Clinical Contributions
Kaplan made important contributions to clinical neuropsychological assessment. Her observations and assessment methods evolved into a philosophical school of neuropsychological assessment, called by most people the "Boston Process Approach."
Kaplan also re-purposed intelligence tests such as the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale as tools to localize functional deficits in the brain (whether developmental or due to lesions).
Prior to the introduction of the process-oriented approach, clinical neuropsychological assessment followed a fixed-battery global-achievement approach, and stressed quantitative interpretation of test results (for example the Halstead-Reitan battery). The process-oriented approach offered advances in test interpretation, stressing the qualitative aspects of patients' performance profiles. The Boston Process Approach examines the qualitative process by which the patient solves a problem rather than simply looking at the patient's quantitative numerical scores. The Boston Process also tailors which tests to give a patient instead of administering an entire test battery to every subject, regardless of their condition. This alternative approach improved clinical understanding of brain functions and generated discussion about diagnostic issues in clinical neuropsychology.
Kaplan developed and co-authored The Boston Diagnostic Aphasia Examination, The Boston Naming Test, The Boston Stimulus Board, The California Verbal Learning Test (Adult and Children's Versions), Microcog: A Computerized Assessment of Cognitive Status, the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale - Revised, as a Neuropsychological Instrument (WAIS-RNI), the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children - III, as a Neuropsychological Instrument (WISC-IIINI), The Baycrest Assessment of Neuropsychological Status, and The Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System (D-KEFS), a refined and expanded selection of tasks from the widely used Halstead-Reitan battery. She also contributed analytical methods for clock drawings as neuropsychological assessment tools, especially in regards to spatial neglect and attention.
Kaplan also contributed a body of research, including (with Norman Geschwind) the first paper on cerebral disconnection syndrome. She also investigated Parkinson's disease, schizophrenia, dementia, and other neuropsychological disorders.
Read more about this topic: Edith Kaplan