The Quick Aphasia Battery (QAB) aims to provide a reliable and multidimensional assessment of language function in about a quarter of an hour, bridging the gap between comprehensive batteries that are time-consuming to administer, and rapid screening instruments that provide limited detail regarding individual profiles of deficits. The QAB is made up of eight subtests, each comprising sets of items that probe different language domains, vary in difficulty, and are scored with a graded system to maximize the informativeness of each item. From the eight subtests, eight summary measures are derived, which constitute a multidimensional profile of language function, quantifying strengths and weaknesses across core language domains. In a norming study, we have shown that the QAB efficiently and reliably characterizes individual profiles of language deficits. To remove barriers to adoption of cost or convenience, we have made available here all materials required to administer the QAB.
The QAB is described in detail in the following open access paper:
Wilson SM, Eriksson DK, Schneck SM, Lucanie JM. A quick aphasia battery for efficient, reliable, and multidimensional assessment of language function. PLoS One 2018; 13(2): e0192773. [pdf | doi]
An extended version of the QAB that includes additional items, for situations where more time is available.
A version of the QAB for remote/telehealth administration, e.g. by Zoom.
QAB — Arabic (Lebanese) | عَرَبِيّ لُبْنَانِيّ by Mohammad Wehbe
QAB — Catalan | Català by Laura Segalà
QAB — Danish | Dansk by Kamma K. Miethe & Tanja Kandborg
QAB — French | Français by Marie di Pietro
QAB — Korean | 한국어 by Jungjun Park, Hyejin Park, Hyun Seung Kim, & JungMoon Hyun
QAB — Mandarin Chinese | 官话 by Dan Zhu & HaiPing Yu [doi]
QAB — Romanian | Română by Dorina Talaș, Carolina Bodea Hațegan, & Raluca Nicoleta Trifu
QAB — Spanish | Español by Stephanie M. Grasso & Jan Christian Holst Chaires
QAB — Turkish | Türkçe by Mümüne Merve Parlak & Ayşen Köse [doi]
If you would like to translate/adapt the QAB for another language, you are free to do so. This is allowed by the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License under which the QAB is published, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction, provided the original authors and source are credited. We hope you will send us your completed adaptation so we can host it here and make it available to others.
QAB — Spanish/Catalan bilingual by Sonia-Karin Marqués Kiderle and Stephanie M. Grasso
These Spanish and Catalan versions of the QAB are optimized for testing speakers who are bilingual in Spanish and Catalan. Cognates have been reduced in the Spanish version.
Many clinicians have asked whether QAB scores can be interpreted in terms of severity. We emphasize that severity terms are arbitrary, but recognizing the need for this in clinical practice, we suggest the following guidelines:
| QAB overall score | Severity |
|---|---|
| 0.00–4.99 | severe |
| 5.00–7.49 | moderate |
| 7.50–8.89 | mild |
| 8.90–10.00 | no aphasia |
These cutoffs are based on the documented correspondence between the QAB and the Western Aphasia Battery.
