Clinical Assessments
Comms Multilingual specialises in the translation and adaptation of all types of test and assessment, with much expertise in the clinical domain.
This is a very specialist area, which demands a real understanding of the subject matter in order to achieve a successful result. Amongst others, we have been involved in the translation, localisation and adaptation of tests and assessments for the following:
- Affective disorders
- Autism
- Emotional disturbance
- Neuropsychological tests
- Performance-based skills
- Social responsiveness
- Temperament in children
- Working memory
- Alzheimer’s
- Cognition in schizophrenia
- Inferential creative thinking
- Oral word association
- Sensory processing
- Specific levels of functioning
- Visuospatial memory
In order to ensure the success of translation, localisation and adaptation projects in this area, we believe that the work carried out prior to the start of the project is absolutely vital.
We use the unique Comms quality control and preparation methodology prior to the commencement of the translation process itself. The aim with this is to ensure that the translators have accurate and clear information about the meaning of words in order to enable them to interpret and translate the text correctly.
Adaptation & localisation
As an example of items that need to be adapted and localised, people are often asked to do calculations involving money. It is necessary to take the following steps to ensure that this is done properly:
- The amount has to be localised into the local currency of the target country.
- The amounts then need to be adapted to ensure that they are meaningful locally. When Italy had the lira as its currency, you couldn’t just take an amount of one US dollar and change it to one lira as this was a nonsensical amount. One lira was never used in Italy as it had practically no value in the latter years of its existence.
- The values also have to be relative. For example, the test may require someone to role-play going into a shop so that they can calculate the change they should be getting after their purchases. If they hand over a 50 dollar bill to purchase a few grocery items, this 50 dollars may represent someone’s monthly salary in other countries, so this calculation would not be meaningful to them.
- In the USA, you have the dollar, quarter, dime, nickel and penny. In many countries in Europe, you have only the euro and the cent. Having five different names for coins and notes makes the calculation more difficult than just having two.
Hints & Tips
It is very important to ensure that items are localised and adapted correctly so that they are meaningful in the target market. If not, this will have an impact on the results obtained.