Comparison of Computerised and Pencil-and-Paper Neuropsychological Assessments in Older Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Australians

Author(s):  
Zara A. Page ◽  
Karen Croot ◽  
Perminder S. Sachdev ◽  
John D. Crawford ◽  
Ben C.P. Lam ◽  
...  

Abstract Objectives: Computerised neuropsychological assessments (CNAs) are proposed as an alternative method of assessing cognition to traditional pencil-and-paper assessment (PnPA), which are considered the “gold standard” for diagnosing dementia. However, limited research has been conducted with culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) individuals. This study investigated the suitability of PnPAs and CNAs for measuring cognitive performance in a heterogenous sample of older, Australian CALD English-speakers compared to a native English-speaking background (ESB) sample. Methods: Participants were 1037 community-dwelling individuals aged 70–90 years without a dementia diagnosis from the Sydney Memory and Ageing Study (873 ESB, 164 CALD). Differences in the level and pattern of cognitive performance in the CALD group were compared to the ESB group on a newly developed CNA and a comprehensive PnPA in English, controlling for covariates. Multiple hierarchical regression was used to identify the extent to which linguistic and acculturation variables explained performance variance. Results: CALD participants’ performance was consistently poorer than ESB participants on both PnPA and CNA, and more so on PnPA than CNA, controlling for socio-demographic and health factors. Linguistic and acculturation variables together explained approximately 20% and 25% of CALD performance on PnPA and CNA respectively, above demographics and self-reported computer use. Conclusions: Performances of CALD and ESB groups differed more on PnPAs than CNAs, but caution is needed in concluding that CNAs are more culturally-appropriate for assessing cognitive decline in older CALD individuals. Our findings extend current literature by confirming the influence of linguistic and acculturation variables on cognitive assessment outcomes for older CALD Australians.

2020 ◽  
pp. 152574012091520
Author(s):  
Sabiha Parveen ◽  
Siva priya Santhanam

A clinician’s perceived competence determines his or her ability to attain clinical outcomes and persevere through challenging situations. This study examined the perceived competence of 337 speech-language pathologists (SLPs), including monolingual and bilingual, working with culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) clients within the United States. Results indicated comparable competence levels of both monolingual and bilingual SLPs in their service delivery to monolingual English-speaking clients. However, bilingual SLPs reported significantly higher competency than monolingual SLPs while working with non-English-speaking clients in different areas of service delivery, including speech and language assessment, dealing with challenging clinical situations, and responding to questions regarding intervention outcomes. It is likely that language concordance, awareness, and understanding of linguistic and cultural expectations of non-English-speakers help surpass communication barriers leading to increased perceived competence among bilingual SLPs. This study summarizes persisting challenges in service delivery of CLD populations and possible recommendations for preservice training of SLPs.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 934-953
Author(s):  
Catherine Gomes

International students from culturally and linguistically diverse countries travel to Australia because of the opportunity to study courses in the English language with some coming to this country just to study the language itself. Such desires moreover create students to engage in creative strategies to improve their language skills. This paper, however, suggests that the desire to be skilled in English through immersion in an English-speaking country like Australia creates challenges to the mental wellbeing of international students. Reporting on interview data with 47 international students of Asian descent in the Australian city of Melbourne, this paper reveals these challenges to include lived and perceived notions of self and belonging, as well as loneliness.


Psych ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 717-727
Author(s):  
Mark Stemmler ◽  
Sophia M. V. Schneider ◽  
Leonard W. Poon

The SKT (Syndrom-Kurz-Test) is a well-established short cognitive performance test for the detection of attention and memory deficits in Germany. The goal of this paper is to test whether the SKT could be applied to English-speaking populations to screen cognitive impairments in the US, Australia, and Ireland. A regression-based continuous norming technique was applied. Standardized test results obtained from German-speaking (n = 1056) and English-speaking (n = 285) samples were compared. Both samples consisted of cognitively unimpaired, community-dwelling, and independently living volunteers (non-patients) over 60 years of age. Means, medians, and standard deviations of raw scores were calculated. A high similarity in the raw value distributions of the criterion variables and a comparison of German and English multiple regression residuals indicated the equivalence among the samples. In addition, the obtained multiple regression equations for predicting the subtest scores including the explained variances (R2) were highly comparable. Age and intelligence turned out to be the most important and necessary predictors for each subtest performance. The results suggest that the new regression-based norming of the SKT can be validly used in the three English-speaking countries.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 295-296
Author(s):  
Hillary Rouse ◽  
Brent Small ◽  
John Schinka

Abstract Research on bilingualism has found inconsistent results regarding its potential benefit on the cognitive abilities of older adults. The goal of the current study was to evaluate differences in cognition on a wide array of neuropsychological assessments between monolingual and bilingual cognitively healthy older adults who specifically speak only English and/or Spanish. The sample included cognitively intact older adults who were either monolingual (n=247) English speakers or bilingual (n=42) in English and Spanish. Performance was compared between groups from a battery of neuropsychological assessments that measured executive function, attention, short-term memory, and episodic memory. Compared to English and Spanish bilinguals, monolingual English speakers performed significantly better on a variety of tasks within the domains of executive function, attention, and short-term memory. No significant differences were found in favor of the bilinguals on any domain of cognitive performance. In the present study, we failed to observe a significant advantage for English and Spanish bilingual speakers on the cognitive performance of older adults when compared to monolingual English speakers. This study suggests that the bilingual advantage may not be as robust as originally reported, and the effects of bilingualism on cognition could be significantly impacted by the languages included in the study.


Global Heart ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. e127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karice Hyun ◽  
Julie Redfern ◽  
Bernadette Aliprandi-Costa ◽  
John French ◽  
Greg Gamble ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Ashley M. Frazier

Abstract School speech-language pathologists (SLPs) are increasingly likely to serve children of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) parents or GLBT students as cultural and societal changes create growth in the population and increased willingness to disclose sexual orientation. The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) has a progressive nondiscrimination statement that includes sexual orientation as a protected status and strongly urges the membership to develop cultural competence as a matter of ethical service delivery. The purpose of this article is to describe cultural competence in relation to GLBT culture, discuss GLBT parent and student cultural issues as they are important in parent-school or student-school relations, and to provide suggestions for increasing sensitivity in these types of interactions. A list of resources is provided.


Author(s):  
Elena Dukhovny ◽  
E. Betsy Kelly

According to the 2010 U.S. Census, over 20% of Americans speak a language other than English in the home, with Spanish, Chinese, and French being the languages most commonly spoken, aside from English. However, few augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems offer multilingual support for individuals with limited functional speech. There has been much discussion in the AAC community about best practices in AAC system design and intervention strategies, but limited resources exist to help us provide robust, flexible systems for users who speak languages other than English. We must provide services that take into consideration the unique needs of culturally and linguistically diverse users of AAC and help them reach their full communication potential. This article outlines basic guidelines for best practices in AAC design and selection, and presents practical applications of these best practices to multilingual/multicultural clients.


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