Abstract

CARDOSO, Jaqueline Pereira Carvalho; PAULA, Fernando Silva  and  SANTANA, Jeanny Joana Rodrigues Alves de. Child neurodevelopment: Reporting psychological assessment without using standardized techniques. Rev. psicopedag. [online]. 2021, vol.38, n.116, pp.152-166. ISSN 0103-8486.  https://doi.org/10.51207/2179-4057.20210018.

The study aimed to evaluate aspects of the cognitive and socioemotional development of children (preschool age) referred due to problems in neurodevelopment, using non-standardized psychological assessment techniques. In phase 1 of the evaluation of the 6-year-old girl, there were: anamnesis with family members and individual sections with the child. It was concluded that the use of psychological testing was not feasible. In phase 2 there were: systematic observation of behavior (in play sessions, carried out individually and in a group of children) and interviews with school staff. The behavioral records were analyzed as to the nature, frequency and intensity of the responses, and the interviews according to their content. The data were interpreted based on theories of neurodevelopment, neuropsychology and cognitive psychology. The results indicated the child has difficulties in understanding and following verbal instructions; problem solving is usually done via concrete reasoning; there is low frequency and quality of social communication; constant failures of inhibitory control are related to the high intensity of signs of frustration intolerance. Moderate impairments in general reasoning ability, attentional failures, changes in the level of motor activity and difficulties in socioemotional development are suggested. On the other hand, the identified potentiality is the positive history of engagement in training social skills in the classroom, which suggests a good prognosis and should be valued in the future therapeutic plan. We conclude about the importance of studying non-standardized psychological assessment techniques for the proper identification of cognitive, affective, behavioral deficits and their impact on the patient's life.

Keywords : Development; Psychological Assessment; Neurodevelopment; Cognition.

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