Relation between Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test and WISC-III scores of children with RD.

Concurrent validity of the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test (K-BIT) with the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Third Edition (WISC-III) was evaluated, as well as the K-BIT's accuracy as a predictor of WISC-III scores, in a sample of young children with reading disabilities. The two measures were administered to 65 children from Atlanta, Boston, and Toronto who ranged from 6-5 to 7-11 years of age at testing. Correlations between the verbal, nonverbal, and composite scales of the K-BIT and WISC-III were .60, .48, and .63, respectively. Mean K-BIT scores ranged from 1.2 to 5.0 points higher than the corresponding WISC-III scores. Standard errors of estimation ranged from 10.0 to 12.3 points. In individual cases, K-BIT scores can underestimate or overestimate WISC-III scores by as much as 25 points. Results suggest caution against using the K-BIT exclusively for placement and diagnostic purposes with young children with reading disabilities if IQ scores are required.

Card sorting performance and ADHD symptomatology in children and adolescents with tourette syndrome.

Children and adolescents with Tourette Syndrome (TS) do not have a characteristic neuropsychological profile. Performance on complex cognitive tasks, particularly those associated with executive functioning (EF), has been variable and sometimes contradictory. The high rate of comorbidity of TS with disorders, especially Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), may account for such variability. A group of 57 individuals with TS, aged 8 - 16, was examined on a component of executive functioning in relation to comorbid symptomatology of ADHD. Each participant was evaluated using two EF measures, the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) and the California Card Sorting Test (CCST). Using factor analytic procedures for purposes of data reduction, WCST and CCST measures loaded on different factors. Individuals with TS who had a high rate of ADHD symptomatology did not differ from those with a lower rate of ADHD symptomatology on any measure of card sorting performance.