Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System (D-KEFS)

Do you have concerns about your child’s ability to problem solve or plan ahead? If so, you may wish to consider the Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System (D-KEFS) to help provide insights to your concerns. 

The D-KEFS is a neurological test assessing higher level cognitive functions and cognitive flexibility such as creativity, problem solving, deductive reasoning, and other aspects of cognitive ability. It is suitable for both children and adults, and anyone between 8 to 89 years old can take the test. 

The D-KEFS has 9 stand-alone tests and takes around 90 minutes to complete entirely. It is designed to comprehensively assess vital components of executive functions:

Ψ Sorting Test – problem solving, verbal and spatial concept formation, cognitive flexibility

Ψ Trail Making Test – flexibility of thinking on a visual motor task

Ψ Verbal Fluency Test – fluent productivity in the verbal domain

Ψ Design Fluency Test – fluent productivity in the spatial domain

Ψ Colour-word Interference Test – verbal inhibition and cognitive flexibility

Ψ Tower Test – planning and reasoning, impulsivity

Ψ 20 Question Test – hypothesis testing, verbal and spatial abstract thinking

Ψ Word Context Test – deductive reasoning

Ψ Proverb Test – metaphorical thinking and comprehending abstract thought 

The D-KEFS can be used to identify how deficiencies in abstract and creative thinking may affect a child’s daily life and functioning. It also aids therapists in developing coping methods and rehabilitation programs that are targeted to each child’s executive function strengths and deficiencies. In addition, the D-KEFS is associated with the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence (WASI) and the California Verbal Learning Test-Second Edition (CVLT-II) to provide information about the effect of intellectual ability and memory on D-KEFS performance.

While IQ and basic achievement tests are essential for assessing some areas of cognitive abilities, they do not provide information regarding a child's ability to engage in creative, abstract thinking, which is perhaps the most significant cognitive ability. D-KEFS helps to spot executive function deficiencies in children who score high on IQ and achievement exams and subsequently address them.