Normal Adult Performance on Constructional Praxis Training Tasks

Abstract

This study used a balanced factorial design to examine the performance of normal young adults on a parquetry block assembly task that occupational therapists use to treat constructional deficits in adults. Ninety-six 18- to 34-year-old right-handed college students or college graduates (48 men and 48 women) were tested. Independent variables were subjects' sex, presence or absence of color on the model design card, and amount of detail on the model design card. Dependent variables were speed and accuracy of design construction. Results of a factorial analysis of variance with the three variables showed that the subjects' total time scores were significantly related to their sex and to the presence or absence of color and the amount of detail on the design card. Interaction effects were significant for sex by amount of detail and for color by amount of detail. The results were used to generate clinical performance criteria and graded levels of difficulty for this modality. The subjects' learning and test behaviors were examined to generate ideas for treatment and for future research.

A Meal Preparation Treatment Protocol for Adults With Brain Injury

“…Others choose to work on those component skills in the context of actual meal preparation activities (Neistadt, 1988(Neistadt, , 1990. Therapists using the former aprroach can find specific treatment protocols for remedial activities in the occupational therapy literature (Neistadt, 1989(Neistadt, , 1994Neistadt, McAuley, Zecha, & Shannon, 1993) Therapists using the latter approach, however, do nor have the benefit of treatment protocols that s-tructure meal preraration training to address clients' cognitive-perceptual component skill deficits, because no such protocols exist in the occupational therapy literature (Hopkins & Smith, 1993;Pedretti & Zoltan. 1990;Trombly, 1989;Zoltan, Siev.…”

Assessment and Intervention with Clients with Apraxia: Contributions from the Literature

“…Constructional apraxia is of particular importance to occu-pational therapists because it has been shown to affect performance in activities of daily living, particularly self-care tasks (Cady Fall, 1987;Titus et al, 1991). Constructional apraxia is described as a perceptual motor deficit, and refers to the inability to organize a number of parts into a whole (Carlesimo et al, 1993;Neistadt, 1989;. Impairment is noted in tasks that require recognition of and attention to detail, including the relationships between the subcomponents of a task (Carlesimo et al, 1993).…”

Cognitive impairments in clients with dual diagnosis (chronic psychotic disorders and substance abuse): considerations for treatment

“…Constructional apraxia is an impairment in the capacity to assemble parts into a whole and affects the performance of functional tasks. Successful performance requires integration of motor planning and execution, along with visual perception (Lane, 1990;Neistadt, 1989). Many of the dual diagnosis clients (22%) had difficulty performing the construction section of the NCSE, and 70% failed the screen.…”