neuropsychological services during COVID-19 PANDEMIC
OPEN LETTER TO PARENTS AND COLLEAGUES
comprehensive neuropsychological evaluations
What is a comprehensive pediatric neuropsychological evaluation?
A comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation is a comprehensive assessment of cognitive functions such as learning, memory, and problem solving.
Data collected within a developmental context include performance on standardized tests, clinical interviews, behavioral ratings, and direct observations.
Multiple areas are assessed including:
- General Cognitive Ability
- Language Skills
- Visuoperception and Spatial Skills
- Learning and Memory
- Executive Functions such as Attention, Planning and Organization, Problem Solving, and Working Memory
- Socio/Emotional Behavior
- Motor Skills
- Academic Achievement
When would my child need a neuropsychological evaluation?
A neuropsychological evaluation should be conducted in any of the following situations:
- If your child is struggling in school or underperforms on standardized tests
- When developmental challenges make it harder to understand how your child learns
- When a child has a medical history that can impact learning such as traumatic brain injury, seizure disorder, treatment for cancer, or exposure to toxins
- To document changes in your child’s abilities or achievement since prior evaluations
- If it is unclear why your child is having difficulty meeting the demands that other children seem to master
What are the potential benefits?
There are a variety of ways you can benefit from an evaluation, including:
- Gaining a greater understanding of your child’s learning and thinking style
- Discovering the causes of your child’s struggles
- Obtaining recommendations that will help you choose appropriate strategies and interventions to meet your child’s needs
- Determining whether your child meets criteria for special education services
- Explaining your child’s unique style to others
- Assessing the effectiveness of treatments and interventions
Who is qualified to conduct a neuropsychological evaluation?
As a consumer, it is important for you to consider who should perform an evaluation of this type.
Pediatric neuropsychologists have completed doctoral level training in psychology and advanced training in neuropsychology, specific to children. By professional standard, a pediatric neuropsychologist should have completed a two-year postdoctoral fellowship in pediatric neuropsychology or be board certified.
Consumers should be cautioned to carefully check the credentials of persons who say they do “neuropsychological testing.”
There are no tests specific to the practice of neuropsychology. The difference in skill of a fully trained neuropsychologist takes place both at the level of inquiry and at the level of analysis – what data are collected and how they are interpreted. A pediatric neuropsychologist has extensive training and expertise in how to translate the findings within the context of brain-behavior relationships.
What are our evaluation goals?
We offer an interpretation of your child’s performance, in terms of identified strengths and challenges.
We document overall cognitive ability, expressive and receptive language, learning and memory, nonverbal abilities, sensorimotor function, socio/emotional behavior, academic achievement, and “executive functions”. Executive functions are the neurocognitive processes that allow your child to use his or her resources effectively. They include attention, working memory, planning and organization, cognitive flexibility, speed of information processing, and self- regulation.
Beyond “scores,” the evaluation uses norm-referenced performance on formal tests and behavioral questionnaires, clinical observations, clinical interviews, and knowledge of child development and brain-behavior relationships to create a comprehensive picture of your child’s unique pattern of strengths and weaknesses.
Detailed recommendations are made by examining the match between your child’s individual neuropsychological profile and the developmental expectations surrounding your child. Recommendations will clarify the parenting and teaching strategies that are best suited to your child’s style.
For additional information about neuropsychology see:
http://nanonline.org/NAN/Files/PAIC/PDFs/HC%20Policy%20Statement.pdf