A very recurrent practice in Brazilian clinics still nowadays is the adoption of translated versions of neuropsychological instruments internationally standardized. It is fundamental that diagnostic tools have their instructions and stimuli adapted to the Brazilian linguistic, cultural and social reality, so that they accurately and reliably measure the cognitive processes that they are meant to assess. This theoretical review article aims to reflect on the specificities underlying the adaptation of verbal neuropsychological instruments, proposing a fluxogram of procedures for neuropsycholinguistic adaptation which transcends mere translation. This fluxogram was derived from the literature on psychological, neuropsychological, phonoaudiological assessments, and from the authors’ clinical and scientific experience in the construction and adaptation of tools for the evaluation of cognitive performance by means of verbal stimuli. It encompasses specific procedures comprising three groups of general procedures: translation, judges’ analysis and pilot study. The continuous contact with the researchers who are the authors of the original instrument is highlighted as representing an essential phase. The ongoing adaptation process with neuropsychometric procedures is briefly discussed.

Keywords : neuropsychological assessment; adaptation; verbal tests; language; neuropsycholinguistics.