Neuropsychological Evaluation

What is a neuropsychological evaluation?

Neuropsychology is the study of brain-behavior relationships and a neuropsychological evaluation seeks to understand brain-behavior relationships through a process of measuring brain functioning via tests.

Who are neuropsychological evaluations best for?

Neuropsychological evaluations are best for individuals with known or suspected neurological conditions such as stroke, tumor, TBI, etc.

Who does not need a neuropsychological evaluation?

Neuropsychological evaluations are not useful for assessing ADHD, specific learning disabilities (e.g., dyslexia), autism, or mental health conditions (e.g., anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, etc.).  The aforementioned conditions can be thoroughly assessed via psychological and psychoeducational evaluations.  Many people via neuropsychological evaluations as the "best" or most comprehensive type of evaluation, which is not necessarily the case.  Most neuropsychological evaluations don't include teacher interviews, teacher rating scales, and classroom observations, which are among the most important pieces of data when assessing for ADHD, learning disabilities, and autism (at least in children and adolescents).  For mental health conditions (e.g., anxiety, depression, bipolar, etc.) a psychological evaluation is sufficient.

Although I may use some neuropsychological tests or theoretical principles in my evaluation of ADHD, learning disabilities, autism, and psychiatric conditions, a comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation is not necessary. 

What does a neuropsychological evaluation include?

Assessment

• Interview with the parent(s)/guardian(s) (~2 hours) 
• IQ testing with a cognitive hypothesis testing approach (~1 hour)
• Academic testing (~3 hours)
• Language testing (~30 minutes)
• Memory testing (~1 hour)
• Attention/Executive Function testing (~30 minutes)
• Sensorimotor testing (~15 minutes)
• Social/Emotional Behavior testing & child interview (questionnaires completed by parent[s]/guardian[s], & examinee)

Outcome

• Verbal Feedback (~2 hours) with extensive and specific home, school, and community based recommendations
• Written Report (~15 to 20+ pages) with diagnostic impressions and recommendations

This type of evaluation is typically conducted over 3-4 sessions.  For children, the first session is the parent interview.  The second and third sessions are for Dr. Andersen to conduct face-to-face testing with your child. And the fourth session is to go over the evaluation results with you verbally, at which time you will also receive a copy of the written report.  For adults, the first session is typically the interview and beginning of testing.  The second session is to complete the testing, and the third session is to go over the evaluation results.