Clinician bases questions of a diagnostic criteria for a
suspected area of disability.
 Questions may be formally written down prior the
interview or can be obtained through a published
interview (e.g., Brown ADHD Interview).
 May involve sensitive questions, so this should be
done once you have some rapport established.
 Should not just be a checklist (yes/no) of symptoms.