Memory Assessment in Children

Full name and abbreviation of CMS

Children’s Memory Scale (CMS), Cohen, 1997.

Age range for the CMS

5-16 years.

What does the CMS assess?

A broad profile of:

• Verbal vs visual

• Immediate vs delayed memory

• Recall vs recognition

• Learning across repeated trials

• Retention over a delay

• Attention/concentration

Main CMS Index

• Verbal Immediate

• Visual Immediate

• Immediate Memory

• Verbal Delayed

• Visual Delayed

• Delayed Memory

• Delayed Recognition

• Attention/Concentration

• General Memory

CMS core battery components

The core battery includes:

• Stories

• Word Pairs

• Dot Locations

• Faces

• Numbers and Sequences

Does the CMS compare free recall, cued recall and recognition like the CVLT-C?

No, it assesses recall and recognition but does not systematically compare these in the same way as the CVLT-C.

Relation of CMS to memory theory

Yes, strongly. It is theory-driven and attempts to separate different components of memory.

Main strengths of the CMS

Comprehensive memory profile, developmentally adjusted tasks, separates verbal/visual and immediate/delayed memory, examines learning over trials, examines interference, includes recognition, and can compare memory with general intellectual ability.

Main weaknesses of the CMS

Published in 1997, uses older normative/comparison framework, potential lower ecological validity, and a General Memory score can obscure specific strengths and weaknesses.

When to choose the CMS?

When a comprehensive assessment of a child's memory aspects is needed.

Full name and abbreviation of ChAMP

Child and Adolescent Memory Profile (ChAMP), Sherman & Brooks, 2015.

Age range for ChAMP

5-21 years.

What does ChAMP assess?

Verbal vs visual memory

Immediate vs delayed memory

Overall memory functioning.

What are the four ChAMP subtests?

Remember L-I-O-P:

Lists, Instructions, Objects, Places.

Why is comparing Lists with Instructions useful? chAMP

It shows whether meaningful context helps or hinders verbal memory. Some children benefit from contextual organization, whereas others may struggle with the additional language demands.

What does Objects assess? chAMP

Visual memory using abstract objects deliberately designed to be difficult to name verbally.

What does Places assess? chAMP

Visual-spatial memory for realistic scenes and their spatial configurations.

How do the ChAMP verbal and visual subtests differ in their response format?

ChAMP subtest	Modality	Response
Lists	Verbal	Recall + delayed recall + recognition
Instructions	Verbal	Free recall + delayed recall + recognition
Objects	Visual	Recognition, immediate + delayed
Places	Visual	Recognition, immediate + delayed

Why is ChAMP described as requiring no motor response, and what is the advantage?

The child does not need to draw, write, copy or physically reconstruct visual material to demonstrate memory. This is an advantage for children with motor difficulties, because motor ability is less likely to confound the memory score.

What is the disadvantage of ChAMP's non-motor visual memory tasks?

Because Objects and Places use recognition rather than visual free recall/reconstruction, ChAMP may be less able to detect difficulties that specifically occur when a child must independently reproduce visual information. Recognition provides more retrieval support than recall.

What are ChAMP’s main strengths?

Newer than CMS; Child/adolescent-specific and engaging; Relatively quick; No motor response; Broad verbal/visual profile; Objects reduce verbal contamination of visual memory; Strong normative sample.

What are ChAMP’s main weaknesses?

Norms are US-based, which may affect applicability to UK children; Some language/material may be culturally specific

Does ChAMP have task impurity?

Yes, however, the Objects task specifically tries to reduce one source of impurity - verbal mediation of visual stimuli.

When would I choose ChAMP?

When I want a newer, relatively quick, and child-friendly verbal/visual memory profile, particularly when motor responses may be difficult.

Full name and abbreviation of CVLT-C

California Verbal Learning Test - Children’s Version (CVLT-C).

Age range for CVLT-C

5 through 16.11 years

What does the CVLT-C assess?

Detailed auditory-verbal learning and memory, particularly how a child learns, organises, retains and retrieves verbal information.

What is the basic CVLT-C protocol?

List A × 5 learning trials

List B - interference

Recall or Reccognise List A again = “Can you still access the original information?”

Short-delay free recall

Short-delay cued recall

Long-delay free recall

Long-delay cued recall

Recognition

Why are there five List A trials? cvlt

To examine the child’s learning curve/slope and whether they benefit from repetition.

Why is List B introduced? cvlt

To examine interference - whether new verbal information disrupts previously learned information.

Why compare free recall, cued recall and recognition? cvlt

To examine whether increasing retrieval support improves performance.

What is the main strength of CVLT-C?

It provides an extremely detailed analysis of HOW the child learns verbal information, rather than only producing a total memory score.

Does it have good ecological validity?

Limited. The shopping-list context is familiar, but repeatedly learning controlled word lists is still relatively artificial.

When would I choose CVLT-C?

When I specifically want to know: 'How and why is this child struggling to learn verbal information?'

What age range is the Doors and People test for?

Originally normed for 16+. Later child data are reported for ages 5.1-16.1 years

What does the Doors and People test assess?

It directly compares: Verbal vs visual memory AND Recall vs recognition. At the same time, its a 2 by 2 test.

What are the four subtests of the Doors and People test?

People = verbal recall; Names = verbal recognition; Shapes = visual recall; Doors = visual recognition.

What is the main strength of the Doors and People test?

Its clever 2 × 2 design directly compares modality and retrieval type, with tasks intended to be comparable in difficulty.

What is the main limitation of the Doors and People test for children?

It was originally normed for 16+, and the later paediatric sample was relatively small (N = 148). The supplied materials do not indicate that task difficulty itself is adjusted for different child age groups.

When would I choose the Doors and People test?

When I specifically want to determine whether the difficulty is: verbal vs visual or recall vs recognition.

What is the full name of RBMT-C?

Rivermead Behavioural Memory Test for Children, Wilson et al 1991.

What age range is the RBMT-C for?

5 years to 10 years 11 months.

What does the RBMT-C assess?

Everyday/functional memory, including prospective memory.

What is prospective memory?

Remembering to do something in the future, such as remembering to ask for an appointment when an alarm sounds.

What is the protocol for the RBMT-C?

12 subtests involving tasks such as: remembering a name; remembering a hidden belonging; remembering an appointment; picture recognition; story recall; face recognition; remembering a route; delivering a message; orientation.

What is the biggest strength of the RBMT-C?

Ecological validity/relevance. Its tasks resemble everyday memory demands.

What other major strength does the RBMT-C have?

Four parallel versions, making it useful for repeated assessment while helping reduce practice effects.

What are the main weaknesses of the RBMT-C?

Old - 1991. Some stimuli/materials are outdated. Broad/crude compared with theory-driven tests. Less able to identify exactly which memory mechanism is impaired.

What age range does NEPSY-II cover?

It varies by subtest; approximately 3-16 years across the battery in the supplied materials.

Is NEPSY-II specifically a memory test?

No. Memory and Learning is one domain within a broader neuropsychological assessment.

What memory tasks are included in NEPSY-II?

List Memory / Delayed Memory for Designs / Delayed Memory for Faces / Delayed Memory for Names / Delayed Narrative Memory Sentence Repetition Word List Interference.

What is NEPSY-II's main weakness for a memory referral?

If memory itself is the main referral question, a dedicated battery such as CMS or ChAMP may provide a more comprehensive memory profile.

When would I choose NEPSY-II?

When I want to examine memory as part of the child’s wider neuropsychological profile.

What test should I choose if I want the most comprehensive theory-driven memory profile?

CMS.

What test should I choose if I want a newer, child-friendly verbal + visual memory profile?

ChAMP.

What test should I choose if I want to understand exactly HOW the child learns verbal information?

CVLT-C.

What test should I choose if I want to compare verbal vs visual AND recall vs recognition?

Doors and People.

What test should I choose if I care most about everyday/prospective memory?

RBMT-C.

What test should I choose if I want memory assessed as part of a wider neuropsychological assessment?

NEPSY-II.

Can I diagnose a memory deficit from one poor test score?

No. Memory tests have task impurity and can also be affected by attention, language, executive functioning, perception, motivation, fatigue and developmental level. Look for converging evidence across tests, observations and everyday functioning.

What are intrusions in the CVLT-C?

Words the child recalls that were not on the target list. They may reflect confusion between lists/categories or difficulties monitoring what was actually presented.

What are repetitions in the CVLT-C?

When the child repeats a word they have already recalled during the same trial. Frequent repetitions may suggest difficulty monitoring what they have already said.

What is semantic clustering in the CVLT-C?

Recalling words together according to their semantic category/meaning, e.g. recalling several fruits together. It shows how the child organises information during retrieval.

What is serial organisation in the CVLT-C?

Recalling words according to their presentation order, rather than reorganising them by meaning. It provides information about the child's memory strategy.

What is the primacy effect in the CVLT-C?

Better recall of words from the beginning of the list.

What is the recency effect in the CVLT-C?

Better recall of words from the end of the list, which were heard most recently.