The Dean–Woodcock

Neuropsychological Assessment Over the past three millennia, scholars have attempted to establish connections between localized brain damage and corresponding behavioral changes. A significant advancement in this area occurred between 1942 and 1948, when Soviet neuropsycholog ...

System (DWNAS) provides a standardized procedure for assessing an individual's

sensory Sensory may refer to: Biology * Sensory ecology, how organisms obtain information about their environment * Sensory neuron, nerve cell responsible for transmitting information about external stimuli * Sensory perception, the process of acquiri ...

motor An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power gene ...

, emotional,

cognitive Cognition is the "mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses". It encompasses all aspects of intellectual functions and processes such as: perception, attention, thought, ...

, and academic functioning for both English and Spanish speakers, based on the Cattell–Horn–Carroll Model (CHC). The instrument may be administered by

psychologist A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior. Their work often involves the experimentation, observation, and explanation, interpretatio ...

s, that need not have neuropsychological backgrounds. It was developed by, and is named after, psychologists Raymond Dean and

Richard Woodcock Richard Wesley Woodcock (January 29, 1928 – January 2, 2024) was an American psychometrician. He is known for his work on the Cattell–Horn–Carroll theory of human intelligence and for his work in the development of several cognitive tests, ...

. The DWNB consists of the Dean–Woodcock Sensory-Motor Battery (DWSMB) (Dean & Woodcock, 2003c), the Dean–Woodcock Structured Neuropsychological Interview (Dean & Woodcock, 2003d), and the Dean–Woodcock Emotional Status Examination (Dean & Woodcock, 2003a). When the DWNAS is used with the Woodcock Johnson III (WJ III) (Woodcock, McGrew, & Mather, 2001), or the Bateria III Woodcock-Muñoz (Bateria III) (Muñoz-Sandoval, Woodcock, McGrew, & Mather, 2004), a profile of an individual's sensory, motor, emotional, cognitive, and academic functioning is obtained. The DWNAS offers a neuropsychological interpretation of the WJ III and Bateria III. A fundamental element of the DWNAS is that it provides both a clinical neurological and empirical theoretical base (CHC) to assessment. The DWSMB is a battery of tests drawn primarily from the traditional neurological examination to provide coverage of basic sensory, motor functions and sub-cortical functioning, most of which have pathognomonic neurological signs. The DWSMB is divided into two major sections — sensory and/or the Bateria III motor. Motor tests are predominantly meant to measure motor functioning at the cortical level. Multiple cognitive functions necessary in neuropsychological assessment are offered by the WJ-III or the Bateria III. The Dean–Woodcock Structured Interview and the Dean–Woodcock Emotional Status Examination provide information regarding the patient's history and current psychological and medical functioning. They address the need in neuropsychological assessment to consider factors that may inhibit or facilitate a patient's performance. Unlike most other neuropsychological batteries for adults (such as the Luria–Nebraska, the Halstead–Reitan, and so forth), the Dean–Woodcock battery does not contain tests of prefrontal lobe function so it cannot be used to evaluate the executive functioning on an individual. This is both an advantage and a shortcoming of the battery. The advantage is that it makes the battery much cheaper, less time-consuming to administer, and potentially less tiring and frustrating for the examinee. The shortcoming is that most neuropsychologists would need to supplement the battery with one or more executive functioning tests (tests sensitive to prefrontal lobe functions; e.g., the

Delis–Kaplan Executive Function System The Delis–Kaplan Executive Function System (D-KEFS) is a neuropsychological test used to measure a variety of verbal and nonverbal executive functions for both children and adults (ages 8–89 years). This assessment was developed over the span ...

, or a combination of other tests).

References

{{Reflist * Dean. R. S., & Woodcock, R. W. (2003a). Dean–Woodcock Emotional Status Examination. Itasca, IL: Riverside Publishing. * Dean, R. S., & Woodcock, R. W. (2003b). Dean–Woodcock Neuropsychological Battery. Itasca, IL: Riverside Publishing. * Dean, R. S., & Woodcock, R. W. (2003c). Dean–Woodcock Sensory-Motor Battery. Itasca, IL: Riverside Publishing. * Dean, R. S., & Woodcock, R. W. (2003d). Dean–Woodcock Structured Neuropsychological Interview. Itasca, IL: Riverside Publishing. * Muñoz-Sandoval, A. F., Woodcock, R. W., McGrew, K. S., & Mather, N. (2004a). Bateria Woodcock-Muñoz. Woodcock, R. W., McGrew, K. S., & Mather, N. (2001). Woodcock-Johnson III. Itasca, IL : Riverside Publishing. * Neurofitness (2005) Johnathan Wendel talks about Neurology with 60 minutes on how it helped him game at a higher level than his opponents. Neuropsychological tests