Neuropsychological evaluation in American Sign Language: A case study of a deaf patient with epilepsy
In high-stake cases (e.g., evaluating surgical candidacy for epilepsy) where neuropsychological evaluation is essential to care, it is important to have culturally and linguistically appropriate and accessible neuropsychological instruments and procedures for use with deaf individuals who use Americ...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2022-01-01
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| Series: | Epilepsy & Behavior Reports |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589986422000351 |
| _version_ | 1811220963193257984 |
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| author | Michelle Miranda Franchesca Arias Amir Arain Blake Newman John Rolston Sindhu Richards Angela Peters Lawrence H. Pick |
| author_facet | Michelle Miranda Franchesca Arias Amir Arain Blake Newman John Rolston Sindhu Richards Angela Peters Lawrence H. Pick |
| author_sort | Michelle Miranda |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In high-stake cases (e.g., evaluating surgical candidacy for epilepsy) where neuropsychological evaluation is essential to care, it is important to have culturally and linguistically appropriate and accessible neuropsychological instruments and procedures for use with deaf individuals who use American Sign Language (ASL). Faced with these ethical and professional issues, clinicians may be unable to provide equitable services without consulting with other psychologists and collaborating with the patient and interpreter. This is a case report describing a 43-year-old male with bilateral sensorineural deafness and a lifelong history of drug-resistant temporal lobe epilepsy who presented as a candidate for a comprehensive neurological workup to determine surgical candidacy. He was bilingual (ASL and written English). We describe all aspects of the evaluation, including functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and Wada testing, using an ASL interpreter. Results from the neuropsychological evaluation were not clearly lateralizing, but suggested greater compromise to the non-dominant right hemisphere. fMRI and Wada test results revealed language and verbal memory functions were lateralized to the left hemisphere. The patient was deemed to be an adequate candidate for surgical resection of portions of the right hemisphere. Comprehensive assessment of neuropsychological functioning in deaf persons who use ASL is feasible. This case report illustrates the important considerations relevant to neuropsychologists providing culturally and linguistically informed assessments to deaf ASL users with epilepsy. Additional research in this area will support future efforts to develop effective and efficient models that could be implemented across different settings. Moreover, clinical guidance is warranted to guide professionals interested in promoting access to high quality neuropsychological services. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T07:51:48Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-fe1ed62e5ebb47c1b3bf3bd46298fd2e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2589-9864 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T07:51:48Z |
| publishDate | 2022-01-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Epilepsy & Behavior Reports |
| spelling | doaj.art-fe1ed62e5ebb47c1b3bf3bd46298fd2e2022-12-22T03:41:35ZengElsevierEpilepsy & Behavior Reports2589-98642022-01-0119100558Neuropsychological evaluation in American Sign Language: A case study of a deaf patient with epilepsyMichelle Miranda0Franchesca Arias1Amir Arain2Blake Newman3John Rolston4Sindhu Richards5Angela Peters6Lawrence H. Pick7University of Utah, Department of Neurology, Salt Lake City, UT 84132, USA; Corresponding author at: University of Utah, Center for Alzheimer’s Care, Imaging, and Research (CACIR), 650 Komas Dr. Suite 106A, Salt Lake City, UT 84108, USA.Hinda & Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research at the Hebrew SeniorLife, Boston, MA 02131, USA; Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Department of Cognitive Neurology, Boston, 02215, USA; Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USAUniversity of Utah, Department of Neurology, Salt Lake City, UT 84132, USAUniversity of Utah, Department of Neurology, Salt Lake City, UT 84132, USAUniversity of Utah, Department of Neurology, Salt Lake City, UT 84132, USA; University of Utah, Department of Neurosurgery, Salt Lake City, UT 84132, USAUniversity of Utah, Department of Neurology, Salt Lake City, UT 84132, USAUniversity of Utah, Department of Neurology, Salt Lake City, UT 84132, USAGallaudet University, Department of Psychology, Washington, DC, 20002, USAIn high-stake cases (e.g., evaluating surgical candidacy for epilepsy) where neuropsychological evaluation is essential to care, it is important to have culturally and linguistically appropriate and accessible neuropsychological instruments and procedures for use with deaf individuals who use American Sign Language (ASL). Faced with these ethical and professional issues, clinicians may be unable to provide equitable services without consulting with other psychologists and collaborating with the patient and interpreter. This is a case report describing a 43-year-old male with bilateral sensorineural deafness and a lifelong history of drug-resistant temporal lobe epilepsy who presented as a candidate for a comprehensive neurological workup to determine surgical candidacy. He was bilingual (ASL and written English). We describe all aspects of the evaluation, including functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and Wada testing, using an ASL interpreter. Results from the neuropsychological evaluation were not clearly lateralizing, but suggested greater compromise to the non-dominant right hemisphere. fMRI and Wada test results revealed language and verbal memory functions were lateralized to the left hemisphere. The patient was deemed to be an adequate candidate for surgical resection of portions of the right hemisphere. Comprehensive assessment of neuropsychological functioning in deaf persons who use ASL is feasible. This case report illustrates the important considerations relevant to neuropsychologists providing culturally and linguistically informed assessments to deaf ASL users with epilepsy. Additional research in this area will support future efforts to develop effective and efficient models that could be implemented across different settings. Moreover, clinical guidance is warranted to guide professionals interested in promoting access to high quality neuropsychological services.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589986422000351Wada testCross cultural neuropsychologyAmerican Sign LanguageDeafness, Intraoperative sodium amobarbital procedurefMRI |
| spellingShingle | Michelle Miranda Franchesca Arias Amir Arain Blake Newman John Rolston Sindhu Richards Angela Peters Lawrence H. Pick Neuropsychological evaluation in American Sign Language: A case study of a deaf patient with epilepsy Epilepsy & Behavior Reports Wada test Cross cultural neuropsychology American Sign Language Deafness, Intraoperative sodium amobarbital procedure fMRI |
| title | Neuropsychological evaluation in American Sign Language: A case study of a deaf patient with epilepsy |
| title_full | Neuropsychological evaluation in American Sign Language: A case study of a deaf patient with epilepsy |
| title_fullStr | Neuropsychological evaluation in American Sign Language: A case study of a deaf patient with epilepsy |
| title_full_unstemmed | Neuropsychological evaluation in American Sign Language: A case study of a deaf patient with epilepsy |
| title_short | Neuropsychological evaluation in American Sign Language: A case study of a deaf patient with epilepsy |
| title_sort | neuropsychological evaluation in american sign language a case study of a deaf patient with epilepsy |
| topic | Wada test Cross cultural neuropsychology American Sign Language Deafness, Intraoperative sodium amobarbital procedure fMRI |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589986422000351 |
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