Neuropsychological, Cognitive, and Theoretical Considerations for Evaluation of Bilingual Individuals Export

@article{citeulike:3626351, abstract = {Abstract\ \ As the number of bilinguals in the USA grows rapidly, it is increasingly important for neuropsychologists to be equipped and trained to address the unique challenges inherent in conducting ethical and competent neuropsychological evaluations with this population. Research on bilingualism has focused on two key cognitive mechanisms that introduce differences between bilinguals and monolinguals: (a) reduced frequency of language-specific use (weaker links), and (b) competition for selection within the language system in bilinguals (interference). Both mechanisms are needed to explain how bilingualism affects neuropsychological test performance, including the robust bilingual disadvantages found on verbal tasks, and more subtle bilingual advantages on some measures of cognitive control. These empirical results and theoretical claims can be used to derive a theoretically informed method for assessing cognitive status in bilinguals. We present specific considerations for measuring degree of bilingualism for both clients and examiners to aid in determinations of approaches to testing bilinguals, with practical guidelines for incorporating models of bilingualism and recent experimental data into neuropsychological evaluations. This integrated approach promises to provide improved clinical services for bilingual clients, and will also contribute to a program of research that will ultimately reveal the mechanisms underlying language processing and executive functioning in bilinguals and monolinguals alike.}, author = {Rivera and Arentoft, Alyssa and Kubo and D'aquila, Erica and Scheiner, Diane and Pizzirusso, Maria and Sandoval, Tiffany and Gollan, Tamar}, citeulike-article-id = {3626351}, citeulike-linkout-0 = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11065-008-9069-7}, citeulike-linkout-1 = {http://view.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18841477}, citeulike-linkout-2 = {http://www.hubmed.org/display.cgi?uids=18841477}, citeulike-linkout-3 = {http://www.springerlink.com/content/x260534m68726k01}, day = {1}, doi = {10.1007/s11065-008-9069-7}, journal = {Neuropsychology Review}, keywords = {bilingualism, review, tgollan}, number = {3}, pages = {255--268}, posted-at = {2009-04-15 14:59:24}, priority = {2}, title = {Neuropsychological, Cognitive, and Theoretical Considerations for Evaluation of Bilingual Individuals}, url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11065-008-9069-7}, volume = {18}, year = {2008} }

TY - JOUR ID - citeulike:3626351 L3 - citeulike-article-id:3626351 N2 - Abstract  As the number of bilinguals in the USA grows rapidly, it is increasingly important for neuropsychologists to be equipped and trained to address the unique challenges inherent in conducting ethical and competent neuropsychological evaluations with this population. Research on bilingualism has focused on two key cognitive mechanisms that introduce differences between bilinguals and monolinguals: (a) reduced frequency of language-specific use (weaker links), and (b) competition for selection within the language system in bilinguals (interference). Both mechanisms are needed to explain how bilingualism affects neuropsychological test performance, including the robust bilingual disadvantages found on verbal tasks, and more subtle bilingual advantages on some measures of cognitive control. These empirical results and theoretical claims can be used to derive a theoretically informed method for assessing cognitive status in bilinguals. We present specific considerations for measuring degree of bilingualism for both clients and examiners to aid in determinations of approaches to testing bilinguals, with practical guidelines for incorporating models of bilingualism and recent experimental data into neuropsychological evaluations. This integrated approach promises to provide improved clinical services for bilingual clients, and will also contribute to a program of research that will ultimately reveal the mechanisms underlying language processing and executive functioning in bilinguals and monolinguals alike. IS - 3 JF - Neuropsychology Review EP - 268 TI - Neuropsychological, Cognitive, and Theoretical Considerations for Evaluation of Bilingual Individuals VL - 18 SP - 255 KW - bilingualism KW - review KW - tgollan AU - Rivera AU - Arentoft, Alyssa AU - Kubo AU - D’aquila, Erica AU - Scheiner, Diane AU - Pizzirusso, Maria AU - Sandoval, Tiffany AU - Gollan, Tamar PY - 2008//01/ UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11065-008-9069-7 ER -