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What is Neuropsychological Testing? |
Neuropsychological testing is a comprehensive psychological evaluation to determine a personīs cognitive (intellectual) functioning. A neuropsychological evaluation assesses a personīs intellectual functioning in a number of important domains including:
- Attention and Concentration
- Memory Functions
- Verbal Functioning
- Nonverbal Functioning
- Academic Functioning
A complete evaluation also assesses a personīs personality and emotional functioning. Neuropsychological testing can be done on people of all ages, from age 3 throughout adulthood.
What are the benefits of neuropsychological testing? |
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The benefits are many, including:
- Improved self-esteem through accurate self-knowledge
- Appropriate educational planning
- Career and vocational planning for adolescents and adults
- Complete documentation that will enable your child or yourself to get targeted support and accommodations to support optimal functioning at school, at work, and in life.
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When is a Neuropsychological Evaluation indicated? |
Neuropsychological testing is helpful in many circumstances including:
- You suspect your child is not achieving to his potential
- You are not achieving to your potential
- Your child or yourself has uneven abilities with significant strengths and unexplained weaknesses (difficulties)
- Your child does not like school and/or has behavioral issues that do not seem related to any external sources
- You are not sure what your childīs strengths and weaker points are, when it comes to intellectual/academic functioning
- You want to know what your strengths and weaknesses are regarding your intellectual functioning
- Your child or yourself may need testing accommodations for standardized tests
What is Involved in a Neuropsychological Evaluation? |
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Typically, a neuropsychological evaluation starts with an hour appointment where I (Dr. Bronson) take the full developmental and academic history of the person being evaluated. Next, the actual testing involves 4 two-hour face-to-face testing sessions. Sometimes a fifth two-hour session is needed. Next, when the testing sessions are completed, I analyze the results and write a comprehensive report. Then a feedback appointment will be scheduled, for one hour and a half, where the results and recommendations are discussed in full. If the person being tested is a child, the parents will be at the first feedback session. Then, at a later date, another session is scheduled where the results and recommendations are given to the child (in a way that is appropriate to his or her developmental level), with the parents present.
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What can I expect from a Neuropsychological Evaluation? |
You can expect:
- A thorough evaluation (that uses traditional psychological, psycho-educational, and neuropsychological tests), written in understandable language, with detailed discussion of what tests were given, the person"s performance, the analysis of his performance, and conclusions and recommendations. The recommendations are to help support optimal performance in school and work as well as everyday life.
- You can expect to feel that your child or yourself is seen clearly and understood.
- You can expect that the person who has been evaluated will feel improved self-esteem (because her strengths are clearly pointed out) and empowered to make changes to optimize her everyday functioning.
