A Neuropsychological Evaluation, what is it?

A neuropsychological evaluation measures “how you think” with simple to more difficult mental tasks. We also time some of the tasks to see if speed is an issue. Understanding how and how fast you “think” helps us find the right diagnosis for you. The right diagnosis helps us find ways for you to improve your life or win your legal case. The results can also help us understand how much you struggle, because we compare your results to others who do not struggle. Once we understand how you “think” compared to others, we are able to know how severe your issues are. Most of the time verbal descriptions are not enough. The scores from a neuropsychological evaluation gives us a rating, much like numbers on a thermometer. With these ratings, we have a measurement that everyone can understand. Learn more about the types of neuropsychological evaluations we offer. A more scholarly description of the evaluation can be found here.

Doodle Cloud Video Summary:

The Doodle Cloud video below is a short, laymen’s terms description of what the evaluation process involves. First, we describe the purpose of the evaluation as “finding out how you think.” While this is a simplistic way of looking at it, any cognitive process or brain based function we have can be distilled down to the term “thinking.” We then highlight the fact that thinking cannot be observed, so what the evaluation does is makes thinking, observable, timed, and able to be measured. Then we discuss the types of skills we measure, describe some ways thinking occurs, and how much time each task takes. Then we address the fact that once we are able to measure your “thinking” similar to numbers on a thermometer, we can then understand how serious your problems is, when compared to other people your same race, education level, and age. When we measure your thinking in this manner, we are able to understand how you think, which leads to a diagnosis. Once we have a diagnosis, we can understand the right treatment, and accommodations you will need to maximize your potential!

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