Neuropsychological & Psychoeducational Testing For Students & Adults (Ages 4+)
What You Need To Know: What is an Assessment and Why You or Your Child Might Need One
A neuropsychological or psychoeducational evaluation—often referred to simply as “testing”—is a comprehensive assessment of how an individual learns, processes information, and functions across cognitive, academic, and emotional domains. Psychoeducational evaluations are typically focused on identifying learning differences, while neuropsychological evaluations offer a deeper understanding of executive functioning and neurological development. Conducted by Licensed Psychologists or trained Psychometricians, these evaluations involve a series of standardized tasks and questionnaires designed to assess reasoning, memory, attention, processing speed, academic skills, and social-emotional functioning (e.g., anxiety, depression, adaptive skills).
These assessments are commonly recommended for students who are either excelling and may need enrichment (giftedness) or those struggling with academic, behavioral, or emotional challenges. A thorough evaluation can provide insight into an individual’s strengths and areas of difficulty, and may support diagnoses such as Learning Disabilities, ADHD, Autism Spectrum Disorder, and various mental health concerns, including anxiety and mood disorders.
All neuropsychological and psychoeducational batteries performed at NCHP are carefully tailored to the individual's presenting concerns to ensure a targeted, meaningful evaluation process. NCHP has a comprehensive testing library and utilizes a range of gold-standard, evidenced-based tools—including the ADOS-2, MIGDAS, WISC-V, WIAT-4, TEA-CH, and others—based on each client’s unique profile and referral questions. Fees can be found here.
Neuropsychological Assessment
A comprehensive evaluation of how a person's brain functions, particularly in relation to cognitive, emotional, and behavioral aspects. It involves a series of tests and tasks designed to assess various cognitive functions such as memory, attention, language, problem-solving, and emotional well-being.
Administration of a variety of tests to gather information about the individual's brain and cognitive abilities. These assessments help in understanding how the brain is working, identifying strengths and weaknesses, and diagnosing any potential neurological or psychological issues.
In essence, neuropsychological assessment provides valuable insights into a person's cognitive abilities and helps healthcare professionals tailor appropriate interventions, treatment plans, or recommendations based on the individual's specific needs and challenges.
Psychoeducational Assessment
An evaluation process conducted to understand an individual's learning and academic abilities, as well as their emotional and behavioral functioning. This type of assessment is often performed by educational psychologists or other qualified professionals.
During a psychoeducational assessment, various tests and measures are used to assess cognitive abilities, academic skills, and emotional well-being. The goal is to identify any learning difficulties, developmental concerns, or emotional challenges that may impact the individual's performance in an educational setting.
The information gathered through psychoeducational assessments helps educators, parents, and other professionals develop strategies and interventions to support the individual's learning and emotional needs. It may also contribute to the development of individualized education plans (IEPs) or other educational accommodations to ensure the person receives appropriate support to succeed in their academic endeavors.
Private School Entrance Applications
Many private schools require intelligence testing as part of the entrance application. Our team is qualified to conduct such evaluations. These sessions typically take 2-3 hours and are provided at a significantly reduced cost.
The full evaluation may involve:
Background Information Gathering & Assessment Battery Test Selection (60-Minute Virtual Intake)
Evaluation of Cognitive Skills
Academic Achievement Testing
Supplemental Testing as needed (for attention, language, memory, processing speed, etc.)
Social-Emotional Functioning
Observations
Virtual or In-Person Feedback Session when your psychologist or psychometrician reviews findings, diagnoses, and accommodations with you. Final report will be provided at the feedback session.
Private vs. In-School Evaluation?
A private evaluation will most likely be comprehensive and include all of the components above. Because of the time constraints of evaluations conducted by the school child study team, subtle learning problems may be missed, particularly in bright and younger children. In public schools, there must be a demonstrated need for the school to provide an evaluation. Often, a child must have already fallen a few years behind before the child study team assesses with an evaluation. Parents might be noticing difficulties earlier and not want to wait long before an evaluation. Most private schools do not provide child study evaluations and parents must seek outside consult for academic recommendations.
In addition, many in-school child study evaluations do not assess comprehensive social-emotional functioning. Private evaluations by psychologists or psychometrists can provide you an in-depth look at their mental health functioning.
Common Academic Issues That Might Be A Sign It’s Time For An Evaluation Include:
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Early speech and language delays
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Poor performance in one specific area or subject
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Poor reading comprehension
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Difficulty remembering basic math facts
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Poor Spelling
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Difficulty remembering what he or she has studied
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Poor performance on tests despite the fact that they have studied
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Difficulty finishing work or tests in the allotted time
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Difficulty identifying what information is important when they read or study material
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Difficulty with long-term projects or follow-through
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Poor organization
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Poor attention in class/excessive daydreaming