This change enabled the KABC-II to assess the same abilities as the original KABC as well as two new abilities Planning and Learning. Whereas the original KABC was grounded in the Cattell-Horn theory of crystallized versus fluid intelligence, the KABC-II is based on both the more current Cattell-Horn-Carroll psychometric model of broad and narrow abilities and Luria's neuropsychological theory of information processing 23. The Kaufmann Assessment Battery for Children, second edition (KABC-II) was published recently with a wider age and measuring more abilities 23. Also, a meta-analysis of KABC validation studies across cultures has supported the factor integrity of the Sequential Processing versus Simultaneous Processing distinction as originally intended in the design of the KABC 22. Validation studies of the KABC in Africa and Asia showed it to retain its construct validity and to be sensitive to socioeconomic indicators, disease effects and tactile learning problems 16, 19, 21. The Kaufmann Assessment Battery for Children (KABC) 14 is one Western measure of cognition that has been widely used in assessing the effects of cerebral malaria (CM) in African children 5, 8, 15, 18. Such appropriate tests may help convince relevant authorities for funds to carry out interventions and to assess the effect of these interventions 12, 13. It is important to validate these tests or to develop appropriate tests to accurately determine the frequency of cognitive impairment in African children. However there are questions whether these tests are measuring what they are intended to measure in African children 10, 12. These studies using tests developed in the West have given valuable information on the cognitive outcomes in at risk children. Studies in Africa that have looked at cognitive functioning in children faced with some of the above risk factors have shown deficits in attention, memory, language, visual spatial skills and executive functions 4 – 11. Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest number of children at risk of cognitive deficits with 61% of its children of less than five years being stunted, living in poverty or both 3. Others include infectious diseases like malaria and HIV, intestinal parasites, intrauterine growth retardation, maternal depression, exposure to violence, exposure to heavy metals and famine 1, 2. Stunting, inadequate cognitive stimulation, iodine deficiency and iron deficiency anemia have been identified as the four main risk factors for these cognitive limitations 2. It is estimated that 780 million children worldwide have cognitive deficits with the majority of them living in low income countries 1.
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