By the end of January ...

By the end of the first semester, January 23, I want to be able to assess emotional disturbed and autistic children. Learning how to use a psychological assessment will come in handy regardless of which field of psychology I decide to pursue. All psychologists must learn how to accurately assess patients and decide how to pursue treatment. Providing a correct assessment is crucial in order to give effective treatment and improve the life of patients. Correctly assessing kids with learning and behavioral difficulties can improve functionality in the classroom. Many autistic children have difficulties verbally communicating, making their behaviors key insights into how their brain works with their disability. Correctly assessing patients also helps attribute whether their behaviors are a reflection of their disability, or a result from it. By the middle of October, I want to be familiar with the assessment tool my mentor uses to assess her patients. By the end of October, my hope is I will be familiar with the assessment tool and start to learn how to apply it in the classroom. By the middle of November, I want to be comfortable with the content in the assessment handbook and know what to look for when assessing patients. I want to recognize behavioral abnormalities and be able to scale patients in the handbook by December 1st. Hopefully, I will be confident in scaling and assessing patients myself when January rolls around. Recognizing and scaling behavioral abnormalities, as well as being familiar with the assessment handbook Jeanine uses, are achievable goals as long as I stay persistent!