ABSTRACT

The application of neuropsychological theory and methods to clinically evaluate Spanishspeaking adults is still under much debate and scrutiny. However, if minimal progress has been made to create more appropriate assessment procedures for Hispanic adults, the field of neuropsychological assessment of Spanish-speaking children is even less developed. Myriads of issues have led to concern about the use of standardized tests with Hispanic children. As our knowledge base with this group increases, the expectations for standardized instruments have become more stringent and more complex (Cummins, 1989; Figueroa, 1989; Hartlage & Williams, 1997; Lopez, 1997). Cultural plurality has posed a challenge to the assessment of cognitive skills from the early days of testing. Between 1901 and 1910, over nine million immigrants entered the United States. Today, an estimated 9% of Hispanic children living in the United States were born abroad (U.S. Census Bureau, 1997). In addition, 32 million Americans (13%) speak a language other than English at home. The largest percentage (17.3%) speaks Spanish at home. The creation of new tests (i.e. Batería-R, WLPB-R, EIWN) has not proved sufficient to meet the assessment and diagnostic needs of a multicultural ethnic group because new tests cannot preclude poor interpretation. In many cases clinicians choose the wrong test and make inappropriate interpretations of the data (Shepard, 1989). Interpretations have often been simplistic and culturally bound, showing a lack of appreciation for cultural differences and traditions (Armour-Thomas, 1992; Cummins, 1984; Dana, 1996; Hamayan & Damico, 1991; Kayser, 1987). The issues pertaining to the use of interpreters, acculturation factors, and cultural nuances have been discussed elsewhere in the book, this chapter focuses on providing a comprehensive guide to what instruments are available, what their psychometric properties are, relevant research on the instruments, and a clinical framework to use in the assessment of bilingual children. The idea is to give readers a set of tools, from which they can choose in order to create a comprehensive neuropsychological battery to assess Hispanic children.