OTC 2008 will be held October 17-18, 2008 in the San Francisco Bay area. The meetings will be organized by Jan Kristal at Dominican University in San Rafael. This event will mark the 30th year since the first occasional temperament conference, held in Lund, Sweden. Conference theme is: Research and Clinical Applications across the Lifespan. Professionals who are actively involved in research or clinical work utilizing temperament are invited to attend and/or present their work at the conference. Students are also welcome. Registration is $150. for professionals; $75. for students.

The call for papers as well as details about registration and accommodations can be found at the OTC website.

Click here for OTC 2008.

A memorial service for Dr. Chess was held on Wednesday, September 19th at the Farkas Auditorium at NYU Hospital. It was attended by over 100 colleagues, friends and family members from around the country.

The service included musical offerings by violinist Yeou-Cheng Ma, MD, who performed selections by J.S. Bach. Speakers included a number of current and former NYU colleagues of Dr. Chess: Drs. Ted Shapiro, Margaret Hertzig, H. Paul Gabriel and Richard Oberfield. Dr. William Carey of the University of Pennsylvania Medical School presented a tribute from a non psychiatric contemporary. Final comments, warm and poignant memories of being raised by two psychiatrists, were given by Stella's son, Kenneth Thomas. A luncheon followed.

Dr. Chess died in March of this year at the age of 93. Click here for a copy of Dr. Carey's tribute to Stella Chess.

B-DI announces the opening of ipasscode.com, a new online database of behavioral assessements designed for use by professionals in practice. The database is available for all licensed or credentialled behavioral health professionals. Professionals who work for qualified organizations and institutions (hospitals, clinics, school districts, etc.) may also use the system.

Professionals register to use the website and then are able to refer subjects (patients, clients or students, depending on the setting) to the site using a passcode referral. The passcode is a unique combination of letters and numbers that recognizes the subject, professional and test needed, and allows it to be completed online. The results are then transmitted directly to the referring professional for followup with the subject. ipasscode.com is completely secure and uses the same encryption used by banks and financial institutions to protect sensitive data.

The database can be used with self report, caregiver/parent rated and teacher rated instruments. Tests on the site include all of the current B-DI assessments, including the Carey Temperament Scales, Adult Temperament Questionnaire, BBAS, etc. as well as well known questionnaires by leading clinicians. These include the Beck Depression and Anxiety Scales, Brown ADD scales, Beck Youth Inventories, and Parenting Satisfaction Scale. Other instruments, including the Sensory Profile questionnaires and SASSI Adult and Adolescent, substance abuse screening inventories, are being prepared for the site. Additional test measures are being contracted.

To visit ipasscode.com click here for professional registration and login.

The organizers of OTC 2006 have announced the dates for this year's meetings, scheduled for October 12-14, 2006 in Providence, RI. The conference will be held at the Center for the Study of Human Development at Brown University. Program organizers are Ronald Seifer, PhD and Judith Bandieri. The registration form and complete information will be posted on the Center for the Study of Human Development web site in the near future. A number of leaders in temperament research and clinical applications in practice gather at OTC to present papers and discuss issues in the field. Attendees will include professionals and students interested in temperament research as well as clinicians and practitioners. OTC meetings offer a rare opportunity for academicians and practitioners to interact on topics of mutual interest.
Click here to check for information about registration and conference schedule. Email Judith Bandieri for additional information at Judith_Bandieri@brown.edu.

The organizers of OTC 2004 have posted a website for attendees at the conference, scheduled for October 28-31, 2004 in Athens, GA. A conference program and informational brochure are available in pdf format at the site. A number of leaders in temperament research and clinical applications in practice are scheduled to present papers. Attendees will include professionals and students interested in temperament research as well as clinicians and practitioners. OTC meetings offer a rare opportunity for academicians and practitioners to interact on topics of mutual interest.

Click here for information about registration at the conference.

Programmers at B-DI are working with ISS2000, a professional web design firm, to upgrade the iReport Writer experience. New login, selection, and questionnaire pages have been completed and the Caregiver and Professional reports will soon be getting a new, more attractive and functional look!

The CTS iReport Writer allows professionals to score and interpret the Carey Temperament Scales questionnaires online from any internet connection, using just standard browser. Reports can be received instantly and are archived at B-DI for later retrieval and use. No minimum computer requirements or upgrades are necessary, and there are no shipping or handling charges on iReport Writer uses.

To obtain information about purchasing iReport Writer uses, visit the B-DI online ordering page.

A ceremony celebrating the life of Dr. Thomas was held on March 24, 2003. It was attended by over 100 colleagues, friends and family members. Dr. Thomas was remembered for his innovative research in temperament and his courage in challenging the conventional wisdom of the time, behaviorism and psychoanalysis, for which he was soundly criticized. Speakers included William B. Carey, MD, Sidney Thomas, his brother, and his three sons. Musical interludes were played by violinist and developmental pediatrician, Yeou-Cheng Ma. A reception followed.

See links to Dr. Carey's remarks and photos of the ceremony.

It is with great sadness that we report the death of Dr. Thomas who died Wednesday in New York City at the age of 89. Those who knew him will miss his intellect, affability and commitment to the well being of others. His obituary, taken from the New York Times is reprinted here.

B-Di is pleased to announce publication of the BASICS Behavioral Adjustment Scale, a 42 item parent report questionnaire that determines behavioral adjustment as defined in 5 subscales of function:

• Behavior in social relationships,
• Acheivement,
• Self-Relations,
• Internal State, and
• Coping. Additionally a
• Symptoms category screens for problems in areas of physical functioning including eating, sleeping,elimination, etc.

The BBAS was developed by William B. Carey MD and Sean C. McDevitt, PhD and standardized on 415 children aged 4-14. Norms indicate how a specific child is functioning compared with others in the same age group. The scale has good internal and retest reliability and there is evidence of discriminant validity in clinical vs. nonclinical subsamples. Dr. Carey presented a paper on BBAS at the recent 2002 Society for Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics meetings in Seattle, Washington.

BBAS should provide clinicians an efficient method for organizing the behavioral characteristics of children in this age group, focusing on strengths as well as problem areas and identifying behaviors highly relevant to emotional and behavioral functioning. Click here to learn more about obtaining BBAS.

By request, iReport Writer now comes in the Carey Temperament Scales Practice Set version with questionnaires, Test Manual and User's Guide. Practice sets are typically purchased by new users of the CTS. Now iReport Writer technology will be available to new users as well!

Click here for details about iReport Writer Practice Sets

Now users of the Carey Temperament Scales have a new utility for scoring and obtaining reports from CTS questionnaires. iReport Writer provides the ability to generate sophisticated temperament profiles and written reports using web-based Report Writer software. The system allows input of questionnaire data into a browser form (e.g., Internet Explorer) and processes it on the B-DI server, returning a report right in the browser window. A demonstration page has been developed to show the feature of the iReport Writer system. Click here for details on products available and demo pages.

Click here for details on products available and demo pages.

As seen in Health Magazine, understanding temperament can help find the real you! The NYLS Adult Temperament Questionnaire is now available on the web. The 54 item questionnaire can be accessed, scored and interpreted in minutes online. The ATQ returns scores on same the nine temperament dimensions that are measured in infants and children with the Carey Temperament Scales. Unlike the CTS, individuals may self-refer and complete the questionnaire independently, without the involvement of a professional person. The scoring service costs $12.00 and is prepaid by credit card. The temperament profile and report appear on the browser screen within seconds of completing the questionnaire ratings. A confirmation number emailed to the individual allows retrieval of the profile for 1 year following completion.

Get more details from the ATQ on the Web page.

The 14th Occasional Temperament Conference will be held October 4-6, 2002 in Newport Beach, California. OTC 2002 will be hosted by Diana Wright Guerin, PhD and colleagues from the Department of Child and Adolescent Studies at California State University, Fullerton.

Get details on the meetings page.

William B. Carey, MD recently spoke to the American Enterprise Institute panel on the prescription of Ritalin for the treatment of ADHD. The hearings were to determine whether a conspiracy existed between the drug companies and the American Psychiatric Association to promote use of stimulant medications. Dr. Carey's remarks emphasized the problems that still exist today in making the diagnosis and providing appropriate treatment for children who have the disorder without diagnosing and treating normal temperament variations as if they reflected ADHD.

Click here to read Dr. Carey's remarks.

TACTIC is a 97 item rating scale that assesses temperament and screens for attentional and behavioral problems in children 2 to 6 years of age.

The questionnaire is completed by the preschool teacher or other caregiver and rates the nine NYLS temperament characteristics while also screening for conduct, emotional and attentional problems. It is anticipated that TACTIC will be used by professionals who require unbiased ratings of behavior from a caregiver in an out-of-home setting, and will serve as a basis for both assessment of the child and consultation with the caregiver.

TACTIC will be unveiled in November at the Zero to Three National Training Institute in San Diego, California. Conference dates are 11/30-12/2. The TACTIC poster with information on standardization data and availability will be accessible throughout the conference.

Programmers at B-DI have identified a fix for Error 200, the bug in the programming language Turbopascal that prevented CTS software from running on computers with processors faster than 250 mhz. The fix involves applying a patch developed in Europe to circumvent the division by zero that afflicts all programs written in Turbopascal. Testing of the patched programs has been successful at processor speeds up to 1 gigahertz. New software produced after November 13, 2000 will be patched and labelled 'V 4.2P' The patched program provides new options for users of CTS questionnaires, as limited use diskettes will continue to be available. Version 5 is currently available only in unlimited use versions. Prices and product offerings for Version 4.2 will remain the same.

This manual by Kate Andersen, author of BDINews, has just been published by B-DI. The Temperament Guides provides an effective, temperament-based program ("Your Individual Child") for practitioners working with young children and their families. It includes a chapter on the practical aspects of temperament assessment by Sean McDevitt, PhD and a Foreword by William Carey MD.

Looking systematically at behavioral issues related to each of the nine temperamental characteristics, it also examines the role of temperament in 10 of the most common childhood behavior problems. In addition, The Temperament Guides includes 40 reproducible parent education handouts for use in early intervention.

Click here for further information.

Version 4.2 of the Carey Temperament Scales is now available. It includes 4 digit dating for birthdate and date of assessment, bug fixes and updated report formatting. Although not technically a Y2K problem since it doesn't use the computer's system date, all previous 2 digit date versions will give incorrect age parameters after the Millenium (starting on 01/01/2000). Version 4.2 corrects that problem, ensuring trouble-free use well into the next century.

Version 4.2 is the last DOS-based version of the CTS software, due to problems with Microsoft system software. As Microsoft has updated the Windows operating system, some changes have created incompatibilities which prevent use of the CTS software on some of the newer versions of Windows 95 and Windows 98. CTS Version 4.2 will run on all systems that currently run V4.1, but incompatibilities may still occur with newer Microsoft Operating System software. Since its introduction in 1996, tens of thousands of DOS-based CTS software uses have been sold. All users whose software now operates properly with the Microsoft software may want to take advantage of the diskette exchange program described below.

A totally new Windows-based version of the CTS software, Version 5.0, is being written to allow wider use of the program with PC systems. Release date is scheduled for early 2000. The current adult ATQ software_is_Windows-based and has no Y2K issues to resolve. Nor are there any reports of incompatibility of the ATQ software with any Microsoft operating system. Because of its similarity to the ATQ program, CTS Version 5.0 should eliminate any problems of compatibility with Windows.

In the meantime, owners of all current DOS-based CTS software may upgrade to Version 4.2 for only $49.95 per diskette (plus s&h), no matter where the original program was purchased or how many uses are left on the diskette!

The original diskette will be replaced with a fresh V4.2 diskette of the same type (e.g.,Report Writer, Profile Writer or Quickscore) and restored to the number of uses originally purchased. Users are reminded to remove all .txt files (including save.txt, which contains the data for the last protocol) before submitting diskettes, to preserve confidentiality of client names.

To participate in the diskette exchange program, simply mail your used diskette(s) with a check, purchase order or credit card information to :

B-DI,14636 North 55th Street, Scottsdale, AZ 85254.

Sorry, no phone or online orders will be taken! Email questions about this offer to bdi@temperament.com

B-DI is pleased to announce the release of the software for the NYLS Adult Temperament Questionnaire. The program is available in 25 use and unlimited use diskettes. The ATQ software administers, scores, profiles and generates individualized reports of temperament characteristics in adults.

The ATQ software can also be used to score questionnaires taken with the printed ATQ questionnaires in 2-3 minutes, eliminating hand scoring.

The ATQ software has the unique ability to self-administer the questionnaire from a regular or laptop computer, eliminating the need for printed questionnaire forms.

Report output includes two reports, one for the subject and a second, more detailed report for the professional. The latter includes scores on each temperament dimension, a temperament profile and interpretive statements based on the individual's profile scores. For professional users, passworded validity checks can be accessed and included in the printed professional report.

Two B-DI products incorporating the ATQ software are available: 1) the 25 use ATQ Report Writer at $149.95 plus shipping and handling, which includes the Test Manual, User's Guide, 25 print questionnaires and software with 25 uses (ATQRW25), and 2) the Unlimited Use diskette with 100 print questionnaires, Test Manual, and User's Guide at $495.00 (ATQRWU), plus shipping and handling.

Orders for these new products can be faxed, phoned or mailed. Online ordering capability is also available at shoppingindex.html. Be sure to use the order numbers listed above when sending your written request.

The National Institutes of Health convened a consensus conference in November on Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. The purpose of the conference was to assess the current evidence about the diagnosis and treatment of ADHD so that future efforts in the area could be focused in the areas of greatest need. Dr. Carey spoke on the topic:

"Is ADHD a valid disorder?"

Carey criticized the definition and treatment of the ADHD disorder on the grounds that there is no provision for taking normal temperament variations into account. His remarks are reprinted here and the full text of his review paper on the subject is reprinted here.

B-DI announces publication of Behavior-Development-Individuality, a Newsletter for parents and professionals who deal with the "high maintenance" infant or child. Written by Kate Andersen, parent educator and expert on the difficult child, the monthly newsletter is aimed at parents and EIs (early interventionists).

B-D-I will cover a variety of topics related to temperament and practical information on coping with stressful interactions and helping others to cope. For a FREE trial newsletter, visit the Newsletter Information page.

Kate Andersen hosts the widely read 'Ask Kate' column on this website, which will now be added to the monthly BDINews.

The 1998 Occasional Temperament conference will be held in Philadelphia at the University of Pennsylvania. At this meeting, researchers and clinicians interested in the role of temperament in behavior and development will share new findings and progress in the field. Topics will include temperament constructs, temperament and ADHD, infant temperament, school age issues, life span/continutiy of temperament, and more. A link to the OTC web site is found on the temperament.com conferences page

Now the most popular pages at this website can be downloaded in .pdf format! These documents can be saved for later use, viewed offline, or printed for distribution. Included is information about temperament research, books about temperament, temperament faqs, etc. Also on the list are 1) a referral form for professionals who wish to try the B-DI Scoring and Report Service for infants and children, and 2) an order form for B-DI products. Just click on the download button! If you don't have Acrobat Reader to interpret .pdf files, a link on the page shows you where to get it FREE! Check downloads.html and see!

B-DI has established a Graduate Student discount for Carey Temperament Scales materials purchased for thesis or dissertation research. See Graduate student discount page in the B-DI Online Catalog for details. Sorry, not available from commercial distributors, only orders sent directly to B-DI.