by John T. Gallagher, Ph. D. and Katherine A. Burnham
Purpose: Neuropsychological testing of persons without vision, or with limited vision
Age: 16 through to 70+yrs
Admin: Individual
Qualification Level: A
There are two sections to the NAAVI, the textbook and the full assessment kit. Both enable the practitioner to administer full neuropsychological assessments of blind individuals.
Textbook/Manual
Comprehensive review of all facets of neuropsychological assessment of those with visual impairments. The authors draw on their extensive experience treating individuals with visual impairments and developing assessments to provide a comprehensive understanding of individual functioning.
The authors begin by reviewing the visual system, problems that can occur in the visual system, neuropsychological functions and how they are impacted by visual issues, how to assess neuropsychological functions without vision, a history of cognitive and neuropsychological assessment of those with visual impairments, and how the assessments covered in this kit were developed. It includes reviews to help clinicians identify effective tools for assessment work with this population. The author also presents a novel condition involving visual impairment and low birthweight. Please see the "Documents" tab for samples of the manual, including Table of Contents.
NAAVI Kit
The NAAVI Kit is a full neuropsychological assessment battery for individuals with visual impairments. Ten subtests are provided with equipment, instructions for administration, record forms, and summary forms provided to include everything you need to administer a complete assessment of and individual's cognitive and neuropsychological functions. Normative scores are provided to contextualize individual performance in terms of performance of others with visual impairment.
Research is reviewed which substantiates the development, reliability, and validity of the assessment. It is not sufficient to only use existing verbal assessments in nonvisual assessment, as a great deal of functions are not assessed in this way. In addition, verbal skills may be compromised, which would impact performance. Subtests in the NAAVI assess all facets of functioning, including nonvisual and nonverbal skills.
The textbook provides the grounding and the manual and subtests provide the tools to enable the clinician to gain a thorough understanding of individuals with nonvisual assessment. The textbook could serve as a reference for use in an assessment class or for a clinician seeking to gain an understanding of nonvisual assessment. Unlimited reproduction of assessment forms are included with purchase of the manual. Subtests are designed to be modular and may be purchased separately, allowing clinicians to construct a battery to meet their needs. Specific case examples make the assessment process come alive, and make the procedures easy to understand, and administer.
As a result of information in this book, the clinician will be prepared to provide assessments for the visually impaired, in the areas of:
- Vocation
- Academics
- Personality
- Intelligence (Verbal and Nonverbal)
- Neuropsychology
- Executive Functioning
- Spatial Ability
- Memory (Verbal and Nonverbal)
- Special clinical populations include: low birth weight, with a new Pervasive Developmental Disorder defined
| Subtest | Areas Assessed |
| Adapted Token Test | Receptive Language, Hearing, Understanding directions, Immediate verbal retention |
| Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT) | List learning, Incidental memory, Episodic memory |
| Tactual formboard test (TFBT) | Spatial exploration, Spatial learning, Independent travel, Spatial distortion, Motor coordination, Sustained attention, Memory- recognition and recall, Spatial understanding, Spatial relations |
| Auditory Cancellation Test | Attention- immediate and sustained, Impulsivity, Response monitoring, Adaptability, ADHD |
| Digit Symbol | Spatial learning, Memory, Haptic sense, Processing speed, Learning, Spatial awareness and memory, Spatial orientation |
| Block Design | Spatial understanding, Tactual-spatial understanding, Spatial rotation understanding, Pattern analysis, Spatial construction |
| Object Assembly | Spatial understanding, Spatial construction, Manual dexterity, Assembly skills, Part-to-whole reasoning and construction, Problem solving |
| Pattern Board | Tactual-spatial memory, Spatial preference, Spatial distortion, Verbal memory, Kinesthetic memory |
| Pattern of Search Test | Independent travel capability, Executive function, Planning, Thoroughness of spatial exploration, Spatial functioning |
