The evaluation is a series of appointments. First, there is an intake meeting where we meet with the parents and review the student’s history in depth. When evaluating emerging adults, we like to meet with parents to gather childhood history either together with the patient or at a separate appointment, depending on the patient’s preference.
For elementary school aged children, we often observe in the classroom. We schedule the school visit prior to the first meeting with the child so that they do not know that we are observing them. Testing is conducted over the course of two full days, four mornings, or a combination of full days and mornings depending on the child’s age, attention capacity, and scheduling considerations.
The evaluation includes measures of cognitive/IQ testing, processing speed/efficiency, visual processing, visual-motor/fine motor skills, sensory processing, auditory processing, language processing, memory, attention, executive functioning, and academics (i.e., reading, writing, and math). We also do comprehensive social/emotional testing (i.e., personality testing), which is then integrated with the neurocognitive results to provide a comprehensive understanding of the patient as a whole person. Each test battery is custom-tailored to the individual so that we get sufficient information to understand the issues without wasting time and resources on unneeded measures. We like to consult with any providers working with the patient as well, such as teachers, tutors, therapists, etc.
About three weeks after the last testing session, parents (or the emerging adults) come back for a feedback meeting to review results and recommendations. There is a written report that is emailed shortly after the feedback meeting; our reports meet or exceed documentation requirements for accommodations on high-stakes tests. The recommendations section is typically divided into three subsections: academic recommendations, recommendations for outside help/therapies, and recommendations for home. We will also help to connect you with appropriate providers if needed. The last appointment is with the student, where we have a developmentally-appropriate conversation about what we learned about them.