Th The Educati tional Neuropsych chological Evaluation: Th The - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Th The Educati tional Neuropsych chological Evaluation: Th The Be Best t Ideas s Your Juvenile Ju Judge e Has Has Never er Seen een Hannah Seigel Proff, Juvenile Defense Attorney hannah@profflaw.com Jeni Stinson, Juvenile Defense Attorney & Consultant JStinsonLaw@gmail.com

• This presentation includes information that is helpful for investigators, social workers, & attorneys. • It takes a village to defend a child, and it is often social workers who will notice a young person’s cognitive issues before an attorney does.

Q: What is the difference between a felony and a misdemeanor?

• Answers you might be looking for: Felonies are more serious: murder, serious injury. Misdemeanors are less serious: theft, property. Prison vs. County Jail Prison vs. Probation Shorter sentences for misdemeanors

A: “The misdemeanors are upstairs [in the jail] and they wear blue clothes.”

W HA AN E DUC HAT IS IS AN DUCATIONAL N EU CAL E VA VALUATION ? EUROPSYCH CHOLOGICA In-depth cognitive functioning evaluation that examines how your individual child’s brain thinks, processes, understands, remembers and functions.

Verbal Comprehension W HA Index (VCI) HAT IS IS AN AN General IQ Cognitive Ability E DUC Perceptual DUCATIONAL Reasoning Index N EU (PRI) EUROPSYCH CHOLOGICA CAL E VA VALUATION ? Most General Psychological Evaluations Stop Here!

Verbal W HA Comprehension HAT IS IS AN AN Index (VCI) General Cognitive E DUC IQ DUCATIONAL Ability Perceptual N EU Reasoning Index EUROPSYCH CHOLOGICA CAL (PRI) E VA VALUATION ? You can add age equivalencies to showcase this data!

Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence, (WASI) Subtests – Mean score = 50; T-Scores 40-60 (16-84th percentile) represent the broad average range. Composites – Mean score = 100; Standard Scores 85-115 (16-84th percentiles) represent the broad average range. Index* Standard Score Percentile 90% Conf. Interval Verbal 55 <1 52-62 Performance/Nonverbal 63 1 60-69 Full Scale – 4 subtests 56 <1 53-60 Verbal T-Score Percentile Age Equivalent Vocabulary 20 <1 < 6 years, 2 months Similarities 20 <1 < 6 years, 2 months Performance/Nonverbal T-Score Percentile Age Equivalent Block Design 30 2 8 years, 10 months Matrix Reasoning 21 <1 7 years, 2 months

W HA AN E DUC DUCATIONAL N EU HAT IS IS AN EUROPSYCH CHOLOGICA CAL E VA VALUATION ? General Cognitive Ability • IQ • Verbal Comprehension Index (VCI) • Perceptual Reasoning Index (PRI) • Working Memory Index (WMI) • Processing Speed Index (PSI)

Adaptive Functioning = “Street Smarts” Adaptive Behavior Assessment System (ABAS-3) Communication, academic, and self- Conceptual direction skills Social and leisure Social skills Self-care, community Practical use, health and safety skills

W HA AN E DUC DUCATIONAL N EU HAT IS IS AN EUROPSYCH CHOLOGICA CAL E VA VALUATION ? Academic Achievement • Woodcock Johnson Tests of Achievement (WJ-IV) • Reading • Writing • Mathematics • Data on specific learning disabilities • Grade equivalencies

W HA AN E DUC DUCATIONAL N EU HAT IS IS AN EUROPSYCH CHOLOGICA CAL E VA VALUATION ? Oral Language and Verbal Memory • Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals (CELF-5) • Formulated sentences • Recalling sentences • Semantic relationships • Understanding spoken paragraphs • Wide Range Assessment of Memory and Learning (WRAML-2)

W HA AN E DUC DUCATIONAL N EU HAT IS IS AN EUROPSYCH CHOLOGICA CAL E VA VALUATION ? Oral Language and Verbal Memory • Auditory processing deficits • How well does your client actually understand what you, or anyone, says? • You can find out!

W HA AN E DUC DUCATIONAL N EU HAT IS IS AN EUROPSYCH CHOLOGICA CAL E VA VALUATION ? • Executive Functioning • Remember: the pre-frontal cortex controls executive functioning, and is the last part of the brain to fully develop • This means you can actually test your individual kid’s executive functioning ability instead of relying only on the general science of adolescent brain development

W HA AN E DUC DUCATIONAL N EU HAT IS IS AN EUROPSYCH CHOLOGICA CAL E VA VALUATION ? • Executive Functioning • Rey Complex Figure Test and Recognition Trial (RCFT) • D-KEFS Trail Marking Test • Tests ability to hold 2 concepts in your mind simultaneously • This ability is essential to making sound decisions in complex situations, like trial or during a crime

H OW OW DO DO YO YOU KN KNOW IF IF YO YOUR COLLECT ALL RECORDS INTERVIEW FAMILY YO YOUTH NE NEEDS (SOCIAL WORKERS & MEMBERS—ASK ABOUT INVESTIGATORS) DEVELOPMENTAL MILESTONES AN AN EDUCA EDU CATIONAL EDU EDUCA CATIONAL NEUROPSYCH ? ? NE CAREFULLY REVIEW ALL ASK YOUR CLIENT TO EXPLAIN RECORDS THINGS BACK TO YOU DURING MEETINGS

M AK KID ’ S IN AKE THE THE LA LAW SP SPECI CIFI FIC TO TO YO YOUR KI INDIV IVID IDUAL BRAIN ! BR Graham v. Florida , 130 S.Ct. 2011 (2010) 1. Lack of maturity and underdeveloped sense of responsibility leading to recklessness, impulsivity, and heedless risk-taking. 2. Children are more vulnerable to negative influences and outside pressures including from their family and peers; they have limited control over their environment, and lack ability to extricate themselves from horrific, crime-producing settings. 3. A child’s character is not as well-founded as an adult’s; his traits are “less fixed” and his actions less likely to be “evidence of irretrievable depravity.”

M AK KID ’ S IN AKE THE THE LA LAW SP SPECI CIFI FIC TO TO YO YOUR KI INDIV IVID IDUAL BRAIN ! BR Graham v. Florida , 130 S.Ct. 2011 (2010) • The developmental “features that distinguish juveniles from adults also put them at a significant disadvantage in criminal justice proceedings.” • Kids may mistrust adults • Limited understanding of the proceedings • Less likely than adults to work effectively with lawyers

Roper v. Simmons , 543 U.S. Graham v. Florida , 130 S.Ct. 551 (2005) 2011 (2010) M AK AKE THE THE LA LAW SP SPECI CIFI FIC TO TO YOUR Y OUTH OUTH ’ S Miller v. Alabama , 132 S.Ct. Montgomery v. Louisiana , 136 YO 2455 (2015) S.Ct. 718 (2016) INDIV IN IVID IDUAL BRAIN . BR All four cases recognize and Research regarding adolescent cite scientific evidence that brain development and juvenile offenders are distinct psychology is now well- from adults, and must be integrated into constitutional treated differently than adults. law.

H OW OW CA CAN YO YOU US USE AN AN EDU EDUCA CATIONAL EVALUATION ? NE NEUROPSYCHOLOGI GICAL AL EV ANYTHING RELATED DIRECT COMPETENCY; DIMISHED CAPACITY COLLATERAL ATTACKS TO “THE REASONABLE FILE/TRANSFER CASES; AND MENTAL HEALTH OF JUVENILE JUVENILE” (J.D.B.); DEFENSES; ADJUDICATIONS; ACCESSING SPECIAL LITIGATING EDUCATION SERVICES; PROBATION VIOLATIONS;

H OW OW CA CAN YO YOU US USE AN AN EDU EDUCA CATIONAL EVALUATION ? NE NEUROPSYCHOLOGI GICAL AL EV Anything related to “the reasonable juvenile” J.D.B. v. North Carolina , 131 S.Ct. 2394, 2403 (2011) • A child’s age should be included in the objective custody analysis; juveniles “often lack the experience, perspective, and judgment to recognize and avoid choices that could be detrimental to them.” (citing Bellotti v. Baird, 443 U.S. 622, 635 (1979) People v. N.A.S . , 329 P.3d 285, 290 (Colo. 2014) • A juvenile’s age must be considered in the reasonableness analysis under Miranda

H OW OW CA CAN YO YOU US USE AN AN EDU EDUCA CATIONAL EVALUATION ? NEUROPSYCHOLOGI NE GICAL AL EV Anything related to “the reasonable juvenile.” • Custodial issues • Miranda issues • Self defense • Heat of passion

Woodcock-Johnson IV Normative Update Tests of Achievement (WJ-IV), Form A Mean = 100; Standard Deviation =15 Standard Age Equiv. Grade Subtest/Composite Percentile Score Equiv. Reading Letter-Word Identification 82 12 9-8 Word Attack 91 27 10-1 Written Language Spelling 79 8 9-6 Writing Samples 76 5 8-2 Mathematics Applied Problems 73 4 8-6 Calculation 50 <0.1 7-4 Math Facts Fluency 62 1 8-0

Gray Oral Reading Test, Fifth Edition (GORT-5), Form A Mean=10; Scaled Scores from 7-13 (16-84th percentiles ) represent the broad average range. Age Equiv. Percentile Scaled Score Grade Equiv. Rate 8 25 11-0 5.2 . Accuracy 5 5 7-6 2.2 Fluency 6 9 8-9 3.4 Comprehension 3 1 6-9 1.2

H OW OW CA CAN YO YOU US USE AN AN EDU EDUCA CATIONAL EVALUATION ? NEUROPSYCHOLOGI NE GICAL AL EV Self Defense Jury Instruction Based on the “Reasonable Juvenile” • The determination of whether the Juvenile acted in self-defense must take into account both the reasonable belief as well as the actual belief of the Juvenile. • In determining whether the Juvenile acted reasonably, you are instructed that a reasonable person is defined as a reasonable person in the Juvenile’s situation and under those circumstances existing at the time of the offense. The determination of whether the Juvenile acted reasonably therefore includes factors such as any appearances the Juvenile perceived, the amount of force exerted, the means by which the force was applied, and the strength and age of the victims compared with the strength and age of the Juvenile.