A Holistic Approach to the Assessment of Emotionally Disturbed Children

Mark was a husky eight-year-old boy who attended elementary school in a small town in the midwest. His teacher had been concerned for some time because Mark seemed quite sullen, withdrawn and lethargic. He would get into frequent fights on the playground and his school work was getting progressively worse. Mark seemed to have no friends and other students made fun of him in class. Mark’s parents reported that he had been obstinate at home lately and constant ly teased and fought with his younger brother. Mark refused to talk with his parents about the problem. With permission of his parent’s, Mark’s third grade teacher referred him for psychological assessment to see if some emotional disturbance was at the root of the problem.