PSYCHOLOGICAL EVALUATION REPORT
FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
History
_ is a nice yet tense young man who has been participating in speech and language therapy… demonstrated good effort throughout testing sessions. Occasionally, he became frustrated but was able to complete the tasks. Frequent breaks were taken.
_'s family structure has been in transition… living with his father and sees his mother often.
Reason for Referral
Although _ has been receiving special education services under… service providers feel that he has an emotional impairment. He exhibits an extremely low tolerance for frustration, frequently crying and becoming angry. His emotional outbursts are not age appropriate.
Behavioral Testing Observations
Despite notable flat affect, he was very talkative, sometimes sharing information that would be considered inappropriate given the lack of a relationship between the examiner and _…. became visibly upset, rubbing his head and shaking his fists, as test items became more difficult… became anxious about missing his assignments in class, saying he didn't want to be behind.
Psychologist's Impressions
_ and I have actually had informal interaction for the last two years, and only some time back that his special education service providers flagged my attention to him because of their concerns. Over this long time span, I found that his emotional stability has improved immensely. A year or more ago, it was not untypical for _ to have catastrophic reactions to very minor stresses in the classroom. I have seen him bang his head on the desk, hit himself in the head, have minor tantrums, and suggest that he might just as well kill himself. These days, he is generally much more contained than that. That does not mean, however, that there do not continue to be difficulties and unusual behavior.
_ is a very dedicated student. He pays attention to the teacher in class, he works hard, and he is reluctant to be pulled from the classroom because of his worry that he will miss something. I believe that he is rather uncomfortable in less structured interpersonal situations.
In the classroom, he is a loner. I have never seen him choose to work with a partner, nor have I seen anyone choose him for a partner. He never spends time in casual conversation or off-task behavior, which is in itself at least unusual, if not abnormal.
Verbally, _ comes across as a very intellectualized child. He uses good vocabulary, syntax, and grammar, and can explain things well. However, he is rather stilted and overly formal in his speech, coming across as a rather eccentric child. In interaction, his lack of eye contact and his general lack of warmth are striking. He truly has difficulty knowing how to relate to others in the usual ways, whether it be adults or peers. I think he wants to relate, but he has trouble knowing how.
As I thought over time about _'s unique personality and the flavor of his social interaction, I began to think of the concept of Asperger's Disorder… Innumerable small elements consistent with Asperger's seem to fit _ to a T:
-Often use language in a slightly odd way and take literal meaning from what is read or heard.
-Happiest with routines and a structured environment, finding it difficult to decide what to do and falling back on preferred activities.
-Love praise, winning and being first, but find losing, imperfection, and criticism difficult to take.
-Frequently noted to be somewhat "in their own world," but are seldom truly aloof.
-Have problems effectively "reading" others' needs and responding appropriately.
Despite the fact _ certainly shows the central "flavor" of Asperger's, discussion with his teacher and his father simply do not substantiate it as a diagnosis. In my opinion, _'s personality is more than just mildly eccentric but within the range of normal variation. Instead, I see this as being "off" enough to be called a disorder. That would then point diagnostically in one other direction: personality disorder.
On that note, he does not seem to meet full criteria for any of the standard personality disorders. He comes close to Schizotypal Personality Disorder, but I think he falls manifestation short of the required amount.
Summary of Findings Related to Educational Functioning
Though much improved over the last two years of behavioral observation, _ has been prone to emotional breakdown and outbursts of dramatic nature and degree. Academically, he is currently a very good student, and a dedicated, hard worker.
Current school testing results indicate that _ is functioning intellectually in the Average range, with performance skills significantly higher than verbal skills.
Current psychological evaluation finds _ to be much improved over the last couple of years in the realm of emotional stability. His obvious emotional difficulties are less frequent and less severe than they have been in the past.
For the near future, it can be expected that _ will continue in the path of the present; that is, his is likely to maintain relative emotional stability, to continue to do quite well academically, to work in solitude rather than with peers, and to have a buried but unfilled wish to have age-appropriate peer friendships. With the approach of middle school and adolescence, there exists the possibility of an exacerbation of alienation and unhappiness as he realizes how much trouble he is having fitting in with peers.
END REPORT