Neuropsychological & Psychoeducational Testing For Students & Adults (Ages 6+)
What You Need To Know: What is an Assessment and Why You or Your Child Might Need One
A neuropsychological or psychoeducational evaluation, sometimes referred to as testing, is an assessment of how individuals learn and function. Psychoeducational assessments focus on learning disabilities while a neuropsychological assessment can understand complex executive functioning. Performed by trained psychologists or psychometricians, the evaluation consists of a series of standardized exercises and questions to assess different types of reasoning, memory, and planning as well as social-emotional functioning like anxiety, depression, attention, and adaptive life skills. Psycho-educational evaluations are most commonly recommended for students who are either gifted or having difficulty in school and can provide a comprehensive understanding about a child’s strengths, weaknesses, and neurological development. Psycho-educational evaluations by a psychologist can provide diagnoses for learning disabilities, ADHD, and mental health (e.g., social anxiety).
All neuropsychological and psychoeducational assessment batteries are personalized to the individual’s presenting issues. 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:
-
Early speech and language delays
-
Poor performance in one specific area or subject
-
Poor reading comprehension
-
Difficulty remembering basic math facts
-
Poor Spelling
-
Difficulty remembering what he or she has studied
-
Poor performance on tests despite the fact that they have studied
-
Difficulty finishing work or tests in the allotted time
-
Difficulty identifying what information is important when they read or study material
-
Difficulty with long-term projects or follow-through
-
Poor organization
-
Poor attention in class/excessive daydreaming