We are a group of occupational therapists who share a passion for serving the needs of persons whose differing cognitive abilities compromise participation in valued activities and occupations. This organization holds the copyright for the Manual for Version 5 of the Cognitive Level Screen, Second Edition (2022) and publishes the manual and associated tests for the ACLS-5, LACLS-5, and LACLS-5(D) forms of the assessment in addition to other materials related to the Cognitive Disabilities Model. As the board of directors, we are also committed to education, development and research activities that promote informed and empathic use of this cognitive screening assessment and the cognitive disabilities model.
President/Director
Linda Riska-Williams, MA, OTR/L
Linda first explored the cognitive disabilities model (CDM) during her thesis work with Claudia Allen and Catherine Earhart in 1978 through 1980. During that time, she developed the Riska Object Classification (ROC) test as an attempt to expand on the then six cognitive levels with categorization tasks. A short version of the ROC was included in the evaluation of thinking operations in the original Lowenstein Occupational Therapy Cognitive Assessment (LOTCA by Itzkovich, Averbuch, Elazar, & Katz, 1990); and in the LOTCA-2nd Edition ( Itzkovich, Averbuch, Elazar, & Katz, 2000). It is now included in the three available dynamic versions: the DLOTCA-A for adults (Katz, Livni, Bar-Haim, Erez, & Averbuch, 2011); the DLOTCA-G for geriatrics (Katz, Averbuch, & Bar-Haim, Erez, 2011); and the DOTCA-CH for children (Katz, Parush, & Traub Bar-Ilan, 2005; Katz, Golstand, Traub Bar-Ilan, & Parush, 2007). Since then, the CDM served as a foundation for all areas of her practice evaluating and treating persons with varied diagnoses in various settings, including: adult and geriatric populations with physical and psychiatric disabilities and dementias; schoolchildren ages 3 to 22 with severe physical or cognitive disabilities; and, prior to her retirement in 2020, with acute care hospital patients. As a founder and charter member in 2002 of the Allen Cognitive Network (ACN), a not-for-profit, Linda chaired the committee tasked to professionalize the ACLS test manual. At Claudia Allen’s direction this four-year effort culminated in the founding of the ACLS and LACLS Committee to provide guardianship of the ACLS into the future and to publish the Manual for the Allen Cognitive Level Screen-5 (ACLS-5) and Large Allen Cognitive Level Screen-5 (LACLS-5) by Allen, Austin, David, Earhart, McCraith & Riska-Williams (2007). Linda provided the big picture view in the writing and publication of Manual for Version 5 of the Allen Cognitive Level Screen, (2nd ed.) by Earhart, McCraith, and Riska-Williams (2022). Linda continues to participate in committee workshops and presentations on the CDM and assessments; and, in her role as President, she oversees committee projects including: the establishment of non-profit 501c3 status in 2008 for the organization, website operations, video production, manufacturing of the three forms of Version 5 of the ACL Screen, sales, worldwide distribution, translations, and the recent acquisition of the registered trademark, ACLS & LACLS Committee approved®, stamp for Version 5 of the ACL Screen and manual.
Director/Development
Catherine A. Earhart, BA, OT. Cert., OTR/L
Catherine has specialized in mental and behavioral health practice with adolescent and adult populations since 1972. From 1974 through 1995 she worked with Claudia K. Allen, MA, OTR, FAOTA and other practitioners at Los Angeles County/University of Southern California Medical Center Psychiatric Services in Los Angeles, California, to collect clinical observations and conduct qualitative research instrumental to the development of the cognitive disabilities model (CDM) and four versions of the Allen Cognitive Level Screen. As Supervisor of Psychiatric Occupational Therapy Services from 1995 until retirement in 2015, she oversaw clinical services, directed fieldwork programs at this large public teaching hospital, and lectured on the CDM at local occupational therapy curriculums. With Allen and Tina Blue, OTR, she co-authored the best-selling text, Occupational Therapy Treatment Goals for the Physically and Cognitively Disabled (Allen, Earhart, & Blue, 1992), contributing the extensive analyses of the cognitive activity demands of common processes and ADL/IADL activities. Her interest and expertise in design and activity analysis was useful in development of the craft-based functional cognitive assessments in the Allen Diagnostic Module (Allen & Earhart, 1993), the Allen Diagnostic Module, 2nd Edition (Earhart, 2006), and the first edition of the Manual for the Allen Cognitive Level Screen-5 (ACLS-5) and Large Allen Cognitive Level Screen-5 (LACLS-5), by Allen, Austin, David, Earhart, McCraith, & Riska-Williams (2007). As a charter member in 2002 of the Allen Cognitive Network (ACN), a not-for-profit, she served on the board and has been a frequent presenter at ACN sponsored cognitive symposiums, state conferences, and international workshops. As a founding director for the ACLS and LACLS Committee, she continues to develop resources for practitioners including the disposable LACLS-5, educational and training materials, and downloadable ADM-2nd Edition Revised assessments (Earhart, 2014). In addition she recently co-authored the following chapters: “The cognitive disabilities model in 2011” in N. Katz (Ed.), Cognition, occupation, and participation across the life span (3rd ed., 2011) with Deane B McCraith, MS, OT/L and Sarah L. Austin, PhD, OTR/L; “The cognitive disabilities model: Creating fit between functional cognitive abilities and cognitive activity demands” in N. Katz & J. Toglia (Eds.), Cognition, occupation, and participation across the life span (4th ed., 2018) with Deane B McCraith; and “Cognitive disabilities model: Allen Cognitive Level Screen-5 and Allen Diagnostic Module (2nd edition) Assessments” in J. Hemphill & C. Urish (Eds.), Assessments in occupational therapy in mental health: An integrative approach (4th ed., 2020) with Deane B McCraith. Catherine’s contributions to the expanded Manual for Version 5 of the Allen Cognitive Level Screen, (2nd ed.) by Earhart, McCraith, and Riska-Williams (2022) included enhanced sections on task analysis, use of scores, case studies, and clinical resources. Catherine was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award in October 2010 by the Occupational Therapy Association of California in recognition of her “Sustained and significant contributions to the advancement of the profession of occupational therapy.”
Director/Education and Research
Deane B. McCraith, MS, OT/L
Deane began practice as an occupational therapist in mental health in 1968. After being introduced to the cognitive disabilities model in the mid-1980s, Deane applied the model in clinical practice with persons with dementia, persistent mental illness, and traumatic brain injury, as well as teaching and consulting with various organizations on the model’s application in clinical practice. While always maintaining her involvement in clinical practice, she also served full-time on the faculty at Boston University-Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Department of Occupational Therapy for 24 years, retiring in 2009. In addition to her teaching responsibilities in the areas of mental health, group work, and cognition, she also presented at the American Occupational Therapy (AOTA) conferences, and at state and international conferences. As a charter member in 2002 of the Allen Cognitive Network (ACN), a not-for-profit, she served on the board for many years and continues to be a frequent presenter at ACN sponsored cognitive symposiums. In her role as a founding director of the ACLS and LACLS Committee/Allen Cognitive Group, (ACG), Deane presents at national and international conferences and training workshops, consults, and coordinates research and educational activities for ACG. In this capacity, she was the primary investigator for a study of the inter-rater reliability and form equivalence for the three forms of Version 5 of the ACL Screen (McCraith, Riska-Williams, and Earhart, 2021). Throughout her career, Deane has also participated in research and authored several publications related to the cognitive disabilities model. As a co-investigator with Alexis Henry, ScD, OTR/L, Deane researched “The usefulness of the cognitive disabilities model in predicting community functioning among persons with mental disorders” which was sponsored by an American Occupational Therapy Foundation (AOTF) grant (McCraith, & Henry, 2003). She co-authored the Manual for the Allen Cognitive Level Screen-5 (ACLS-5) and Large Allen Cognitive Level Screen-5 (LACLS-5) by Allen, Austin, David, Earhart, McCraith & Riska-Williams (2007). She also co-authored the chapter, “The cognitive disabilities model in 2011” in N. Katz (Ed.), Cognition, occupation, and participation across the life span (3rd ed., 2011) with Catherine A. Earhart, BA, OT Cert., OTR/L and Sarah L. Austin, PhD, OTR/L. More recently, in collaboration with Catherine A. Earhart, Deane co-authored two additional chapters: “The cognitive disabilities model: Creating fit between functional cognitive abilities and cognitive activity demands” in N. Katz & J. Toglia (Eds.), Cognition, occupation, and participation across the life span (4th ed., 2018) and “Cognitive Disabilities Model: Allen Cognitive Level Screen-5 and Allen Diagnostic Module (2nd ed.) Assessments” in J. Hemphill & C. Urish (Eds.), Assessments in occupational therapy in mental health: An integrative approach (4th ed., 2020). Deane’s ability to knowledgeably bridge current practice, education, and research contexts was invaluable in developing the new sections and updates in the Manual for Version 5 of the Allen Cognitive Level Screen, (2nd ed.) by Earhart, McCraith, and Riska-Williams (2022).