The purpose of a comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation is to determine an individual’s strengths and weaknesses and to provide recommendations for highly individualized and specific educational and treatment plans. Individuals are typically referred when there are questions about developmental delays or difficulty in learning, attention, behavior, socialization, or emotional functioning. Other reasons to seek an evaluation include medical conditions such as a chronic illnesses and genetic diagnosis or an acquired brain injury caused by trauma. Neuropsychological evaluations generally assess cognitive abilities, academic skills (reading, writing, mathematics), attention, executive functioning (e.g., planning, organization, etc.), language, memory and learning, sensory, and fine motor skills.  An evaluation of social, emotional, and behavioral functioning is included to obtain a comprehensive picture of the individual. A classroom observation may also occur in your child’s school setting.

A parent conference will be scheduled with the doctor to review the test results and create a plan for your child. Children also can receive feedback about their results depending on their age and abilities. You will be provided with a comprehensive report following the feedback session.

Psychological Evaluation

A psychological evaluation focuses on an individual’s personality, behaviors, and social-emotional functioning. The evaluation typically consists of a combination of observation, interviews, behavior rating scales, projective testing, personality inventory testing, and other norm-referenced standardized psychological tests. We incorporate collateral information from outside therapists, school, and family to obtain a complete picture of the child’s social-emotional functioning.

Academic Evaluation

Educational testing is conducted as part of a comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation or in isolation from preschool and beyond. Various measures will be used and integrated with other findings in order to make appropriate diagnoses and recommendations.  Academic testing is also helpful when monitoring your child’s progress.