Elijah Byrd is a doctoral student in clinical psychology with a concentration in neuropsychology and he is building a test that does not yet exist in the way it should. His dissertation focuses on lexical retrieval and confrontation naming: the ability to look at a picture and retrieve its name, a capacity that deteriorates in Alzheimer’s and dementia.
The tests currently used to measure this score African Americans disproportionately low, and the norming is poor. Elijah is creating his own. The motivation is personal: his grandfather died from Alzheimer’s, and in his final stages could no longer recognise Elijah.
In this episode, we talk about culturally sensitive assessment, what gets missed in low-income communities, the weight of the licensing system, and why he is doing all of this with three children under five. Keep learning, keep questioning.
Music: Endless by Chillity is licensed under a Creative Commons Licence. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... https://shorturl.at/G08Vv/ chillitymusic/ chillity
