Administering the Beery VMI via telepractice

Special recommendations for administering the Beery VMI via telepractice

The Beery-Buktenica Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration - Sixth Edition (Beery VMI) can be administered in a telepractice context and a variety of options are available. Teleassessment requires competence in the administration of appropriate instruments over online platforms. Examiners planning to use this method of assessment should be familiar with the guidelines about telepractice from their professional organization and the ethical and legal use of assessments in online telepractice.

The Beery VMI consists of 4 administration forms: Short Form, Full Form, Visual Perception Form, and Motor Coordination Form. Please refer to the Beery VMI Manual to help with decisions regarding which forms are appropriate for each client/referral question. Various options are available for administering these forms of the Beery-VMI via telepractice. They vary based on the role of the onsite facilitator. If the onsite facilitator is a well-trained professional, telepractice can involve all forms. During the COVID-19 pandemic, however, the only facilitator available may be someone in the examinee’s home. If using an onsite facilitator who is not in a professional role (e.g., parent/guardian), the examiner should use their professional judgment about the capacity of the facilitator to perform the required functions correctly and without interfering in the testing session.

The Short Form and Full Form of the Beery VMI can be administered as a group screening test or as an individual administration. When administering via telepractice, use the manual to determine whether the group administration directions or individual administration directions are the most appropriate for your scenario.

As stated in the Beery VMI manual, for administration of the Visual Perception or Motor Coordination forms, and administration with pre-school children or those at an earlier developmental stage than age 5, then the individual administration directions should be followed. If the on-site facilitator is a well-trained professional, then telepractice administration can involve all aspects of individual administration of the Beery VMI assessment. If using an onsite facilitator who is not in a professional role (e.g., parent/guardian), the examiner should use their professional judgment about the capacity of the facilitator to perform the required functions correctly and without interfering in the testing session.

For telepractice, administration response booklets must be mailed out to the facilitator prior to the assessment session. Ensure enough time for the materials to be delivered when scheduling a time for the evaluation. Seal the response booklets in separate envelopes that are clearly labeled and have the facilitator open the envelopes on camera only after requested to do so. Provide prepaid envelopes for return of the original response booklets to the examiner to enable scoring in a timely manner.

Note: It is important to continue to use the original response booklets for telepractice administration as these materials were carefully constructed to prevent glare, translucency, and other problems during administration.

For telepractice, the response forms must be completed with the examinee via video-conferencing, with the examiner using the Beery VMI manual to follow the administration directions in Chapter III.

In order to address the ceiling rules, do not stop administration unless you are confident the examinee has missed 3 consecutive items. You may not be able to determine immediately if the examinee has not passed an item on the assessment. When in doubt, assume that they drew the figure correctly, and continue testing to ensure they have surpassed their ability level. Scoring is completed after administration; stop scoring after three consecutive items have not been passed.

Conducting a valid assessment in a telepractice service delivery model requires an understanding of the interplay between a number of complex issues. In addition to the general information on our telepractice overview page, professionals should address five themes (Eichstadt et al., 2013) when planning for administering the Beery VMI via telepractice.

Beery-Buktenica Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration, Sixth Edition (Beery VMI)

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Theme-specific information for administering the Beery VMI via telepractice

1. Audio/visual environment

Two computers with audio and video capability and stable internet connectivity—one for the examiner and one for the examinee—are required. A stationary web camera, microphone, and speakers or headphones are required for both the examiner and the examinee.
Make sure the full face of the examinee and the VMI response form are in view on the video-conferencing screen.
High-quality video (HD preferred) is required during the administration.
For audio interaction during the administration, make sure the audio is working as expected. Test the audio prior to the administration through the examinee’s speakers.
Make sure the examinee's environment has good lighting and is free from distractions as much as possible

2. Examiner factors

Practice administering the Beery VMI via telepractice before you begin with an examinee
Set aside time in advance of the session to train the onsite facilitator. If using an onsite facilitator who is not in a professional role (e.g., parent/guardian), the examiner should use their professional judgment about the capacity of the facilitator to perform the required functions correctly and without interfering in the testing session. The examiner should communicate expectations about the facilitator’s role in testing tasks immediately prior to the testing session. Do not allow the facilitator to show or warn the examinee about any portion of the test. Instruct the facilitator not to open any materials until you provide instructions to do so, if applicable. Expect to provide verbal guidance to the facilitator during the testing session.
You may continue testing beyond a child’s current ability level to ensure they have surpassed their ability level, scoring is completed after administration, stop scoring after three consecutive forms have not been passed.
Make a clinical judgment, similar to an in-person session, whether or not you are able to gather the child's best performance. Report your clinical decision(s) in your report and comment on the factors that led to this decision and your reporting or lack of reporting of the scores.
If there is a problem with the video-conferencing quality, make sure all other non-essential applications on your computer are closed. Likewise, ask the examinee to close all other applications on their computer, laptop, or other device for faster administration performance.
Note all technology related issues that occur during administration and consider these when interpreting results.

3. Examinee factors

Ensure that the respondent has access to an adequate internet connection to support video conferencing.
Before the session, ensure that the examinee has a speaker and a web camera with an embedded microphone with the volume turned up to a comfortable level.
Ensure that the examinee is able and prepared to appropriately engage in the session and that they are well rested.
Ensure the examinee has appropriate seating with a table and chair, and that the response booklet is positioned so that it is centered with the examinee’s body and squared on the desk; use a facilitator to support this if necessary.

4. Test/test materials

Provide the correct copies of response booklets to the facilitator in advance of the testing session and communicate the plan for securing and forwarding/returning materials, real-time and after testing. For example, seal the response booklets in separate envelopes that are clearly labeled and have the facilitator open the envelopes on camera only after requested to do so, and return the original response booklets to the examiner in prepaid envelopes to ensure test security is not compromised and test records can be maintained.
Ensure the examinee has a sharp number 2 pencil without an eraser, a primary pencil, or a ballpoint pen.
Ensure the examinee has received the response form in the mail.
Ensure mailing instructions are provided for return of the response form for scoring.

5. Other/miscellaneous

The Beery VMI manual provides additional guidelines for individual administration detailing considerations for developing rapport and potential observations during administration, see page 21.
Always state in your report that the test was administered via telepractice, and briefly describe the method of telepractice used. Describe any environmental factors or technology factors that may have impacted performance including quality of connections and distractions in the examinee’s testing environment.
Make a clinical judgment, similar to an in-person session, whether or not you are able to gather the best performance from the informant and/or respondents. Report your clinical decision(s) in your report and comment on the factors that led to this decision and your reporting or lack of reporting of the scores. For example:

"The remote testing environment appeared free of distractions, adequate rapport was established with the informant via video, and s/he appeared appropriately engaged in the task throughout the session. No significant technological problems were noted during administration, and the results are considered to be a valid estimate of the client's skills/abilities."

Selected research to date

Please refer to the following studies regarding the appropriateness of administering the Beery VMI via computer or other electronic means.

Eichstadt, T. J., Castilleja, N., Jakubowitz, M., & Wallace, A. (2013, November). Standardized assessment via telepractice: Qualitative review and survey data [Paper presentation]. Annual meeting of the American-Speech-Language-Hearing Association, Chicago, IL United States.

Temple, V., Drummond, C., Valiquette, S., & Jozsvai, E. (2010). A comparison of intellectual assessments over video conferencing and in‐person for individuals with ID: preliminary data. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 54(6), 573-577.

Please refer to the following studies regarding the appropriateness of neuropsychological assessment via computer or other electronic means:

Brearly, T. W., Shura, R. D., Martindale, S. L., Lazowski, R. A., Luxton, D. D., Shenal, B. V., & Rowland, J. A. (2017). Neuropsychological test administration by videoconference: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Neuropsychology review, 27(2), 174-186.

Cullum, C. M., Hynan, L. S., Grosch, M., Parikh, M., & Weiner, M. F. (2014). Teleneuropsychology: Evidence for video teleconference-based neuropsychological assessment. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 20(10), 1028-1033.

Jeanine M. Galusha-Glasscock, Daniel K. Horton, Myron F. Weiner, C. Munro Cullum, Video Teleconference Administration of the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status, Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, Volume 31, Issue 1, February 2016, Pages 8–11, https://doi.org/10.1093/arclin/acv058

Conclusion

Teleassesment requires competence in the administration of appropriate instruments over online platforms. Examiners planning to use this method of assessment should be familiar with the guidelines about telepractice from their professional organization and the ethical and legal use of assessments in online telepractice.

Provided that you are familiar with your professional guidelines and have thoroughly considered and addressed all five themes and the special considerations as listed above, and based on the available research, the examiner should be prepared to observe and comment about the reliable and valid delivery of the test via telepractice. Document in your report that the administration was completed by telepractice. You may use the Beery VMI via telepractice without additional permission from Pearson in the following published context:

Beery VMI Short Form and Full Form, Visual Perception Form and Motor-Coordination form with video-conferencing administration.

Any other use of the Beery VMI via telepractice requires prior permission from Pearson. This includes, but is not limited to, scanning the paper response booklets, digitizing the paper record forms, holding the materials physically up in the camera's viewing area, or uploading a manual on to a shared drive or site.

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Administering the Beery VMI via telepractice

Special recommendations for administering the Beery VMI via telepractice

Theme-specific information for administering the Beery VMI via telepractice

Selected research to date

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