Weekly Calendar Planning Activity (WCPA): a performance-based assessment of executive function piloted with at-risk adolescents.

Overview

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 = 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.

The American journal of occupational therapy : official publication of the American Occupational Therapy Association Journal