Culturally-informed neuropsychological evaluations of patients with spina bifida: Application of the ECLECTIC framework to a complex pediatric medical condition.

The pediatric patient populations in the United States are becoming increasingly diverse in culture. In addition to medical factors, a variety of sociocultural factors (including educational systems, language, immigration status, etc.) can impact a child's cognitive development, performance on traditional neuropsychological measures, provider interactions, differential diagnosis, and recommendations.

[Formula: see text] Neuropsychological assessment in rare pediatric neurogenetic disorders: considerations for cross-cultural clinical research.

Neuropsychological assessment in rare neurodevelopmental disorders has provided clinicians and researchers with a more comprehensive view of natural history as well as opportunities for additional endpoints in treatment trials. While challenges to protocol development have been addressed in the literature, cultural considerations have been overly broad resulting in limited utility when including mixed international samples. Using experiences over the past five years with the development of ten different protocols for neurogenetic rare diseases, this paper presents further considerations for protocol development that are culturally sensitive to international samples.

Culturally Informed Neuropsychological Evaluations in Pediatric Epilepsy: Evidence-Based Practice Considerations.

Objective: Epilepsy is one of the most common reasons for referral for a pediatric neuropsychological evaluation due its high prevalence in childhood and our well-established clinical role in tertiary care settings. Emerging evidence indicates that racial and ethnic minority populations experience increased epilepsy burden compared with White peers. Although there has been heightened recognition in our specialty regarding the dire need for culturally and linguistically responsive evaluations, the scientific evidence to support effective neuropsychological service delivery for bi/multilingual and bi/multicultural youth with epilepsy is comparatively scant and of poor quality.

The Measurement of Acculturation in Neuropsychological Evaluations of Hispanic/Latino Individuals across the Lifespan: A Scoping Review of the Literature.

Objective: Acculturation has been linked to health outcomes in Hispanics/Latinos (H/Ls). However, there is equivocal evidence of a relationship between acculturation and neuropsychological outcomes. Various factors limit the ability to subject the evidence to systematic/meta-analytic review.

Cultivating a Relevant Supervisory Space: Culturally Expressive and Responsive Model for Supervision in Neuropsychology.

Objective: Provision of supervision is an integral component of training in psychology, a view that was solidified in 2014 with the development of the American Psychological Association created Guidelines for Clinical Supervision in Health Service Psychology ( APA, 2014). Current supervisory standards require several components before a relationship is considered supervisory. Among these are assumptions that the supervisory relationship is respectful and collaborative, that feedback is bidirectional, and that it focuses on the development of competency and professional identity by the supervisee.

Foundational Curriculum and Core Guidelines for Training in Latinx/a/o-Hispanic Cultural Neuropsychology Across the Lifespan.

Objective: The training competency of individual and cultural diversity is an advanced, fundamental competency to health service psychology since 2015. However, there is minimal instruction on how to integrate it into training curricula in neuropsychology, especially at the postdoctoral fellowship level. Our objective was to operationalize the individual and cultural diversity standard to provide a tangible application for educational programs on how to develop a competency-based training model for Latinx/a/o-Hispanic (L/H) cultural neuropsychology across the lifespan.

Neurodevelopmental Implications on Urological Self-management Among People Living With Spina Bifida: A Practical Guide for Urology Providers.

Although folic acid fortification and advances in prenatal repair have reduced Spina Bifida (SB) prevalence and the severity of comorbidities, individuals with SB remain at elevated risk for neurocognitive impairments that studies have shown can negatively impact, among other things, urological self-care. Identifying and addressing these impairments with practical interventions can meaningfully improve long-term outcomes for individuals with SB. We review neurocognitive impairments associated with SB and provide practical solutions to support improvement of long-term urological outcomes.

A Teleneuropsychology Consultation Service Model for Children with Neurodevelopmental and Acquired Disorders Residing in Rural State Regions.

Objective: Accessing neuropsychological services, which are often centralized in urban regions, poses unique challenges to children and families in rural regions. In 2017, urban neuropsychologists and a pediatrician practicing in a rural region of New Mexico started to develop a teleneuropsychology (TeleNP) consultation service model to efficiently triage and determine a clinical course of action. This pilot project, aimed at expanding clinical access to specialized pediatric services in rural areas, evolved over the course of 2 years prior to the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.

Do parents implement pediatric neuropsychological report recommendations?

Objective: We explored parent-reported implementation rates of medical, home/community, and school recommendations following a pediatric neuropsychological evaluation, as well as demographic group differences in, and potential barriers to, recommendation implementation.

Method: Participants were 55 parents of children and adolescents who completed an outpatient neuropsychological evaluation in a university-based hospital neuropsychology clinic within 4 to 6 months prior to study participation. Participants were contacted by phone to complete a short interview regarding implementation of report recommendations.

Cross-Country Differences in Parental Reporting of Symptoms of ADHD.

Previous studies within the United States suggest there are cultural and contextual influences on how Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) symptoms are perceived. If such influences operate within a single country, they are likely to also occur between countries. In the current study, we tested whether country differences in mean ADHD scores also reflect cultural and contextual differences, as opposed to actual etiological differences.

Cognitive and behavioral indicators of ADHD symptoms prior to school age.

Background: Previous research on the etiology of ADHD symptoms suggests that neuropsychological differences may be present as early as birth; however, the diagnosis is typically not given until school age. This study aimed to (a) identify early behavioral and cognitive markers of later significant parent and/or teacher ratings of ADHD symptomology, (b) examine sex differences in these predictors, and (c) describe the developmental trajectories of comorbid symptoms in school-aged children.

Methods: 1,106 children and at least one parent enrolled in the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development were followed from 1 month of age through 6th grade.

Individual prediction of dyslexia by single versus multiple deficit models.

The overall goals of this study were to test single versus multiple cognitive deficit models of dyslexia (reading disability) at the level of individual cases and to determine the clinical utility of these models for prediction and diagnosis of dyslexia. To accomplish these goals, we tested five cognitive models of dyslexia--two single-deficit models, two multiple-deficit models, and one hybrid model--in two large population-based samples, one cross-sectional (Colorado Learning Disability Research Center) and one longitudinal (International longitudinal Twin Study). The cognitive deficits included in these cognitive models were in phonological awareness, language skill, and processing speed and/or naming speed.