Neuropsychological Assessment

Neuropsychological Assessments (Ages 3 to 100)

Neuropsychological testing assesses brain/cognitive functioning and is a good idea if delays are noticed in children/adolescents (walking, talking, social, attention, etc.) or sudden changes or losses might have occurred (memory, attention, speech, etc.).  In other words, neuropsychological testing helps diagnose both neurodevelopmental (e.g., ADHD, ASD, dyslexia, etc) and acquired (head injury, stroke, Long Covid, etc.) disorders, helps us understand the nature of these, and assists in developing treatment programs.

These assessments are required should you/your child want an individualized education plan (IEP) or accommodations at school, or want extended time/ accommodations to write tests such as the SAT, LSAT, etc. They are also often required by private schools as part of the entry requirements. If you have suffered a head injury, it is a good idea to have a neuropsychological assessment to document any changes occurring, as well as to follow changes over time to monitor progress.  They are also a good idea for anyone, as they offer a baseline of functioning that can be used to document any changes later in life should an acquired/neurodegenerative condition occur from an accident or other cause.

When wondering about learning disorders, neuropsychological assessments are completed along with educational assessments to diagnose learning disorders and determine their cause for treatment purposes.  Educational assessments alone cannot diagnose learning disorders and certainly not tell us why a problem is occurring, so both of these types of tests are used.