 |
|
FAQ
|
| 1) What is a Neuropsychological Evaluation? |
|
1) A Neuropsychological Evaluation is a medical procedure ordered by a physician/neurologist for the purpose of assessing the presence or effects of organic brain damage. A Neuropsychological Evaluation is distinct from a Psychological or Psychiatric Evaluation which identifies mental health, emotional, personality, and/or behavioral dysfunctions. |
| 2) Why have I been referred? |
|
2) Neuropsychological evaluations are requested specifically to help your doctors, teachers, school psychologist, or other professionals understand how the different areas and systems of the brain are working. Testing is usually recommended when there are symptoms or complaints involving memory or thinking. This can be signaled by a change in concentration, organization, reasoning, memory, language, perception, coordination, or personality. The changes may be due to any of a number of medical, neurological, psychological, or genetic causes. |
| 3) What is assessed? |
|
3) A typical neuropsychological evaluation will involve assessment of the following:
- General intellect
- Achievement skills (e.g., reading, math)
- Higher level executive skills (e.g., organization, planning, reasoning, inhibition, problem solving)
- Attention and concentration
- Learning and memory
- Language
- Visual-spatial skills (e.g., perception)
- Motor and sensory skills
- Mood and personality
- Behavioral functioning and social skills
Some areas may be measured in more detail than others, depending on your needs. |
| 4) Who should have an evaluation?
|
|
4) CBH works with you to determine whether you need an evaluation and the types of services that may be of benefit to you. An evaluation can identify weaknesses in a specific area. When problems are very mild, testing may be the only way to detect them. Test results can be used to determine if your problems are the result of normal brain-related changes or if they are associated with a neurological disorder. Testing might also be used to identify problems related to medical conditions that can affect memory and thinking, such as medication effects, diabetes, metabolic or infectious diseases, or alcoholism. It can also help detect the effects of developmental problems such as epilepsy, attention deficit disorder (ADHD), or genetic disorders. Sometimes testing is used to establish a "baseline," or document a person's skills before there is any problem (e.g., athletes in contact sports, individuals with MS, etc.). In this way, later changes can be measured very objectively. |
|
|
