IACAPAP Webinar for Allied Professionals 2026

Executive function (EF) is widely used in child and adolescent mental health to support assessment, diagnosis, and intervention planning. Yet most EF measures were developed in minority world contexts and may not adequately capture the realities of children growing up in diverse cultural, social, and economic environments. As a result, behaviors that are adaptive within a child’s everyday context may be misinterpreted as deficits, leading to biased assessments and potentially inappropriate clinical decisions. 

This webinar explores how context shapes both the expression and measurement of executive functions. Drawing on examples from Brazil and other Latin American settings, it examines the limitations of commonly used EF tasks and questionnaires when applied across culturally diverse populations. The session will discuss the implications of these challenges for clinical assessment, diagnosis, and intervention, highlighting the risks of relying on measures that lack cultural relevance. 

Participants will be introduced to practical strategies for developing more context-sensitive approaches to EF assessment, including community engagement and the creation of locally relevant norms. The webinar will emphasize how culturally responsive assessment can contribute to more accurate, equitable, and effective mental health care for children and adolescents worldwide. 

Postdoctoral fellow at the University of São Paulo (USP), with a period at the University of Edinburgh (Scotland). PhD in Human Development Sciences, master's in Developmental Disorders, and bachelor's in Psychology from Mackenzie Presbyterian University (UPM). She completed a PhD program at the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom (UK) with a CAPES-PRINT scholarship. Is a member of INSAR's Cultural Diversity Committee. She was a member of the ANPEPP Working Group "Autism Spectrum Disorders: Research in Health and Education." She was a Fellow of the Helmut Remschmidt Research Seminar (HRRS) 2023 and a member of IACAPAP (International Association for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Allied Professions), currently a member of IACAPAP Allied Professionals Task Force Committee. She is also a member of The International Society for Autism Research (INSAR) and the Brazilian Institute of Psychological Assessment (IBAP). She is a visiting professor in the postgraduate program in Neuropsychology at the Center for Studies in Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CETCC). She has training in Behavioral and Cognitive Therapy from IPq-HCFMUSP. He has experience in the field of Psychology, with a focus on psychological and behavioral assessment.

Paulo G. Laurence, Ph.D., is a Visiting Professor at the Center for Mathematics, Computing, and Cognition at the Federal University of ABC (Brazil). He holds a Ph.D. and M.S. in Developmental Disorders and degrees in Biological Sciences and Education, with additional training in Pedagogy. His research training includes international experience at the University of California, Berkeley (Building Blocks of Cognition Lab) and the University of California, Davis. His research focuses on cognitive development, with particular emphasis on executive function, reasoning, and learning. He investigates how social, cultural, and environmental factors shape cognitive processes, integrating behavioral methods, advanced statistical modeling, qualitative approaches, and eye-tracking techniques. Dr. Laurence has received competitive funding from national agencies (including CNPq, CAPES, and FAPESP) and has published extensively on executive function and cognitive variability. His recent work emphasizes the need for culturally sensitive approaches to cognitive assessment, particularly in underrepresented and majority world contexts.

Important note

1. The webinar is open to the public.
2. This webinar will be conducted virtually via Zoom.
3. Participation is free, but registration is required in advance. Seats are limited, and it's based on first-come, first-served. After registration, a copy of the webinar confirmation email will be sent. By registering for a webinar, consent is given for registration details to be provided to IACAPAP for webinar preparation.
4. The E-certificate of participation will be provided to those IACAPAP members who have attended the webinar online and completed the survey at the end of the webinar. The survey will be displayed in the browser ONLY after the webinar has ended.
5. IACAPAP reserves the right at all times to change, add or remove any terms without prior notice.
6. IACAPAP reserves the right to make alterations to the webinar program at any time.