Validation of the Attention, Memory, and Frontal-Executive Abilities Screening Test (AMFAST) in children, adolescents, and young adults with complex medical conditions

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Abstract

The objective of this study was to validate the Attention, Memory, and Frontal-Executive Abilities Screening Test (AMFAST) in a sample of children, adolescents, and young adults with complex medical conditions characterized by frontal-subcortical dysfunction. Toward this goal, we first report on scoring corrections to the AMFAST for younger participants (ages 8–10), thereby expanding its use beyond the age range (i.e., ages 11+) that we had validated in our previous study. We then examined the diagnostic utility of the AMFAST at identifying different levels of neurocognitive dysfunction in a clinical sample of 61 children, adolescents, and young adults (ages 8–20) with complex medical conditions who also underwent comprehensive neuropsychological testing. We identified two AMFAST cutoff scores; one that optimally distinguished participants with significant neurocognitive dysfunction from non-impaired participants and another that differentiated participants with more subtle, mild neurocognitive dysfunction from non-impaired participants. These findings demonstrate that the AMFAST is a highly effective screening test that can be used to identify varying levels of frontal-subcortical deficits in younger patient populations.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1230-1244
Number of pages15
JournalChild Neuropsychology
Volume29
Issue number8
DOIs
StatePublished - 2023

Keywords

  • attention
  • cognitive screening
  • executive functioning
  • memory
  • pediatric neuropsychology

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Pediatrics, Perinatology, and Child Health
  • Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology
  • Developmental and Educational Psychology

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