Initial development of a work-related assessment of dysexecutive syndrome: The Complex Task Performance Assessment

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Wolf, Timothy J. | Morrison, Tracy | Matheson, Leonard

Affiliations: Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine, Program in Occupational Therapy, St. Louis, MO, USA | University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS, USA

Note: [] Address for correspondence: Timothy Wolf, Instructor, Program in Occupational Therapy, Washington University School of Medicine, 4444 Forest Park, St. Louis, MO 63108, USA. Tel.: +1 314 286 1600; Fax: +1 314 286 1601; E-mail: wolft@msnotes.wustl.edu

Abstract: This article describes the initial development of the Complex Task Performance Assessment (CTPA) as a work-related assessment of dysexecutive syndrome. Methods: A cross-sectional case-control pilot study using the Complex Task Performance Assessment (CTPA) and a neuropsychological battery consisting of subtests from the Delis Kaplan Executive Function System (DKEFS) were used with a population of adults with mild stroke and a control group of healthy community participants (n = 9). Results: A correlation matrix between the DKEFS and the CTPA found no significant relationships between overall performance efficiency on the CTPA compared to the DKEFS scaled scores. In contrast, four of the six variables tested on the CTPA were found to have significant differences between the mild stroke group and the controls (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The sensitivity of the CTPA in this pilot sample justifies future study to provide a link between traditional neuropsychological assessment and rehabilitation professionals' observation of performance related to return to work. Neuroperformance assessment such as the CTPA will provide clinicians with a way to identify dysexecutive syndrome and higher-level cognitive processing deficits in the context of care.

Journal: Work, vol. 31, no. 2, pp. 221-228, 2008