Pediatric Neuropsychology

Scheduled Patients

Included as Part of a Neuropsychological Assessment

  • Interview with parents or caregivers to review current concerns, as well as the child’s medical, school, and family history 
  • Caregivers are typically asked to complete a variety of behavior rating scales about their child.  It is often helpful to have similar behavior rating scales completed by a teacher.
  • Direct testing with the child.  
    • For school-age children, this usually lasts 5 to 7 hours.  Children are tested alone, without a parent or caregiver in the room.
    • For preschool children, this usually lasts 1 to 3 hours. 
  • If necessary, additional observations of the child
  • Review of previous testing, school records, and medical records
  • Scoring and interpretation of results
  • Report writing
  • Feedback session to review results and recommendations,  usually held 2 to 3 weeks after completion of testing

Checklist of Materials to Bring to the Interview and the Testing Appointment

Interview

  • All health insurance cards
  • History form
  • Copies of previous evaluations, including psychological assessments, educational testing, speech-language assessments, occupational therapy assessments, and psychiatric evaluations
  • Copies of report cards, IEP's, 504 plans, and other important school records
  • Names and addresses of any doctors or clinicians who may have additional important records or to whom you would like a report sent
  • Additional medical records or reports that may be pertinent to this evaluation

Testing appointment

  • Child’s glasses and hearing aids, if needed
  • A packed lunch or money to buy lunch
  • Try to make sure your child has enough rest the night before and eats a good breakfast

What to tell your child

When explaining the testing to a child it is best to tell them, “You are going to do a variety of tasks and activities. Some of them will be hands-on activities, like drawing or working with puzzles, and sometimes you will be asked questions. You may also be asked to do some reading, writing, and math.”

OCD activity
It is important for your child to know that these tasks are done with children of all different ages. Some parts should seem easy, but others may seem hard; they are not expected to know how to do them all. They just need to try their best.