A – 56 Language as a Predictor of Performance on the Verbal Fluency Task for Children

Abstract Objective This analysis aims to address the lack of normative data for children on neuropsychological measures, specifically the Verbal Fluency Task (VFT), a neuropsychological tool of children’s language abilities and cognitive function. Children generate words within a category (e.g. animals, words starting with “f”) within 60 seconds. While much research has been conducted on the VFT, bilingual children’s data has not been compared to monolingual controls in large-scale, global studies. We seek to allow for more culturally fair assessment interpretation for this growing population. Method 15 articles were sourced from open-access journals in an informal search. The following criteria were met for each study: a population between 0 and 18 years old, normative data reported, and standard VFT procedures followed for the semantic category “animals.” All articles contained means and standard deviations in their reported data. Five articles addressed bilingualism while others addressed monolingualism across various languages including English, French, Spanish, Norwegian, Italian, Kurdish, Persian, and Portuguese. Results PsyD students at The Chicago School input data in the NPNorms.net database. Children’s scores changed significantly based on their language(s). For example, a 10-year-old scoring 8 on the Animals task could present in the 2nd percentile to the 70th percentile depending on their language(s). Conclusion Norms for the VFT are dependent on a child’s primary language(s). Additional data is needed to determine the effects of home language on VFT performance in pediatrics, as this data supports clinicians making accurate and culturally fair impressions when assessing youth.