NEPSY

NEPSY (which stands for "A Developmental NEuroPSYchological Assessment") is a series of neuropsychological tests authored by Marit Korkman, Ursula Kirk and Sally Kemp, that are used in various combinations to assess neuropsychological development in children ages 3–16 years in six functional domains. NEPSY was designed to assess both basic and complex aspects of cognition critical to children’s ability to learn and be productive, in and outside of, school settings. It is designed to test cognitive functions not typically covered by general ability or achievement batteries. The original NEPSY (Korkman, Kirk & Kemp, 1998) was published in 1998 by Pearson Assessment, and was superseded by the NEPSY-II (Korkman, Kirk & Kemp, 2007a, 2007b) in 2007.

Pediatric neuropsychological assessments evolved from knowledge and experience from the assessment of adults with brain damage. Consequently, early tests were not specifically designed with children in mind and were often normed on small samples of children. The development of the NEPSY was revolutionary as it was specifically designed for the purpose of testing children. The NEPSY is grounded in developmental and neuropsychological theory and practice. The diagnostic approach originated in the Lurian approach to assessment (Luria, 1973, 1980).

The original NEPSY contained subtests that assessed basic subcomponents of cognitive abilities while others assessed complex aspects of cognitive capacities. The NEPSY-II has a number of updates and additions. The age range has been extended from 12 to 16 years. The subtests with less clinical sensitivity have been removed e.g. the Tower of London Test, Knock and Tap and Visual Attention. Additional measures have been included such as: Geometric Puzzles, Picture Puzzles, Memory for Designs and Word List Interference. An additional functional domain, 'Social Perception' has also been added.

The largest change is the elimination of a core battery; instead, the authors suggest eight different referral batteries depending on the child's presentation. The subtests are no longer aggregated into overall domain scores like the previous version or the WISC, but rather each subtest produces a score including process scores, contrast scores and additional cumulative percentages for behavioural observations.

The six functional domains below are made up of 32 subtests and four delayed tasks. These domains are theoretically, not statistically, derived. The subtests were designed to assess cognitive abilities related to disorders that are typically diagnosed in childhood and that are required for success in an academic environment.

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