Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (Rbans)

Originally designed to assess a variety of cognitive disorders in adults, including dementia, Alzheimer's disease, Vascular Dementia, Huntington's Disease, Parkinson's Disease, Depression, Schizophrenia, and Closed Head Injury, the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (Rbans) can now also be used to screen the neurocognitive health of younger children aged 12 and up. The Rbans is also commonly used to track a child’s cognitive decline or improvement during rehabilitation and progression of neurological disorders.

The Rbans is a 30 minutes individual assessment of cognitive decline or improvement in children and adults ranging between 12 to 89 years of age. It offers four parallel forms (A, B, C, and D), making it ideal for measuring cognitive change over time. Each form covers 5 domains:

Ψ Immediate Memory – ability to recall information as soon as it is presented

Ψ Visuospatial/Constructional – ability to understand spatial relations and make a spatially accurate replica of a drawing

Ψ Language – ability to respond verbally

Ψ Attention – ability to remember

Ψ Delayed Memory – an individual’s memory capacity

It comprises of 12 subtests that can be administered digitally or via paper-and-pencil, depending on which your child is more comfortable with. The following points demonstrate which cognitive domain each subtest assesses:

Ψ Immediate Memory – List Learning and Story Memory

Ψ Visuospatial/Constructional – Figure Copy and Line Orientation

Ψ Language – Picture Naming and Semantic Fluency

Ψ Attention – Digit Span and Coding

Ψ Delayed Memory – List Recall, List Recognition, Story Recall and Figure Recall

The Rbans is useful as a stand-alone battery to flag up progression of degenerative diseases. It can also assist therapists by tracking the child’s improvement and progression of neurological disorders during therapy sessions. This facilitates interventions by identifying certain areas clinicians should concentrate on in therapy.