Neuropsych? What can THEY do?

[Guest bookwormmama]

So my dd7 was referred to a neuropsych by her pediatrician. My dd has Aspergers and Sensory dysfunction... she also has dyslexia.

What can a neuropsych do for her? What is the normal protocol and what tests do they do? What are they normally looking for?

 

Thanks,

[Guest]

From my own experience with dd, a neuropsych doesn't "do" anything for your child in the sense of therapies or tutoring. They test extensively. Ours went for some eleven hours over several days with dd alone, plus another five or six hours of interviews and discussion with me. The tests covered everything from fine and gross motor skills to working and long-term memory to achievement and IQ testing to processing abilities in different areas.

 

What I got: a 28-page, single-spaced document breaking down and anaylzing the results of the testing in incredible, helpful detail: where dd's strengths were (I knew these, but not quite the extent of them) and not only what her weaknesses were (which I already knew) but what neurological functions were tripping her up or miswired somehow; a breakdown of all her skills levels and abilities, both physical and intellectual; an assessment of her emotional state and feelings about her strengths and weaknesses; detailed lists of recommendations for accommodating her in school and at home; tips on how to teach her using her strengths but also working on her deficits; ideas for prioritizing future interventions and therapies; things to watch for in the coming three or four years as she went into puberty and adolescence proper; lists of specialists and programs I might want to consult.

 

It was probably the most useful thing for ME that we did in all the years of consulting professionals. It was useful not only at the time but remains a road map now, three years on.

 

I had quite a good idea of what dd's general abilities, strengths, and weaknesses were, but this was so detailed; it gave me information on how she was putting (or not putting) things into working and long-term memory; and it also gave me official diagnoses plus suggestions on how to work with the problems.

 

I felt that this particular neuropsych was one of the very few people who really "got" dd and understood what she was like to live with and work with. She pinpointed where in the learning process dd was getting tangled up and where her incredibly powerful auditory memory was compensating and hiding some shortfalls. Even though I'd already done an enormous amount of reading on Asperger's, I still learned a lot about my child's mind and the details of its workings. As a homeschooler, this knowledge was absolutely invaluable.

[rafiki]

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[Maverick_Mom]

Related question -- when a child is referred for a neuropsych evaluation, does that typically mean "neuropsychological" or "neuropsychiatric"?

[Guest]

I think the usual reference is to neuropsychology.

 

I was referred specifically to the neuropsych we ended up using by an educational tutor/learning therapist who said she had never seen the enormous gap between mental capacity on one hand and my dd's writing on the other, and she didn't feel qualified to deal with her!

 

I think, although I'm not absolutely certain, that neuropsychologists are PhDs; some may also hold medical degrees. The one I went to had an extensive website that I read through. What I remember looking for was primarily her experience with kids, and whether or not she had some kind of speciality (like the spectrum) that she would perhaps "overspot" -- I'd encountered this before with a school counselor/psychologist. I called her and asked her a list of questions about the kinds of people she worked with, the testing process and length, what I could expect as a result, etc. Part of how I judged her was how willing she was to answer my questions without signing me up immediately or insisting I come into the office and pay to ask preliminary questions. She was so nice, and spent so much time reassuring me.

 

Then I met with her -- I don't remember anymore if it was just me, or if my dd was with us part of the time -- and basically the beginning of the evaluation process was also me seeing if I thought dd would be comfortable with her, if I felt comfortable with her. I asked her about how she worked with test results -- how did she come to a conclusion? Was there some kind of manual where she correlated the scores with a particular diagnosis or what? How many kids did she see in a typical year? What ages were they? Why did parents bring their kids in -- were they referred from somebody else, were they wanting accommodations in school/college, were they looking for general answers? What did she want parents and kids to go away thinking and feeling? What did she think was the most valuable part of the evaluation and why?

 

This particular neuropsychologist was also attached to our local university's hospital, where she taught. I looked up her recommendations from students (not to see how nice she was or how entertaining, but to see what kinds of classes she taught and what med students though they had learned).

 

I did a lot of preliminary work and I'm sure she got sick of my questions. But she was very patient and understanding, and I think I got a really good person who gave me information and help I might not have got anywhere else.

[Renee in NC]

Related question -- when a child is referred for a neuropsych evaluation, does that typically mean "neuropsychological" or "neuropsychiatric"?

 

In our case it is neuropsychiatry - an MD board certified in both psychiatry and neurology.

 

We are being referred because they are trying to figure out exactly what is wrong with my 9yo. The new psych thinks there may be actual brain damage because his delays have gotten worse over time (since he was an infant) rather than better. Normal thought is that developmental delays get shorter overtime as they development slows.

 

She mentioned things such as CT scans and MRIs.

[SailorMom]

We just completed testing (and recieved results on Wed) from a neuropsychologist. I don't know that we learned anything enw about where my son's deficits are - but I was able to find out more about his strengths - and what I should and should not be focusing on. He also gave me confidence that we were on the right track. Said homeschooling was absolutely the best thing we could continue to do.

He also asked our PCM to refer DS to a neurologist for an MRI and a reevaluation of his genetic mutation. That should be interresting :)

[Guest bookwormmama]

Wow everyone thanks so much for the info! This is sooo helpful.

It looks like our daughter was referred to a neuropsychologist so that is where we are going right now.

I am looking forward to this as I need some more concrete answers, etc, for my dd.

 

Thanks so much everyone.