Weekly Calendar Planning Activity (WCPA): A Performance-Based Assessment of Executive Function Piloted With At-Risk Adolescents

Headnote

KEY WORDS

* activities of daily living

* adolescent development

* executive function

* task performance and analysis

OBJECTIVE. We piloted the Weekly Calendar Planning Activity (WCPA), a performance-based measure of executive function (EF), to establish a baseline for at-risk adolescents.

METHOD. Participants were 113 youths ages 16-21 who were enrolled at a charter school for youth returning to high school after dropping out. We administered the WCPA and collected demographic information.

RESULTS. On average, participants spent 15.9 min on the WCPA, made 7.9 errors, and followed 4.0 of 5 possible rules. No ceiling effect was observed in overall accuracy. Participants used a mean of 3.1 strategies (standard deviation 5 1.9) while completing the WCPA. Participants who used more strategies spent more time planning and completing the task and were more accurate.

CONCLUSION. The WCPA may be useful to occupational therapists as a performance measure of EF. This assessment allows evaluation of complex task performance, strategy use, self-evaluation of performance, and error patterns, which can be used in developing intervention strategies.

Weiner, N. W., Toglia, J., & Berg, C. (2012). Weekly Calendar Planning Activity (WCPA): A performance-based assessment of executive function piloted with at-risk adolescents. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 66, 699-708. http://dx.doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2012.004754

Executive function (EF), associated with the frontal lobes of the brain, allows a person to adapt to novel situations and perform goal-oriented behavior (Burgess & Simons, 2005). EF, which manifests in childhood and continues to develop into early adulthood, "involve[s] maintenance of multiple goals and subgoals, with priorities that change over time requiring self-initiative, selfmonitoring, and self regulation" (Lamberts, Evans, & Spikman, 2010, p. 57). EF represents complex and dynamic control processes that are often context dependent (Gioia, Kenworthy, & Isquith, 2010), so the measurement of its impact on everyday life is not straightforward.

Cognition and Adolescence

As environmental and task demands evolve between childhood and adolescence, the brain, particularly the prefrontal cortex, mirrors these changes, as evidenced by magnetic resonance imaging studies (Blakemore & Choudhury, 2006; Paus, 2005). Developmentally, adolescence is a period of dramatic cognitive maturation and change. Forming an identity, choosing peer groups, and shifting opportunities for action (Gestsdottir & Lerner, 2008) are but a few examples of complex behaviors that the brain must execute as adulthood emerges....