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In my first post in this blog series, I explained how the D-KEFS™ Advanced represents a significant departure from traditional revisions of paper-pencil cognitive tests. We went all in and developed digital-only tests that are administered and scored exclusively on iPads. Unlike the WISC-5, WAIS-5, and WMS-5, which offer both print and digital-assist formats, the new D-KEFS Advanced has no print equivalent. There are no paper stimuli, record forms, or physical manipulatives, such as the round chips and wooden pegs used in the original D-KEFS Tower Test. Instead, examinees use a stylus to interact directly with the Client iPad, which presents the test stimuli and digital manipulatives, and automatically captures and scores responses. Examiners work solely from the Practitioner iPad, which provides instructions, prompts, timing, and a real-time record of the examinee’s responses.  

There’s been a wake-up call in the educational sector, echoed by society at large, about the growing mental health challenges facing students. More children and adolescents are receiving diagnoses, and more schools are reporting an increase in students seeking mental health services.

As K-12 educators and clinicians come to grips with this reality, there’s been a commensurate sea change in the recognition that timely intervention can make all the difference in a student’s academic and personal trajectory. 

For most people, video games are a form of entertainment. For Rhoda Au, Ph.D., professor at Boston University, video games represent something far more profound: a potential window into the human brain.