The ecological assessment of unilateral neglect

Abstract

Conventional paper-and-pencil tests of unilateral neglect are of limited ecological validity. To address this issue, a number of assessment procedures have been proposed to provide clinicians and researchers with more ecologically valid assessments of unilateral neglect, which may be useful to plan rehabilitation and to measure the generalization of the effects of rehabilitation to daily life. We present here an overview of the different assessment measures available in the literature. The most widely used scales are the Behavioural Inattention Test (BIT), the semi-structured scales for assessment of personal and extra-personal neglect, the Subjective Neglect Questionnaire, the Baking Tray Task, the wheelchair obstacle course, the ADL-based neglect battery, and the Catherine Bergego Scale (CBS). The CBS is probably, to date, the most widely used behavioural assessment instrument for unilateral neglect. It has been found to be reliable, valid, and sensitive to change during rehabilitation. It also enables the assessment of awareness of the consequences of unilateral neglect in daily life skills.

Keywords: Assessment; Ecological validity; Stroke; Unilateral neglect.