Executive Dysfunction

The Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF) is an assessment tool that was created in 2000 by a team of neuropsychologist and other licensed psychologist who have specialized in working with children. The following sections will discuss the assessments brief history and primary purpose, psychometric properties, basic format and administration, scoring, and appropriate use by population and cultural considerations.
Brief History and Primary Purpose Gerard Gioia, Peter Isquith, Robert Roth, Steven Guy, Lauren Kenworthy, and Kimberly Andrews Espy created the BRIEF in 2000. Most of these individuals currently work at the Children’s National Medical Center, Dartmouth Medical School, or in independent practice. According to Fitzpatrick (n.d.), the authors “contend that executive dysfunction can arise from damage to prefrontal regions as well as damage to the densely interconnected posterior or subcortical areas (p. 1)” rather than being seated solely in the prefrontal region. Many of the items included in this assessment tool have been gathered from relevant literature and clinical experience, from the authors and other professionals in the field (Fitzpatrick, n.d.). Since the first publication in 2000, several additional versions have been

The BRIEF was derived from needing a means to differentiate between learning disabilities, attentional deficits, memory impairments, neurological disorders, or a combination of these problems (Gioia, Isquith, Guy, & Kenworthy, 2000). Previous neuropsychological assessments were either lacking in measuring the executive function of every day behaviors or included information outside of executive function. This assessment incorporates and utilizes information gathered by the child’s parent(s) and teacher in order to assess the daily behaviors of executive