Neuropsychological Evaluation FAQs
Clinical neuropsychology is a specialty profession that focuses on brain functioning. A clinical neuropsychologist is a licensed psychologist with expertise in how behavior and skills are related to brain structures and systems. In clinical neuropsychology, brain function is evaluated by objectively testing memory and thinking skills. A very detailed assessment of abilities is done, and the pattern of strengths and weaknesses is used in important health care areas, such as diagnosis and treatment planning. The clinical neuropsychologist conducts the evaluation and makes recommendations.
Neuropsychological evaluations are requested specifically to help your doctors and 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 may be signaled by a change in concentration, organization, reasoning, memory, language, perception, coordination, or personality. The change may be due to any of a number of medical, neurological, psychological, or genetic causes. Testing will be helpful in understanding your specific situation.
An evaluation with Sarasota Neuropsychology is designed to help us gain a better understanding of the current problem that brought you to us. The evaluation will include a detailed clinical interview. During this time, the neuropsychologist will gather pertinent background and medical information followed by completing standardized testing. Testing takes approximately three to four hours. The length of the assessment can vary depending largely on the pace at which one proceeds through individual tasks. Some of the testing is completed with the use of a computer and others with pencil and paper. We will be asking you to do several different tasks including remembering information and writing down information. Breaks are provided when necessary and you are welcome to bring a snack and drink the day of your appointment. The most important part is that you try your best in order to ensure accurate test results. If you wear corrective lenses or hearing aids please bring those with you as well. It is often helpful to bring any medical records related to your appointment.
A typical neuropsychological evaluation will involve assessment of the following:
o General intellect
o Higher level executive skills
o (e.g., sequencing, reasoning, problem solving)
o Attention and concentration
o Learning and memory
o Language
o Visual–spatial skills (e.g., perception)
o Motor and sensory skills
o Mood and personality
Some abilities may be measured in more detail than others, depending on your needs.
Test results can be used to understand your situation in a number of ways. Testing can identify weaknesses in specific areas. It is very sensitive to mild memory and thinking problems that might not be obvious in other ways. When problems are very mild, testing may be the only way to detect them. For example, testing can help determine whether memory changes are normal age-related changes or if they reflect a neurological disorder. Testing might also be used to identify problems related to medical conditions that can affect memory and thinking, such as diabetes, metabolic or infectious diseases, or alcoholism. Test results can also be used to help differentiate among illnesses, which is important because appropriate treatment depends on accurate diagnosis. Different illnesses result in different patterns of strengths and weaknesses on testing. Therefore, the results can be helpful in determining which areas of the brain might be involved and what illness might be operating. For instance, testing can help to differentiate among Alzheimer’s disease, stroke, and depression. Your physician will use this information along with the results of other tests, such as brain imaging and blood tests, to come to the most informed diagnosis possible. Sometimes testing is used to establish a “baseline,” or document a person’s skills before there is any problem. In this way, later changes can be measured very objectively.