Practitioner S Guide To Evaluating Change With Neuropsychological Assessment Instruments

The impetus for this volume began with our research in the 1980's involving serial neuropsychological evaluation with various patient populations. At that time, reports on the practice effects associated with routinely utilized clinical neuropsychological instruments were sparse. While test-retest data were available for almost all assessment instruments, this was usually in the form of correlation coefficients and not changes in mean performance between or across assessment periods (see McCaffrey & Westervelt, 1995 for a detailed discussion of these and related issues). Clinical neuropsychological practitioners had few guidelines to assist them in determining if a change in a patient's performance across assessments was due to an intervention, maturation, practice effects, or a combination of factors. This volume represents our efforts at reviewing the literature between 1970 and 1998 and extracting the reported information on practice effects. The tables include the assessment instrument used, information on the subject/patient groups, the sample size (n}, gender, age, intervention, interval between the assessments, scores at both assessment points, and the citation. Those studies that reported data on more than two assessment points are indicated by a notation~ however, any data beyond the second assessment are not reported and the interested reader should refer to the original article. The tables are arranged alphabetically for the most widely used assessment instruments. Those instruments for which there was limited data on practice effects are grouped by "domain" (e. g.

While conducting research on intellectual and neuropsychological perfonnance of various patient populations across time, we became aware of the lack of information concerning practice effects associated with many widely used assessment instruments. Although test-retest data were available for almost all of these instruments, it typically came in the form of correlation coefficients and mean changes in performance between assessments was often absent. In a 1995 article (McCaffrey & Westervelt, 1995), we discussed a number of issues relevant to serial neuropsychological and intellectual assessment and concluded that clinical neuropsychological practitioners had few guidelines to assist them in interpreting change in a patient's performance across assessments. This volume represents our efforts at reviewing the literature between 1970 and 1998 and extracting the reported information on practice effects. The tables include the assessment instrument used, information on the subject/patient groups, the sample size fu}, gender, age, intervention, interval between the assessments, scores at both assessment points, and the citation. The tables reflect the existing published literature within intellectual assessment and, therefore, some instruments (e.g., Wechsler tests) comprise a majority of the tables whereas others (e.g., Raven's Progressive Matrices, Stanford-Binet) do not. The test index is arranged by the name of the test as reported in the specific article. We caution readers to refer to the original articles if additional or more specific information is needed.

This volume serves as an aid in the process of differential diagnosis which frequently confronts neuropsychologists. The guide is a compendium of information of the base rates of symptoms across a variety of disorders which neuropsychologists encounter. In addition to serving as a convenient source of information on symptom base rates, this volume also contains detailed cross referencing of symptoms across disorders. It is intended for use by clinical neuropsychologists and psychologists.

The exponential growth of clinical psychology since the late 1960s can be measured in part by the extensive literature on the subject. The field has come to be defined as much by its many topics as its many voices. The Oxford Handbook of Clinical Psychology synthesizes these decades of literature in one volume. In addition to core sections on topics such as training, assessment, diagnosis, and intervention, the handbook includes chapters devoted to emerging issues in the clinical field, including heath care reforms, cultural factors, and technological innovations and challenges. Each chapter offers a review of the most pertinent literature, outlining issues and identifying possibilities for future research.

The author has written an easily accessible summary of neuropsychological tests, neuropsychiatric disorders, and the relationships of test performance to disorder and treatment strategy. This ready reference provides neuropsychologists with an understanding of the medical context within which neuropsychological evaluation and psychosocial therapy takes place.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) in sports has become an important international public health issue over the past two decades. However, until recently, return to play decisions following a sports-related traumatic brain injury have been based on anecdotal evidence and have not been based on scientifically validated clinical protocols. Over the past decade, the field of Neuropsychology has become an increasingly important component of the return to play decision making process following TBI. Neuropsychological assessment instruments are increasingly being adapted for use with athletes throughout the world and the field of sports neuropsychology appears to be a rapidly evolving subspecialty. This book provides a comprehensive overview of the application of neuropsychological assessment instruments in sports, and it is structured to present a global perspective on contemporary research. In addition to a review of current research, Traumatic Brain Injury in Sports: An International Neuropsychological Perspective, presents a thorough review of current clinical models that are being implemented internationally within American and Australian rules football, soccer, boxing, ice hockey, rugby and equestrian sports.

No other book reviews clinical neuropsychological assessment from an empirical psychometric perspective. In this completely revised and updated 2nd edition, the concepts and methods of psychometric neuropsychology are presented as a framework by which to evaluate current instruments. Newer methodologies and statistical techniques are discussed, such as meta analysis, effect size, confirming factor analysis and ecological validity. The explosion of research in this area since the publication of the first edition in 1989, has been incorporated, including a greatly expanded chapter on child assessment instruments. This volume is a must for the bookshelf of every clinical neuropsychologist as well as researchers and students. Anyone conducting forensic evaluations will especially find useful the information on reliability and validity when preparing for court appearances.