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KEY WORDS
* aged
* cognition
* learning
* outcome assessment (health care)
* stroke
OBJECTIVE. We studied the internal consistency reliability and construct validity of the new Dynamic Lowenstein Occupational Therapy Cognitive Assessment-Geriatric Version (DLOTCA-G), a dynamic version of the Lowenstein Occupational Therapy Cognitive Assessment-Geriatric Version (LOTCA-G), and examined the properties of the mediation system.
METHOD. Participants included 61 clients hospitalized after stroke in three rehabilitation centers (mean age5 77.6 yr, standard deviation [SD] 5 6.2) and 52 healthy control participants (mean age 5 77.8 yr, SD 5 6.4). All participants were assessed with the DLOTCA-G.
RESULTS. Internal consistency reliability showed moderate to high a coefficient levels in all domains (as 5 .68-.85) except the Memory domain (a 5 .26). Both groups benefitted from mediation, but the stroke clients needed more concrete levels of mediation (Levels 3-5).
CONCLUSION. The addition of mediation to the LOTCA-G is effective in providing insights into clients' cognitive status and learning potential. Our findings are similar to the results of the validation study for the DLOTCA for adults and support the use and benefits of the dynamic version.
The Dynamic Lowenstein Occupational Therapy Cognitive Assessment- Geriatric Version (DLOTCA-G) is a new version of the Lowenstein Occupational Therapy Cognitive Assessment-Geriatric Version (LOTCA-G), a battery used to assess basic cognitive skills in the older adult population. The new DLOTCA-G uses mediation guidelines and scoring that are based on the ideas and the system developed by Toglia (1994), with her permission, and adapted to the specific subtests of the assessment (Bar-Haim Erez & Katz, 2003; Elazar, Itzkovich, & Katz, 1996; Itzkovich, Averbuch, Elazar, & Katz, 2000; Katz, Golstand, Traub Bar-Ilan, & Parush, 2007; Katz, Itzkovich, Averbuch, & Elazar, 1989; Katz, Parush, & Traub Bar-Ilan, 2005).
Dynamic Assessment
Conventional standardized cognitive tests are static in nature and aim to identify and quantify cognitive deficits (Toglia, 2005). However, such static tests fall short of the goal of estimating the ability to learn (Guthke & Beckmann, 2000). Dynamic assessment is a form of assessment that addresses the issue of learning potential. The goal is to measure how and to what extent performance can improve with guidance (Haywood & Lidz, 2007). It is an interactive procedure that systematically and objectively measures the degree of change...