dCALQ - a new screening test for the acquired deficits of number processing: Development and normative data.

Abstract

The clinical management of number processing disorders is often overlooked, partly due to the lack of standardized assessment tools specifically designed for acalculia. For French-speaking clinicians and researchers, there is currently no assessment battery grounded in theoretical models of cognitive psychology for diagnosing acalculia in adults and the elderly. This study had two main objectives: to develop a practical, and standardized French-Quebec screening test battery for the cognitive assessment of acquired number processing disorders, and to provide normative data based on the performance of younger and older adults living in the French Quebec community. The Batterie de détection des troubles acquis du traitement des nombres et du calcul de Québec (dCALQ), developed in Study 1, included 20 subtests to assess number processing in three main domains, namely: Recognition and comprehension of digits and numbers, Digit and number production abilities and, Calculation processes. In Study 2, normative data for the dCALQ were established by analyzing the performance of 260 healthy, community-dwelling, French-speaking adults aged 50 to 90 years, with 6 to 23 years of formal education. The dCALQ is a new clinical, theoretically based screening assessment battery designed to assist clinicians in detecting acquired acalculia associated with various neurological disorders.