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Neuropsychological Assessment:
The purpose of an assessment is to evaluate a person’s strengths and weaknesses in multiple areas of
functioning in order to determine how best to design interventions which can improve performance in
all environments. CAT scans or MRIs give you a picture of how the
brain looks, while the neuropsychological assessment tells you how the brain works. Neuropsychological
assessments involve five parts:
- Initial Appointment
The assessment begins with a meeting during which the parent shares concerns, provides
relevant background information and documents, and provides goals for the assessment.
The chid is briefly assessed for ability to complete an evaluation. This
appointment lasts approximately one hour.
- Child Interview
The second session may include continuation of the parent’s interview as well as the child’s
interview. Depending on the insurance company, this allows time for filing of psychological test
requests. This
appointment lasts approximately one hour.
- Individual Testing
The next two or three appointments involve completing a variety of standardized tasks that examine the
domains listed below. Questionnaires and rating scales are administered to parents,
teachers and child to evaluate mood, behavior, social functioning, and/or daily living skills. Time
for this part of the evaluation typically ranges from 8 to 12 sit down hours for the child and is
broken into manageable time slots depending on your schedule, the child’s age, and the child’s
ability to sustain attention. Note that younger children who can only sustain
2 hours of testing at a time will have more sessions.
Domains evaluated include:
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Intelligence |
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Sensory Perception |
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Language |
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Motor Strength/Coordination |
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Visual Perception |
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Social Functioning |
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Attention |
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Personality & Behavior |
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Memory |
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Academic Achievement |
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Executive Functions
- organization
- planning
- processing speed |
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- Verbal Feedback
The next part of the assessment occurs soon after the last test session and involves meeting
to discuss the results. Dr. Gangarosa-Emerson will explain each test and your child’s
performance. You will have preliminary diagnoses and recommendations to begin to pursue. You
should make arrangements to pay your portion of co-pays, deductibles, and additional fees at this
time.
- Report
The final part of the assessment is the report which can be mailed, faxed to you or picked up
at an arranged time. It
takes 4-8 weeks to obtain a report from the feedback session. Reports are thorough and lengthy.
You may see an additional diagnosis not originally mentioned at the feedback after all the data
has been thoroughly analyzed. The report details all of the results and includes recommendations
appropriate to your child’s needs. All monies are due at the time of the report. If you have
additional questions after reading the report, you can call Dr. Gangarosa-Emerson or schedule an
additional appointment for further information.
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