USING COMPUTERIZED DIAGNOSTICS IN CHILDRE N NEUROPSYCHOLOGY

The paper is dedicated to creating methods of computerized diagnostics adequate to the problems of children neuropsychology. An original bat tery, based on the principle of psychometric approach to diagnostics, was used. Z-scaling was utilized in processing the data. 39 children w ith spastic hemipareses, aged 9-10 years, and 40 healthy children, age d 8-9 years, were examined. The results were compared to the age norms and were recalculated into Z-scales; thus it became feasible to disce rn reliable deviation of the parameters from the mean level, taking in to account their variance. Further processing of the data obtained was carried out using a special procedure based on Bayes method. This pro cedure permitted not only to evaluate the mean group characteristics o f the children with focal brain damages but also to obtain individual topic diagnoses. Validity of the method was tested. 85% coincidence of the clinical and test results was reached. A conclusion is drawn on t he reliability of this method for diagnosing focal brain damages in ch ildren with residual encephalopathies. Using this computerized procedu re is a promising direction in further advance of children neuropsycho logy methods.