What is involved in a neuropsycholgical evaluation?
Pediatric Evaluation Adult Evaluation
Pediatric Evaluation:
Interviews
Parents meet with the neuropsychologist to answer questions about the child’s
developmental and medical history, school performance, behavior, and socialization.
Specialized testing
Neuropsychological evaluations are uniquely powerful because of the specialized,
validated test instruments and behavioral observations used and interpreted
by the neuropsychologist. Neuropsychological tests assess a broad range of
domains:
- General intellectual ability
- Academic achievement, such as reading,
writing, and math skills
- Social and emotional functioning
- Personality and mood
- Learning and memory
- Speech and language skills
- Visual-spatial skills
- Gross and fine motor coordination
- Attentional processes
- Executive functions, such as planning, cognitive
flexibility, inhibition, and ability to follow instructions.
The typical pediatric evaluation involves 2 days (5-6 hours each) of one-on-one
testing with your child. The length of the evaluation may vary depending on
the needs of your child.
Consultation
With your permission, the neuropsychologist will consult with 2-3 other professionals
who are familiar with your child in order to gain the most complete understanding
of your child.
Interpretation of results
The neuropsychologist analyzes and integrates all of the information. Your
child’s performance is compared to other children of the same age and
grade, and is contrasted with your child’s abilities in other areas.
Parents join the neuropsychologist for a feedback meeting to discuss the
results.
Report and recommendations
Neuropsychological reports are thorough, descriptive, and action-oriented.
They include both detailed study results and summaries understandable and
useful to a variety of audiences. The treatment plan is tailored to your
child, and includes interventions that have been shown to be effective as
well as specific steps and resources needed for successful implementation
and progress measurement. In addition, you will be given a list of helpful
resources (e.g., books, articles, and websites) specific to your child’s
developmental profile.
Referrals to other professionals
If appropriate, your child will be referred to other specialists who will gather
additional information or provide treatment. Your child, for example, may
be referred to a pediatric psychiatrist for a medication evaluation, to a
child psychologist for therapy, or to an education specialist for state-of-the-art
interventions.
Adult Evaluation:
Interviews
The patient (usually accompanied by a significant other) meets with the neuro-psychologist
to answer questions about the patient’s developmental and medical history,
behavior, and socialization and any current concerns.
Specialized testing
Neuropsychological evaluations are uniquely powerful because of the specialized,
validated test instruments and behavioral observations used and interpreted
by the neuropsychologist. Neuropsychological tests assess a broad range of
domains:
- General intellectual ability
- Academic achievement, such as reading, writing, and math skills
- Social
and emotional functioning
- Personality and mood
- Learning and memory
- Speech and language skills
- Visual-spatial skills
- Gross and fine motor coordination
- Attentional processes
- Executive functions, such as planning, cognitive flexibility, inhibition,
and ability to follow instructions.
The typical adult evaluation involves 1 day (7-8 hours) of one-on-one
testing. The length of the evaluation may vary depending on the patient’s
needs.
Consultation
With the patient’s permission, the neuropsychologist will consult with
2-3 other professionals who are familiar with the patient in order to gain
the most complete understanding of him or her.
Interpretation of results
The neuropsychologist analyzes and integrates all of the information. The patient’s
performance is compared to others of the same age and education level, and
is contrasted with his or her abilities in other areas. The patient (and usually
a significant other) joins the neuropsychologist for a feedback meeting to
discuss the results. Report and recommendations
Neuropsychological reports are thorough, descriptive, and action-oriented.
They include both detailed study results and summaries understandable and
useful to a variety of audiences. The treatment plan is tailored to the patient,
and includes interventions that have been shown to be effective for similar
patients, as well as specific steps and resources needed for successful implementation
and progress measurement. In addition, you will be given a list of helpful
resources (e.g., books, articles, and websites) specific to the patient’s
neurocognitive profile.
Referrals to other professionals
If appropriate, the patient will be referred to other specialists who will
gather additional information or provide treatment. For example, the patient
may be referred to a psychiatrist for a medication evaluation, to a psychologist
for therapy, or to a neurologist or other medical specialist for additional
testing.
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