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Measurement and Statistical Problems in Neuropsychological Assessment of Children

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Handbook of Clinical Child Neuropsychology

Part of the book series: Critical Issues in Neuropsychology ((CINP))

Abstract

The field of neuropsychology as practiced clinically has been driven in large part by the development and application of standardized diagnostic procedures that are more sensitive than medical examinations to changes in behavior, in particular higher cognitive processes, as related to brain function. The techniques and methods so derived have led to major conceptual and theoretical advances in the understanding of normal and abnormal patterns of brain—behavior relationships. Despite the apparent utility of many of the neuropsychological tests discussed in this volume, their psychometric properties leave much to be desired. Much of their utility comes from the clinical acumen and experience of their users and developers, a situation that has, historically, made clinical neuropsychology more difficult to teach than should be the case. In fact, much of today’s practice and yesterday’s theoretical advances in clinical neuropsychology stem from intense and insightful observation of brain-damaged individuals by such astute observers as Ward Halstead, A. R. Luria, Hans Teuber, Karl Pribram, Roger Sperry, and others. These superstars of clinical neuropsychology were state-of-the-art researchers (though the state-of-the-art was often crude) to be sure, but their greatest inspirations came from their constant monitoring and informal interactions with the behavior of persons suffering from a variety of neurological trauma and disease. Halstead roamed the halls of Otho S. S. Sprague making notes as he observed behavior among brain-damaged individuals; Luria gained great insights into brain function with his rather informal, sometimes impromptu, bedside examination and discussions with soldiers with head injury; Sperry and his students followed and observed a series of “split-brain” patients going about their daily activities, even to the point of observing some as they dressed themselves and while engaged in leisure activities with others.

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Reynolds, C.R. (1989). Measurement and Statistical Problems in Neuropsychological Assessment of Children. In: Reynolds, C.R., Fletcher-Janzen, E. (eds) Handbook of Clinical Child Neuropsychology. Critical Issues in Neuropsychology. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-6807-4_8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-6807-4_8

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