Frequently Asked Questions about pediatric neuropsychology:
- What is a pediatric neuropsychologist?
- What is the purpose of neuropsychological evaluation?
- What brain functions might neuropsychological evaluation assess?
- When should parents consider neuropsychological evaluation for their child?
- What are some of the learning and behavior problems that neuropsychological evaluation addresses?
- How can neuropsychological testing help?
- What other services do you offer?
Pediatric neuropsychology is a specialty area of psychology that uses knowledge of brain development, brain organization, and the effects of brain injury and disease on the developing brain in the evaluation, diagnosis, and management of children's cognitive, behavioral, and emotional functioning.
The goal of pediatric neuropsychological evaluation is to obtain a detailed picture of a child's cognitive strengths and weaknesses, academic skills, and social and behavioral adjustment. This is accomplished through a variety of means — an intake interview to obtain a detailed history of a child's development, behavior rating scales completed by parents and teachers, the administration of a battery of neuropsychological tests, and, sometimes, classroom observation. Evaluations are tailored to address the specific and unique needs of each individual child and will differ somewhat from child to child.
- intelligence
- language
- attention
- organization
- fine motor skills
- reasoning
- visual perceptual skills
- memory
- academic achievement
- social, emotional, and behavioral functioning
- If a diagnosable cognitive or learning problem is suspected
- Sudden change in academic performance
- Academic inconsistencies
- Lack of expected response to interventions in place for a previously diagnosed learning problem
- Behavior problems
- To establish a baseline for use in measuring progress or response to intervention
Here are some of the learning and behavior problems that neuropsychological evaluation addresses:
- Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDD)
- Asperger's syndrome (AS)
- High-functioning autism (HFA)
- Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
- Learning Disability (LD)
- Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
- Seizure Disorder
- Neurodevelopmental conditions
- Tourette's syndrome (TS)
- Neurological conditions
Neuropsychological evaluation often yields a diagnosis or provides information about the impact a diagnosis is having on cognitive functions. It contains detailed, specific recommendations concerning ways to address learning or behavior difficulties. Such recommendations guide the development of a child's Individualized Education Plan (IEP) at school and address interventions provided outside of school. These may include psychiatric consultation, occupational therapy, tutoring, speech/language therapy, or individual or family psychotherapy, to name a few.
- School consultation
- Functional behavioral assessment
- Psychological Testing
- Educational Testing
- Giftedness Testing
- Diagnostic assessment of children suspected of having autism spectrum disorders. This is accomplished with the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R), a standardized parent interview, the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS), a standardized child interview and play session, and other instruments.