Neuropsychological testing and assessment

Neuropsychological Testing and Assessment

Understanding How Your Brain Works

You are unique. Your brain is unique. And, each region of your brain contributes distinctively and interactively to other parts of your brain. Your brain influences your thinking (cognitive) and emotional styles as well as your behavior (see Koziol and Budding, 2009).

What a Neuropsychological Assessment Can Reveal

The clinical neuropsychology evaluation that I offer is incorporated into the Collaborative/Therapeutic Assessment model and answers questions that you pose. These answers help to identify the relationship 1) between your brain and your behavior and 2) between your brain and challenges you may have with mental functions, such as memory, perception, attention, language, and personality.

A neuropsychological assessment evaluates how your brain functions and can help you identify and solve problems involving

  • Attention and concentration (attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder - ADD/ADHD)
  • Learning (dyslexia, reading disorders, learning disabilities, achievement/academic skills)
  • Memory (dementias and Alzheimer’s disease)
  • Language (aphasia and verbal and non-verbal problem-solving)
  • Executive function (planning, organization, time management)
  • Emotion (anxiety; depression; bipolar disorder)
  • Social interaction and communication (autism spectrum/Asperger’s disorder)
  • Motivation (persistence)
  • Visual-spatial and sensory-motor processes (attention to visual detail, coordination)
  • Functional issues related to brain injury (memory, perception, attention, language)
  • Cognitive concerns due to medical illness (memory loss)

How Neuropsychological Assessments Are Conducted

Drawing from many sources and using a variety of methods (see below), I select a range of tests, tasks, and questionnaires tailored to you and your situation. I then develop a possible diagnostic picture with you by

  1. Evaluating your individual test or task results;
  2. Comparing your performance on a range of tests;
  3. Analyzing and interpreting patterns that arise from groups of test performances; and
  4. Collaborating with you to use your assessment results to answer your questions and find solutions

To learn more, please contact me for an initial conversation to discuss your needs.

Some of the Tests that May Be Included in a Neuropsychological Assessment

Tests for Children (Ages 5 through 12 years old)

  • Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children – Fourth Edition (WISC-IV)
  • Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children – Fourth Edition – Integrated
  • Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence – Third Edition (WPPSI – III)
  • NEPSY II - Developmental Neuropsychological Assessment
  • Process Assessment of the Learner (PAL)
  • Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System (D-KEFS)
  • California Verbal Learning Test – Children (CVLT-C)
  • Auditory Consonant Trigrams (ACT)
  • Tower of London (TOL)
  • Continuous Performance Tests
  • Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST)
  • Test of Everyday Attention for Children (TEA-CH)
  • Rey Complex Figure Test (RCFT)
  • Behavioral Rating Inventory for Executive Function (BRIEF)
  • Neurobehavioral Questionnaires

Adolescent and/or Adult Tests

  • Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children – Fourth Edition (WISC-IV)
  • Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children - Fourth Edition - Integrated
  • NEPSY II Developmental Neuropsychological Assessment
  • Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale – Fourth Edition (WAIS-IV)
  • Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence (WASI)
  • Continuous Performance Tests
  • Competing Programs Tasks
  • Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST)
  • Tower of London Test (TOL)
  • Benton Visual Retention Test – 5th Ed. (BVRT)
  • Rey Complex Figure Test (RCFT)
  • Sentence Repetition Test
  • Token Test
  • Controlled Oral Word Association Test (COWAT)
  • Auditory Consonant Trigrams (ACT)
  • California Verbal Learning Test - II (CVLT-II)
  • Wechsler Memory Scale – Fourth Edition (WMS-IV)
  • Trail-Making Tests (TMT)
  • Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT)
  • Test of Everyday Function (Adult) TEA
  • Delis-Kaplan Executive Function Battery (D-KEFS)
  • Behavioral Rating Inventory for Executive Function (BRIEF)

Older Adult (Geriatric) Tests

  • Neurobehavioral Cognitive Status Examination
  • Trail-Making Tests (TMT)
  • Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST)
  • Clinical Assessment Scales for the Elderly (CASE)
  • Cognistat
  • COWAT (FAS/Animals)
  • Token Test
  • Trail-Making Test (TMT) – Parts A and B
  • Benton Visual Retention Test - Fifth Edition
  • Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT)
  • Controlled Oral Word Association Test (COWAT)
  • California Verbal Learning Test – Second Edition (CVLT-II)
  • Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence (WASI)
  • Wechsler Memory Scale – Fourth Edition (WMS-IV)
  • Neuropsychological Impairment Scale (NIS)
  • Behavioral Rating Inventory for Executive Function (BRIEF)
  • Benton Visual Retention Test – 5th Ed. (BVRT)

Achievement Tests – Range of Ages

  • Wechsler Individual Achievement Test – Second Edition (WIAT-II)
  • Wechsler Individual Achievement Test – Second Edition -Abbreviated (WIAT II – A)
  • Wechsler Individual Achievement Test – Third Edition (WIAT-III)
  • Wide Range Achievement Test – III (WRAT-III)
  • Gray Oral Reading Test – IV (GORT-IV)
  • Nelson Denny Reading Test

Personality Tests – Range of Ages

  • Behavior Assessment System for Children, Second Edition (BASC-2)
  • Personality Inventory for Children, Second Edition (PIC-2)
  • Personality Inventory for Youth (PIY)
  • Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI) - Adult
  • Personality Assessment Inventory - Adolescents (PAI-A)
  • Rorschach Inkblots (Exner scoring)
  • Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI-A; MMPI-2;MMPI-2-RF- Restructured Form)
  • Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO PR-R)
  • Sentence Completion Series
  • Adult Attachment Projective Picture System (AAP)
  • Early Memories Procedure
  • Robert’s Apperception Test
  • Tell-Me-A-Story (TEMAS)
  • 16 PF

Vocational Tests

  • Strong Interest Inventory
  • Myers-Briggs Type Indicator Career Report