Screening for learning disabilities: A neuropsychological approach

Abstract

The ability of the Trail Making Test (TMT) and Tactual Performance Test (TPT) to discriminate between learning‐disabled and normal children was examined. Twenty children aged 9 to 14 years who recently had been classified as learning disabled and 20 matched controls were administered individually the TPT, TMT, and two experimental forms of the TMT (parts X and Y). The data from the two groups were analyzed with a discriminant analysis. An overall accuracy rate of 82.5% was obtained when the measures were used to predict the classification status of individual children. A stepwise discriminant analysis procedure revealed an experimental form of the TMT (part X), Tactual Performance Test total time, and Tactual Performance Test localization to be the most sensitive measures. The use of such measures to screen for learning disabilities is discussed.

Verbal Self‐regulation over Time in Preschool Children at Risk for Attention and Behavior Problems

“…The TMT is a widely used tool for assessing executive and other prefrontal functions (Sellers & Nadler, 1992) in adults and has also been used with children of varying ages (Davis, Adams, Gates, & Cheramie, 1989). The task consists of three trials (numbers, letters, and a combination of numbers and letters) of connecting a series of dots in ascending order with a pencil.…”

Verbal Self-regulation over Time in Preschool Children at Risk for Attention and Behavior Problems

“…The final task administered to children at T4 was an adapted version of the Trial-Making Task (TMT ; Reitan, 1971) which was given to assess children's executive functioning. The TMT is a widely used tool for assessing executive and other prefrontal functions (Sellers & Nadler, 1992) in adults and has also been used with children of varying ages (Davis, Adams, Gates, & Cheramie, 1989). The task consists of three trials (numbers, letters, and a combination of numbers and letters) of connecting a series of dots in ascending order with a pencil.…”

Neuropsychological testing for the assessment of manganese neurotoxicity: A review and a proposal

“…Aiming to evaluate speech initiation and regulation, Mergler et al [1994] used the Digit Naming Test [Davis et al, 1987] and found that exposed workers were significantly slower on the second trial of this test. The Controlled Oral Word Association Test [Lezak, 1995] assesses verbal fluency and was administered in three studies Bowler et al, 2006Bowler et al, , 2007 with no significant observations.…”