Neuropsychological characteristics of learning disabled/gifted children.

The neuropsychological characteristics of 68 learning-disabled/gifted children (LD/Gifted) were studied using the Halstead-Reitan Neuropsychological Test Battery for Children (HRNB-C). The proportion of LD/Gifted children identified as impaired was low compared to previous research that has examined the proportion of school-identified learning-disabled students who scored within the impaired range on the HRNB-C. Consistent with previous research, the results of this study indicated that LD/Gifted children were also more likely to demonstrate impairment on the Tactual Performance Test-Memory, Tactual Performance Test-Localization, and Trails B-Errors components of the HRNB-C.

Factor analysis and matrix invariance of the HRNB-C category test.

This study examined the factorial invariance of the six individual Halstead-Reitan Neuropsychological Battery for Older Children (HRNB-C) Category subtests. The test scores for two large samples of learning disabled children were factor analyzed. A three-factor solution emerged for each group with a clear pattern of variable loadings. Category subtests IV and V load on Factor 1, subtests III and VI on Factor 2, and subtests I and II on Factor 3. Variable loadings were not only of similar pattern, but also magnitude and sign for both samples. Moreover, comparison statistics indicate an excellent fit between the two factor matrices. Results support the conclusion that the HRNB-C Category Test measures more than a single underlying construct.