certain WAIS-IV subtests, such as the Block Design
subtest. Several specialized tests of these skills are
also available. For example, the Judgment of Line
Orientation Test (Benton, Hamsher, Varney, &
Spreen, 1983) requires examinees to indicate the
pair of lines on a response card that“match”(lie
in the same orientation as) the two lines on the
stimulus card. Figure 18-5 provides examples of
items from this test.
Language Functioning. Various forms of brain
injury or trauma can affect either the production
or comprehension of language. Tests that require
patients to repeat words, phrases, and sentences
can assess articulation difficulties and paraphasias
(word substitutions); naming tests can help diagnose
anomias (impaired naming). Language comprehen-
sion can be assessed using the Receptive Speech
Scale of the Luria-Nebraska (described in the
following section). This subtest requires patients to
respond to verbal commands (as by pointing to
named body parts or objects or responding to sim-
ple commands). Speech and language pathologists
do an excellent job of comprehensively assessing
language dysfunction, and the neuropsychologist
may choose to refer patients to these health profes-
sionals if a screening test indicates suspected prob-
lems in language production or comprehension.Test Batteries
Let us now examine two commonly used neuro-
psychological test batteries: the Halstead-Reitan
and the Luria-Nebraska.The Halstead-Reitan Battery. To counter the
criticism that single tests for brain dysfunction
were too limited in their scope to provide definitivea.
b.^111
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6F I G U R E 18-5 Sample items from the Judgment of Line Orientation Test
SOURCE: FromNeuropsychological Assessment, 3rd edition, by Muriel Deutsch Lezak, p. 400. Copyright © 1995 by Oxford University Press, Inc.
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