Assessment

What to Expect During the Neuropsychological Assessment:

The first appointment is an opportunity to share information about your child including their strengths and your concerns. Generally speaking, in the case of children, you are not expected to bring him or her to the initial appointment as sensitive information is discussed in this appointment. For older teens, it may be helpful for the child to attend the initial meeting to share their perspective, but your child’s attendance would not be necessary. An Intake Packet and the Child Developmental Questionnaire – printable will need to be completed and brought to the initial session (initial packet and child questionnaire can be downloaded here). Parents are also encouraged to bring prior evaluations and educational documents to the initial consultation.

The testing session is either completed in one full day or broken up into multiple sessions (most likely two sessions). The full day typically begins at 9:00 am. We have a break for lunch from 12-1. Testing then continues until approximately 3:00 pm depending on the length and pace of the evaluation. These times are certainly flexible and can be adjusted based on each family’s needs and circumstances such as travel time, the child’s presentation and age, and each family’s schedule.

During the evaluation with your child, a tailored battery of psychological and neuropsychological tests are selected. These tests are designed to address your concerns by examining a range of cognitive functioning, such as language, memory, visual and perceptual skills, attention, executive functioning, information processing, motor skills, social pragmatics, and emotional functioning.

The final appointment is the feedback session. Shortly after the completion of the testing portion of the evaluation, Dr. Drayer meets again face-to-face with the parents for a feedback session. The purpose of this meeting is to review test findings and to integrate all of the information into a non-technical and coherent picture. Moreover, this picture will then serve as a guide to developing a practical, evidence-based treatment plan. Additional feedback sessions can be scheduled to further clarify the information, assess progress as the child moves forward, or to collaborate with other professionals involved in the child’s care. A written report is generated and typically given to the family at the time of the feedback or shortly afterward.