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The goal of a comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation is to assess your brain functioning across multiple cognitive and psychological domains. We want to get a full picture of how you are doing cognitively and emotionally.
The evaluation includes:
For additional information, we may also conduct a review of your medical records and, with your consent, may ask to talk to someone who knows you well.
During testing, we will ask you to do various tasks that may include remembering information, reading, writing, drawing designs, and solving problems. We may also ask you to rate your emotions for the psychological part of the evaluation.
The domains assessed as part of the evaluation may comprise academic skills, learning and memory, language, visual-spatial skills, attention, executive functioning, fine motor skills, social skills, psychological functioning, and functional abilities.
Each battery of tests is adapted to the individual who is being evaluated and to the questions that need clarification. The number of hours needed for the evaluation (usually about 4-5 hours), may vary depending on the speed that the individual works and the specific test battery.
The evaluation is completed by a licensed psychologist with specialized training in neuropsychology, unless otherwise specified.
Neuropsychological testing can be impacted by a variety of factors beyond cognitive abilities, including vision or hearing problems, fatigue, health or emotional stressors, and some medications.
Because we want to assess your current brain functioning and cognitive abilities, it is important to try and minimize these other factors.
Before the evaluation, try and get a good night of sleep and take your medications as usually prescribed. If you have reading glasses or hearing aids, please bring them to the evaluation.
Risks are minimal during a neuropsychological evaluation. They may consist of temporary anxiety about performance, frustration, fatigue, and perhaps discomfort related to the discussion of stressful or emotional topics. A small number of individuals could experience greater emotional distress from becoming aware of limitations that may have been previously unknown to them. To minimize these risks, the examiner will check-in regularly with the individual and offer breaks throughout the testing session.
The results of the neuropsychological evaluation will help the individual gain insight into their current cognitive strengths and weaknesses and may help with diagnosis clarification and treatment planning. Further, most individuals find the neuropsychological evaluation process interesting and even fun.