Utility of the Luria-Nebraska Neuropsychological Battery-Children's Revision in the evaluation of reading disabled children

Abstract

The Luria-Nebraska Neuropsychological Battery-Children's Revision (LNNBCR) was used to investigate differences between reading disabled (RD) and academically normal children. The groups of 32 subjects each were equivalent with regard to age, sex, race, IQ, and SES of primary wage earner in the family. RD subjects, all of whom had been identified as learning disabled by the school, were moderately to severely impaired in reading, but not in math. Performance of the groups was significantly different on the battery as a whole and on an abbreviated form of the battery which excluded scales composed of items measuring language, reading, and arithmetic. With the abbreviated battery, the largest group differences were found on the Rhythm scale. It is hypothesized that poor performance on the Rhythm scale may reflect impaired auditory processing, which has a negative impact on the development of basic skills required for reading. A stepwise discriminant function analysis using the abbreviated battery correctly identified 84% of subjects. Evidence supporting discriminative validity of two methods of identifying RD children was found. Performance on an Experimental scale composed of nonreading items presumed to assess the integrity of areas of the brain mediating basic reading skills was no worse than on an equivalent randomly selected pool of items. The LNNB-CR may be a potentially valuable instrument for investigating neuropsychological differences between RD and normal children in that it provides relevant information to educators who must formulate remediation programs for RD children.

Evidences of validity and reliability of the Luria-Nebraska Test for Children

“…In previous studies, the LNNB proved to be sensible in detecting performance differences between subjects with and without learning disabilities (Lewis et al, 1993;Myers et al, 1989). In this sense, the variations found may be related to the sensibility of the test to detect deficits in this population; however, comparative studies are needed to test such hypothesis.…”

“…In clinical samples the LNNB-CR identified performance differences between control and learning disabled subjects (Lewis et al 1993), and between children and adolescents with reading disorders. The authors point out the LNNB-CR as an instrument potentially valid for investigation of neuropsychological alterations in children with learning issues (Myers et al 1989).…”

Evidências de Validade do Teste Luria-Nebraska para Crianças: Relações com Escolaridade e Inteligência

“…Em outro estudo, essa mesma versão mostrou-se relevante na caracterização de déficits em sujeitos com dificuldade de leitura. Essas crianças tiveram desempenho diferente de crianças com leitura preservada na bateria como um todo, inclusive em análise que excluía os subtestes diretamente ligados a habilidades escolares (Myers, Sweet, Deysach, & Myers, 1989). No Brasil, um estudo piloto de adaptação da LNNB-CR com crianças saudáveis demonstrou a aplicabilidade de um instrumento com foco na escala clínica da bateria, fornecendo alguns parâmetros de desempenho dessa população e indícios para aprimoramento de subtestes (Abreu et al, 2011).…”