Morgan Edwards

HDFS 421

November 8th, 2017

Lab 5: Interpreting T-Scores and Percentiles

Introduction

The C-TRF Assessment was done on Alex, on September 27th, 2011. Alex is a female

child, who was approximately 26 months old at the time of the assessment. The assessment was

done following Alexs teachers concerns about her behavior. The C-TRF Assessment measures

the childs internal and external behaviors with scores from 0 to 2, and then compares these

scores with other children of the same gender who have not been diagnosed with a disability.

The purpose of the assessment is to determine which behaviors of Alexs are most concerning,

and whether or not these behaviors are at or above the clinical range.

Data Summary

Alexs C-TRF Data

Internalizing Externalizing Other

Category Emotionally Anxious/ Somatic Withdrawn Attention Aggressive Other

Reactive Depressed Complaints Problems Behavior Problems

Raw 4 8 9 6 12 10 24
Score

Total 27 22 24
Raw
Score

T-Score 71 63 N/A

%ile 99th 90th

1
 Alexs raw scores came from the number of check marks for each category. The T scores

came from a separate column which compared Alexs raw score to the raw scores of other

children given this assessment, and the percentiles were then found using the T scores on the

graph of Alexs scores. See Figure 1 in the Appendix for more details.

Interpretation

Alexs scores indicate that she is above the borderline clinical range in three areas:

anxiousness/depression, somatic complaints, and attention problems. Alex is just below the

clinical range in emotional reactivity, and in the withdrawn category. For the sole reason that it

is extremely far above the clinical range; Alexs level for somatic complaints is of the utmost

concern.

Alexs T-score for somatic complaints is approximately 85. This means that Alex is over

three standard deviations above the median of her peers in this category. This is a major cause

for concern, because Alex is far beyond the level of the majority of her peers in this category.

Furthermore, it is quite possible and also probable that any issue that causes these somatic

complaints to be so high would also impact the other categories that also had very high scores.

The scores that are of little concern are Alexs level of aggression, emotional reactivity,

and being withdrawn. Though in the withdrawn category and emotionally reactivity category

Alexs scores are close to the borderline range, they are both within one standard deviation of the

median. Both T-scores are between 40 and 60, which indicate that they are within one standard

deviation (10) of the median (50). These scores are within the normal range for Alexs peers.

Alexs score for aggressive behavior is significantly below the borderline clinical range; which is
positive because it means that Alex exhibits too little aggressive behavior to be considered

borderline clinical.

Recommendation

It is recommended that Alex is further tested for an impairment or disability related to her

somatic complaints. Alexs somatic complaints are high above the clinical range, and high

above the median of her peers. It is possible that Alex may have a physical illness or disability

that is causing her distress. If this is the case, it needs to be diagnosed and treated posthaste. It is

also possible that any illness or disability that Alex has is affected other areas of her life; causing

other behavioral problems (such as lack of attention, shyness, etc.), or negatively impacting her

ability to learn.

Alex should be taken to see a pediatrician, as a first step. If this is not possible, her

somatic complaints (specifically aches, headaches, nausea, and vomiting) should be closely

monitored and recorded while she is at school. If necessary and if possible, ABC records

regarding any instances of the above somatic complaints should be recorded. This would be

beneficial in providing insight into what leads up to these complaints, and what happens

afterwards. This information could show if Alex is having a reaction to something in her

environment (strong smells, for example).

Reflection

In this assignment, I learned about the C-TRF assessment and its uses, terminology, and

application. I also had to interpret and critically evaluate the data from Alexs data sheet and

translate it into different data. Then, I used this data to form conclusions and make
recommendations for the child. In all honesty, I still struggle with the concept of T-scores. I

often confuse them with z scores. However, in this assignment, the T-scores were clearly given

and their meaning was clearly explained in the manual. This was helpful for my learning. I

worked individually on this assignment, which was a challenge. Its possible that in a lab group

I may have found help with interpreting T-scores. However, in a lab group, I likely would have

just let someone else do the T-scores, and I would not have had to push myself to learn them. I

am still very happy with my decision to work individually.

Appendix

Fig.1 Alexs filled out data sheet