Friday, February 28, 2014

Supreme Court Case May Stop States That Still Execute Mentally Disabled

The justices banned execution of mentally disabled people in 2002. Now they are poised to tell death penalty states that they really meant it.

Read More:
http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/02/supreme-court-case-may-stop-states-that-still-execute-mentally-disabled/283969/

The Journal of Law and the Biosciences Online Now [feedly]




The Journal of Law and the Biosciences Online Now
// Neuroethics & Law Blog
I'm pleased to be a member of the editorial board of The Journal of Law and the Biosciences. Best of all: it's open access and shaping up to be a top-notch journal. Here's the TOC for the first issue: Edward...

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Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Intellectually disabled but on death row: The troubling case of Freddie Hall

Hi,

Marc Tasse LA Times editorial on Hall v Florida SCOTUS case

I thought you'd like this:
http://fw.to/YO1mvQb

Intellectually disabled but on death row: The troubling case of Freddie Hall
Shortly after his birth in 1945, Freddie Hall's family knew that something was different about him. And later, he was slow to learn, to walk and to talk, and it was challenging for his family to understand his speech. He was raised under difficult circumstances in an impoverished and abusive home, the 16th of 17 children, and showed early signs of serious intellectual and developmental delays.

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

On the road

I am traveling for a week and will be off the blogging grid. I shall return

**************************************************
Kevin McGrew
Educational Psychologist
Director, Institute for Applied Psychometrics
Web: www.themindhub.com
**************************************************

Thursday, February 13, 2014

Hall v Florida SCOTUS case: Amicus Briefs by APA and AAIDD

 

The Atkins case of Hall v Florida will be heard by SCOTUS shortly. Like most Atkins cases, the issues are complex. But the essence of the case is Florida's "bright line" test for the first ID Dx prong...which, based on the FLorida Cherry Court decision, is set at a firm IQ score of 70 with no recognition of the standard error of measurement (SEM).

Both APA and AAIDD have spearheaded two separate Amicus Briefs, which also include other organizations. The two briefs have now been posted in the brief sidebar of this blog. They can also be found at the links below.

APA led Amicus Brief

AAIDD led Amicus Brief

 

 

Saturday, February 8, 2014

Emotional Intelligence (EI) a new broad CHC ability?

Very interesting study suggesting that Ge (broad emotional intelligence) should be considered as a new entry into the CHC taxonomy of intelligence. I love the "big picture" model figure.....of course, it is an adaption of my 2009 model in the journal Intelligence.


 

Saturday, January 25, 2014

Sharing Controlling for increased guessing enhances the independence of the Flynn effect from g: The return of the Brand effect via BrowZine

Controlling for increased guessing enhances the independence of the Flynn effect from g: The return of the Brand effect
Woodley, Michael Anthony; te Nijenhuis, Jan; Must, Olev; Must, Aasa
Intelligence, Vol. 43 – 2014: 27 - 34

10.1016/j.intell.2013.12.004

University of Minnesota Users:
https://www.lib.umn.edu/log.phtml?url=http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160289613001761

Non-University of Minnesota Users: (Full text may not be available)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160289613001761

Monday, January 13, 2014

The Death Penalty and Intellectual Disability: AAIDD forthcoming pub--TOC with authors and chapter titles

    

 The Death Penalty and Intellectual Disability: A Guide (1/3/14)*


* Note the above title is as registered by AAIDD with Library of Congress and as presentedon their website. The working title of the task force had been:  Determining Intellectual Disability in the Courts: Focus on Capital Cases
 

As described at the AAIDD publications page:
 In the 2002 landmark decision Atkins v. Virginia 536 U.S. 304, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that executing a person with intellectual disability is a violation of the Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits “cruel and unusual punishment,” but left states to determine their own criteria for intellectual disability. AAIDD has always advocated against the death penalty for people with intellectual disability and has long provided amicus curiae briefs in Supreme Court cases. Thus, in this comprehensive new book published by AAIDD, notable authors in the field of intellectual disability discuss all aspects of the issues, with a particular focus on foundational considerations, assessment factors and issues, and professional concerns in Atkins assessments. 



                     

Chapter
Titles
Authors

Preface
Ed Polloway

Foreword
Honorable Kevin Foley

Part 1:  Foundational Considerations

1
Guide for Persons with Intellectual Disability and Capital Cases:
An Introduction
Edward A. Polloway
James R. Patton
J. David Smith
2
Intellectual Disability:  A Review of its Definitions and Diagnostic Criteria
Marc J. Tassé
3
Mild Intellectual Disability
Gary Siperstein
Melissa Collins
4
Analysis of Atkins Cases
John Blume
Karen Salekin

Part 2:  Assessment Considerations


A.  General Topics:

5
Concepts of Measurement
Keith Widaman
6
Age of Onset and the Developmental Period Criterion
Stephen Greenspan
George Woods
Harvey Switzky

B. Intellectual Functioning:

7
Intellectual Functioning: Conceptual Issues
Kevin McGrew
8
Consideration in the Selection and Analysis of IQ Tests
Dale Watson
9
Variability of IQ scores
Stephen Greenspan
J. Gregory Olley
10
Norm Obsolescence: The Flynn Effect
Kevin McGrew


C. Adaptive Behavior:

11
Evolving Concepts of Adaptive Behavior
Stephen Greenspan
12
Selection of Appropriate Adaptive Behavior Instruments
J. Gregory Olley
13
Challenges in Assessment of Adaptive Behavior in Capital Cases
Caroline Everington
Gilbert S. Macvaugh III
Karen Salekin
Timothy J. Derning
14
Time at Which Disability Must Be Shown in Atkins Cases
J. Gregory Olley
15
Briseño Factors
Stephen Greenspan

Part 3:  Related Topics

16
Cultural Factors in Assessment
Richard Ruth
17
Assessment Issues: Competence to Waive Miranda Rights and Competence to Stand Trial
Karen Salekin
Caroline Everington
18
Considerations of Retrospective Assessment and Malingering
Denis Keyes
David Freedman
19
Intellectual Disability, Comorbid Disorders and Differential Diagnosis
George Woods
David Freedman
Timothy J. Derning
20
School and Other Key Records
James Patton
21
Relevance of Other Assessments in Atkins Evaluations
Karen Salekin
Gilbert S. Macvaugh III
Timothy J. Derning
22
Professional Issues in Atkins Assessments
Gilbert S. Macvaugh III
Mark D. Cunningham Marc J. Tassé