February 1, 2024

Neuropsychological testing for kids at NSPT

A pediatric neuropsychological evaluation aids the psychologist in determining a diagnosis from ADHD, Autism to emotional or behavioral disorders.

A child receives a referral for neuropsychological testing when there are concerns about one or more areas of development. Certainly, these areas of concern can include cognition, academics, attention, memory, language, socialization, emotional regulation, behavioral concerns, motor difficulties, visual-spatial, and adaptive functioning. Testing can identify your child’s learning style and cognitive strengths. Lastly, through testing, our neuropsychologists can recommend accommodations to implement at school and at home.

What is a neuropsychological evaluation?

A neuropsychological evaluation aids the psychologist in determining a diagnosis.
Such as:

How do I know if my child needs a pediatric neuropsychological evaluation?

An evaluation is usually recommended if your child has a medical condition such as Down syndrome, epilepsy, or a traumatic brain injury (TBI). So, the goal of the evaluation is to identify your child’s strengths and weaknesses. With this information, we can provide the right treatment recommendations, determine progress and response to intervention, and monitor functioning.

After your pediatrician has made a referral for a neuropsychological evaluation, you need to schedule an intake appointment. Typically, each intake appointment is one hour long.

Is my child eligible for testing at NSPT’s neuropsychological testing center?

Due to our growing team, we are able to test a larger population. Most noteworthy, we offer three types of testing services:

  • Early Childhood Developmental Assessment
    This is a multidisciplinary approach where our team works with a speech therapist and occupation therapist to assess children ages 15 months to 3 years, 11 months with developmental concerns ranging from socialization, language, and motor development. Each of the 3 scheduled testing appointments are typically on separate days.
  • Neuropsychological Evaluation
    NSPT’s standard neuropsychological evaluation for individuals ages 4 through college-age.
  • Adult ADHD assessment
    This is a new service we are now offering to adults who are interested in an ADHD evaluation. Typically, this is a one-day, 4-hour evaluation.

What should I expect during the neuropsychological intake?

  • Your first appointment is centered around talking with the psychologist about your areas of concern. Therefore, you will be asked to do the following:
  • Provide information about your child’s history.
  • Including medical, developmental, academic, attention, behavior, motor, and social history.
  • Inform the psychologist of any current, or past, services your child receives, such as:
  • speech-language therapy
  • occupational therapy
  • physical therapy
  • individual therapy
  • academic tutoring

What to bring to the neuropsychological intake:

  • You and your child
  • Completed intake paperwork
  • Similarly, any prior psychological/neuropsychological evaluation (if applicable)
  • Your child’s most recent 504 Plan or IEP (if applicable)
  • Additionally, any recent private intervention evaluation (e.g., speech-language therapy, occupational therapy)
  • Certainly, don’t forget your child’s most recent report card or standardized exam scores
  • Finally, any relevant medical information (e.g., EEG report, CT/MRI scan report)

Lastly, after the intake, you will schedule the testing session for your child.  Most of the time, testing is completed in one day (5 hours of testing). Occasionally, the testing will be completed over two days.  The psychologist will create a neuropsychological battery based on the areas of concern. However, the battery is subject to adjustment on the day of testing.  Typically, this occurs if another area of concern arises during the testing session.

To sum up, a pediatric neuropsychological evaluation can also help to determine any appropriate therapies such as speech or Applied Behavior Analysis. For more FAQ, click here.

Download our Guide for Families

We know that choosing a local ABA facility can be a hard decision. We’ve created an informational guide to help you understand more about the questions you should be asking while meeting with different providers.

Although we talk about our services here, our highest goal is for you to feel comfortable and knowledgeable about picking a provider that is the best fit for your needs. You are making a decision that will impact the entire trajectory of your child’s life!
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The cover of the NSPT Guide for Families, which helps families to figure out the questions to ask when picking an ABA provider.

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Success looks different for every child... But we bet we have a story that matches your child's needs. Like James, who started with us as non-speaking and lacking the ability to initiate and maintain social interactions. Today, he can speak complete sentences, clearly state his needs, and navigate social interactions with his friends!

Our infant daughter was in physical therapy with Anna Zahn for about five months.  Anna was consistent, patient, and wonderful with our daughter.  Anna was also clear in her communications with us as parents which helped us understand our daughter's progress and needs, as well as how we could help our daughter at home.  While we are proud that our daughter graduated PT, we will miss Anna's warmth and kindness.

Emily

I love this place! Chista is an amazing person, so sweet and kind and very professional in her work. All staff are very kind with children. I feel happy to find this place for my daughter. Thank you!!!

Maria Di Rita

I cannot say enough nice things about the staff! My son worked with Khadija as his ABA therapist and is finishing up this week with his OT, Sabrina. They were really instrumental in helping us navigate a new diagnosis. Both were so easy to approach with questions. From Leeann at the front desk to the RBTs (Alex, Rabbia, Molly, and many others), we always felt so welcomed. It seems like the staff genuinely enjoy their jobs, consistently offering feedback and suggestions on how to help my son.

Jennifer Peyer

We have been working with the amazing team at NSPT for many years. They have been essential in understanding and supporting our child. I recommend their services to anyone looking for their specific type of support.Posted to

Monica Terése Carranza

They are so sweet and kinds persons with professionalism and really worried about the kids and how help they to get new skills and moving forward with knowledge.

Alejandra M.

NSPT is fantastic! All of the staff are wonderful, accomodating, and make you feel welcome and comfortable. Alan is fantastic - he has helped our family tremendously and has such patience and purpose in everything he does.

Alex Ehrhardt

North Shore Pediatric Therapy has been amazing.  They have done a great job adjusting to the specific needs of my autistic child.

Matt Nakanishi

My 12 yr old son has a lovely support team in Robert (Social Work) and Lindsay (OT)! He gains so much from his sessions & I gain so much from the communication and brainstorming! Thanks!

Jennie Meyer

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