Ch 8: Evaluations in Occupational Therapy
About This Chapter
Evaluations in Occupational Therapy - Chapter Summary
In this chapter, you'll go over assessment practices, tools and tests used by occupational therapists to determine the need for and scope of treatment that might be required for each patient. You'll learn about the validity and application of these methods for specific types of patients, such as pediatric patients, and test scoring practices. Once your review of this chapter is complete, you should be able to:
- Relate information about the standardization and norms of psychological tests
- Compare the scoring of norm-referenced and criterion-referenced tests
- Explain how psychological assessment tests are determined to be reliable, valid and unbiased
- Discuss the screening process used for those seeking occupational therapy
- Identify common evaluation tools and methods used by occupational therapists
- Describe assessment methods used for pediatric patients
- Detail the characteristics of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
Taught by expert instructors, these comprehensive lessons include plenty of examples to help clarify this material. The lessons are accessible at all times, from any device, so you can fit study time into a busy schedule. Determine how much you have retained from these lessons and whether you need further review by taking brief self-assessment quizzes as you move through this chapter.

1. Standardization and Norms of Psychological Tests
Many psychological tests, including intelligence tests, are about comparing your score to others' scores to see how you did. Watch this lesson to find out about two important concepts in psychology: standardization and norms.

2. Types of Tests: Norm-Referenced vs. Criterion-Referenced
What's the best way to score tests? In this lesson, we'll look at two major types of tests that are scored differently from each other: norm-referenced and criterion-referenced tests.

3. Issues in Psychological Assessment: Reliability, Validity, and Bias
In order to diagnose and treat patients, psychologists use assessments. But how well do psychological tests work? In this lesson, we'll look closer at three areas that inform a good psychological assessment: reliability, validity, and bias.

4. Screening for Occupational Therapy: Definition & Process
If you are an occupational therapist or considering Occupational Therapy (OT) for someone you care about, you might want to look at what is involved in the screening process. This lesson provides a definition and overview of screening for OT.

5. Assessment Process in Occupational Therapy: Methods, Tools & Examples
In this lesson, we'll differentiate among assessments and evaluations and explore their importance in occupational therapy. We'll also describe several of the common evaluation tools and assessment measures used by occupational therapists.

6. Pediatric Assessments in Occupational Therapy: Methods, Tools & Examples
In this lesson, readers will learn about several assessment tools that are used by occupational therapists to evaluate pediatric patients. They will also learn about the link between these tools and the occupational therapy treatment plan.

7. What Is the DSM? - Definition & Characteristics
How do mental health workers keep track of the hundreds of mental disorders in existence? When looking up and diagnosing psychological disorders, they refer to the DSM, or the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.
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Other Chapters
Other chapters within the Occupational Therapy Assistant (OTA) Exam: Study.com's Test Prep & Study Guide course
- Prenatal & Infant Development
- Childhood & Adolescent Development
- Types of Development in Adults
- Understanding Atypical Development
- General Medical Conditions & Vocabulary
- Neurological Conditions
- Musculoskeletal Conditions
- Frames of Reference & Models in Occupational Therapy
- Developing OT Treatment Plans
- Advocating for OT Client & Community Needs
- Implementation of OT Treatment Plans
- Groups in Occupational Therapy
- Feeding & Eating Skills for Occupational Therapy
- Orthotic & Prosthetic Devices
- Using Assistive Technology
- Environmental Accessibility
- Professional Development in Occupational Therapy
- Laws & Regulations in Occupational Therapy
- Ethics & Safety in Occupational Therapy