For whom is a Neuropsychological Assessment helpful?
A Neuropsychological Assessment can provide helpful information in a variety of situations, such as:
- If a child or adult is having trouble paying attention at school or at home
- If there has been a change in your or your child’s physical health that has affected their functioning (i.e., concussion, sickness, seizure disorder, toxic exposure, etc.)
- If you or your child has a history of developmental delays, atypical behaviors, or social skills difficulties
- If you or your child is experiencing emotional difficulties such as anxiety, depression, or angry outbursts that are impacting their everyday life
- If you or your child is struggling academically and not performing up to his/her potential
- If you feel that your child’s individual needs are not being met at school
- What can I expect during the assessment?
A detailed pediatric or adult developmental history, with adult patients or with parents.
Two sessions are generally needed to assess your or your child’s cognition, language, attention, executive functions, memory, social-emotional abilities, adaptive skills, and behavioral functioning using standardized assessment measures. Adult patients and parents will be provided with questionnaires to complete.
Each session will last from 2-3 hours and breaks will be provided to you or your child as needed. Please feel free to bring snacks and drinks. Testing is performed in a 1:1 setting with the examiner. Parents are expected to remain in the waiting room throughout the duration of testing for younger children but are able to leave and return at a later time when older children are being evaluated.
A feedback session will be completed with adult patients/parents and the examiner once testing is completed and all questionnaires have been received
A comprehensive report outlining impressions and recommendations will be sent to you or to parents by mail within several weeks from the feedback session.
What can I expect at the conclusion of the assessment?
At the conclusion of the neuropsychological evaluation, you should have a better understanding of how you or your child thinks and learns, including strengths and areas of difficulty, how these strengths and difficulties affect daily life, and how you can most effectively find support for yourself or your child. In the final report, you will be provided with specific recommendations about helpful services for you or your child both within and outside of the school or vocational settings.
Educational Testing for Learning Disabilities
Often it can be helpful to determine whether a child or adult is struggling as a result of a learning disability instead of, or in addition to, any difficulties with information processing that he or she may be experiencing. For this reason, educational testing is not typically performed as a stand-alone procedure. Instead, it is normally integrated with neuropsychological or psychological testing results in order to form the most accurate picture of an individual’s strengths and weaknesses so that the appropriate recommendations for educational planning or treatment can be made. Learning disabilities assessed for and diagnosed may include Dyslexia, Math Disorder, or Specific Learning Disorder in Reading or Written Expression.
Educational testing is not covered by insurance, as it is typically performed within the school system. However, some parents opt to have it completed at our center, and this can be done as an out of pocket expense and integrated directly with neuropsychological test findings. You and the psychologist may discuss the benefits of having an educational screening test performed during the standard psychological or neuropsychological testing battery to determine whether additional, comprehensive educational testing is necessary.
Educational testing can range from a 1-2 hour session and typically involves assessment of the following domains:
- Phonological processing
- Reading decoding, fluency, and comprehension
- Math fact fluency, problem solving, and computation
- Spelling and written expression