DIFFERENTIAL PERFORMANCES ON THE WRAML IN CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS DIAGNOSED WITH EPILEPSY, HEAD-INJURY, AND SUBSTANCE-ABUSE

Assessment of memory in children and adolescents has been limited beca use of the lack of standardized instruments available. The recently re leased Wide Range Assessment of Memory and Learning (WRAML; Sheslow & Adams, 1990) was used in this exploratory study to examine memory skil ls in children and adolescents with conditions affecting neuropsycholo gical functioning. Diagnostic categories included epilepsy, traumatic brain injury, and substance abuse, as well as a nonneurological compar ison group with psychiatric disturbance. Results indicated that childr en with epilepsy scored significantly below those with substance abuse or psychiatric disorders on the Verbal Memory Index. Within-group com parisons suggested that all clinical groups had more difficulty with t asks that purportedly measure auditory attentional skills. Children wi th epilepsy demonstrated greater variability in memory performances, s uggesting possible problems with both attention and memory factors. Th e WRAML appears to be a potentially useful assessment tool in the meas urement of memory processes in children, although further research is needed concerning subtest specificity.