This article reviews the Social Responsiveness Scale-Second Edition (SRS-2), a 65-item rating scale measuring deficits in social behavior associated with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), as outlined by the "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders" (4th ed., text rev.; "DSM-IV-TR"; American Psychiatric Association,…

The "Profile of Mood States 2nd Edition" (POMS 2) was published in 2012 by Multi-Health Systems (MHS) to assess transient feelings and mood among individuals aged 13 years and above. Evolving from the original POMS (McNair, Lorr, & Droppleman, 1971, 1992), the POMS 2 was designed for youth (13-17 years old) and adults (18 years old…

The "Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence-Fourth Edition" (WPPSI-IV; Wechsler, 2012a, 2012b) is a comprehensive clinical tool, intended for assessing cognitive functioning among children aged 2 years 6 months through 7 years 7 months. Published by Pearson, the WPPSI-IV is an individually administered tool, to be used by…

This article reviews the "Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, Second Edition" (ADOS-2; Lord, Luyster, Gotham, & Guthrie, 2012; Lord, Rutter et al., 2012), a newly updated, semistructured, standardized measure of communication, social interaction, play/imagination, and restricted and/or repetitive behaviors published by Western…

The "Comprehensive Executive Function Inventory" (CEFI; Naglieri & Goldstein, 2013), published by Multi-Health Systems Inc. (MHS), is a new executive function (EF) rating scale for children and youth ages 5 to 18 years. The CEFI strives to accurately assess EF abilities based on self, parent, and teacher reports, and provides…

Intelligence has been defined in multiple ways throughout history. In the last 100 years a psychometric approach to define the concept of intelligence has come to dominate the concept. This Commentary provides a brief overview of the history and concepts of intelligence with an emphasis on intellectual assessment. Particular focus is placed on the…

Researchers often argue that the structural models of the constructs they study are relevant to clinicians. Unfortunately, few clinicians are able to translate the mathematically precise relationships between latent constructs and observed scores into information that can be usefully applied to individuals. Typically this means that when a new…

This review focuses on the Anger Regulation and Expression Scale (ARES) which was developed by DiGiuseppe and Tafrate (2011) and published by Multi-Health Systems Inc. The ARES was designed to be a self-report measure of anger expression and regulation in youth aged 10 to 17 years and was intended to be used in screening, individual assessment,…

In this commentary, we reviewed two clinical validation studies on the Wechsler Scales conducted by Weiss and colleagues. These researchers used a rigorous within-battery model-fitting approach that demonstrated the factorial invariance of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fourth Edition (WISC-IV) and Wechsler Adult Intelligence…

Weiss, Keith, Zhu, and Chen (2013a) and Weiss, Keith, Zhu, and Chen (2013b), this issue, report examinations of the factor structure of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Fourth Edition (WAIS-IV) and Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fourth Edition (WISC-IV), respectively; comparing Wechsler Hierarchical Model (W-HM) and…

This discussion article addresses issues related to expansion of the Wechsler model from four to five factors; multiple broad CHC abilities measured by the Arithmetic subtest; advantages and disadvantages of including complex tasks requiring integration of multiple broad abilities when measuring intelligence; limitations of factor analysis, which…

In surveying the literature on assessment of cognitive abilities in adults and children, it is easy to assume that the proliferation of test batteries and terminology reflects a poverty of unifying models. However, the lack of recognition accorded good models of cognitive abilities may reflect inattention to theoretical development and injudicious…

The two studies conducted by Weiss, Keith, Zhu, and Chen in 2013 on the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS-IV) and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-IV), respectively, provide strong evidence for the validity of a four-factor solution corresponding to the current hierarchical model of both scales. These analyses support the…

The purpose of this commentary is to focus on the clinical utility of the four- and five-factor structural models for the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Fourth Edition (WAIS-IV) and Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fourth Edition (WISC-IV). It provides a discussion of important considerations when evaluating the clinical utility of the…

The Children's Psychological Processing Scale (CPPS), authored by Milton J. Dehn and published by Schoolhouse Educational Services in 2012, is a third-party rating scale that can be administered to teachers who are familiar with children ages 5 to 12. The measure is designed to identify psychological processing deficits in children who are…