Neuropsychological Evaluation
A complete neuropsychological evaluation isolate the cause of the neurological issues, delivers results that patients can clearly understand and act on.
What are common reasons for being seen by a Neuropsychologist?
Trouble remembering words and names
Getting lost or disoriented
Forgetting important information
Difficulty with attention and/or concentration
Difficulty understanding or using words to communicate
Problems with reading, spelling/writing, or doing math
Problems with doing daily tasks that previously were easy
Concerns about intellectual ability
A change in the ability to regulate mood or behavior
Difficulty tracking or understanding during a conversation
Gathering Information
To begin the evaluation process, we gather all the information necessary to paint a comprehensive picture of the patient’s life. We do this through a written questionnaire on medical and personal history and a verbal interview about their presenting concerns.
Patients may be asked for their consent to contact some of their other medical providers, friends or family for additional information about their concerns. No additional parties will be contacted without a patient’s explicit consent.
Testing
Objective and standardized cognitive, behavioral, and psychological functioning is assessed with test batteries tailored to each patient’s unique presenting concerns.
Click here for more information on preparing for the day of testing.
Getting Feedback
Every evaluation will be followed by a comprehensive feedback session to go over both the results of the neuropsychological evaluation as well as recommendations and next steps.
Patients are welcome to bring a trusted person(s) with them to their feedback session (e.g., caregiver, partner, spouse, adult children, etc.). Just be sure this is communicated ahead of time.
Feedback results can also be shared at the patient’s request to other important parties via phone. Of note, evaluation results will never be communicated to additional parties without the patient’s explicit consent.
Dr. Ellison highly values communicating clear, digestible results of neuropsychological evaluations to both patients, and at their request, other trusted individuals in their lives. Dr. Ellison views post-assessment feedback as the most important component of the evaluation process, and makes sure that each patient walks away with a clear, concise and thorough understanding of their results and a roadmap for what to do next..
How might a neuropsychological evaluation be useful?
To better understand where a patient is at cognitively and functionally after a brain-related event (e.g., seizures, stroke, head injury).
To better understand if perceived changes in memory and thinking are normal for age, or may be related to another underlying condition or disease.
To better understand a patient’s unique set of cognitive strengths and weaknesses for tailored cognitive rehabilitation.
To document cognitive changes before and after a major surgical or medical event, or track improvements in cognitive functioning over time.
To provide documentation for academic accommodations and/or testing accommodations.
To provide differential diagnosis- clarity in diagnoses.