The General Aptitude Test Battery: Implications for Vocational Counseling and Employment in Epilepsy Rehabilitation

Abstract

The performance of adults with epilepsy on the General Aptitude Test Battery (GATB) was explored, with an emphasis on later employment outcome and on vocational counseling implications. The study sample had mean GATB scores which were significantly lower than the published GATB norms. They were also significantly lower than the GATB means obtained from comparison groups comprised of job applicants in the local general labor force and of persons receiving services from the local state rehabilitation agency. Mean scores for measures of dexterity and motor speed were especially low. It was found that GATB scores alone are not highly predictive of employment outcome, although subjects who did not enter competitive employment did tend to have lower mean scores. GATB patterns which may be indicative of lateralized cerebral dysfunction are discussed, along with case studies.