Preparing for your Neuropsychological Evaluation
HOW SHOULD I PREPARE FOR MY APPOINTMENT
1. Get a good night's sleep before your evaluation. There is no need to be nervous, and rest will help you
2. Continue taking any prescription medications as directed by your medical provider.
WHAT SHOULD I BRING WITH ME FOR MY APPOINTMENT
1. Your current insurance card. Please make sure you have this with you, and update us before your appointment if your insurance has recently changed.
2. A water bottle or snack if you would like one.
3. Your glasses or contacts if you use any for reading. Although there is no reading involved, the evaluation does involve looking at fairly small pictures.
WHAT TO EXPECT
1. Your appointment will be approximately 4 hours, so usually we can get the entire evaluation done (including feedback) in either a full morning or full afternoon. The length of time does vary from person to person
2.There are no invasive procedures; no electrodes, needles, or brain scans.
* There is nothing that is painful or physically strenuous.
* The testing usually involved little to no reading, or writing, and very little math.
* You can take breaks whenever you need to.
* Most of us don't like to take tests, and some people really hate tests or have a lot of test anxiety, but my goal is that you feel as relaxed as possible. My impression is that, when the evaluation is finished, most people feel that it was less stressful than they though it would be.
*We can do the evaluation in shorter sessions, breaking it up over two or three days, if necessary. Be aware that this may take longer to schedule.
*I only do neuropsychological evaluations of individuals who are 16 years of age or older.
Description of a Neuropsychological Evaluation
A basic description of a neuropsychological evaluation is that it involved the following:
1. Interview: I will ask kyou about your medical history, your schooling, and other areas.
2. Testing: I will present to you measures of all the main types of thinking that our brains do, including learning, memory, concentration, and problem-solving.
3. Feedback: After we complete the testing, I will give you my preliminary impressions about the results and treatment options. I am happy to answer any questions you may have.
Additional information about neurpsychological evaluation:
* Total time for the evaulation is generally about 4 hours; so usually we can get the entire evaluation done (including feedback) in either a full morning or full afternoon. The length of time does vary from person to person.
* There are no invasive procedures; no electrodes, needles, or brain scans.
* There is nothing that is painful or physically strenuous.
* The testing usually involved little to no reading, or writing, and very little math.
* You can take breaks whenever you need to.
* Most of us don't like to take tests, and some people really hate tests or have a lot of test anxiety, but my goal is that you feel as relaxed as possible. My impression is that, when the evaluation is finished, most people feel that it was less stressful than they though it would be.
*We can do the evaluation in shorter sessions, breaking it up over two or three days, if necessary. Be aware that this may take longer to schedule.
*I only do neuropsychological evaluations of individuals who are 16 years of age or older.
If you would like more information, a longer description of a neuropsychological evaluation is detailed below:
1. Interview: First, we will do an interview, during which I will ask you about relevant aspects of your personal history, such as your medical history (medical conditions, history of head injury, medications), schooling, work history, and also history related to depression and anxiety. The interview usually takes between 30 minutes and an hour.
2. Neurocognitive testing: These are measures of learning, memory, concentration, processing speed, problem-solving, language and verbal skills, visual-spatial skills, and executive functions (which are the functions of the brain that enable us to carry out or execute what we do, such as to plan, organize, manage tasks, exercise foresight, generate strategies). The testing is all done with me; it isn't written tests that you would be sitting by yourself and completing. The testing portion of the evaluation typically takes 3 or 3 1/2 hours but can be more or less than that.
3. Feedback: When we are done with the testing, I will give you some preliminary impressions about the test results, and ideas about treatment possibilities. We will discuss these types of things, and I am happy to answer any questions you may have.
4. Follow up with your medical provider: After you leave, I will analyze the test results, write the evaluation report and send that to the referring medical provider. You are welcome to a copy of the report, of course. Your medical provider will want to follow up with you after they receive the neuropsychological evaluation report, to discuss what the evaluation results mean for your work with them, such as treatment, and any additional evaluations.
5. If questions come up in the future that are related to neurpsychological issues, certainly feel free to call.