Use of the Kaufman-Assessment Battery for Children with the hearing impaired

The Kaufman-Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC), a measure of cognitive functioning, was administered to 26 male and 24 female hearing-impaired elementary school students to determine its appropriateness for hearing-impaired children. The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R) also was administered. Scores for the present hearing-impaired sample on the K-ABC were compared with the normative group and were correlated with the WISC-R and standard achievement test scores. Results showed that both the Simultaneous Processing Scale and the Nonverbal Scale seemed appropriate for hearing-impaired children, whose scores were similar to those of the test's normative sample. Scores on the K-ABC also correlated highly with scores from the WISC-R. The Sequential Processing Scale was more problematic and not as useful. The K-ABC was significantly related to school achievement. Difficulties in the administration of the instrument with hearing-impaired children also are discussed.