A pediatric neuropsychological evaluation can provide key information for understanding your child’s functioning in areas such as intelligence, memory, attention, perception, coordination, language, and personality. Neuropsychological evaluation are sometimes suggested by your child’s teacher, therapists, and physician provide treatments and interventions for your child that will meet his or her unique needs. Pediatric neuropsychological evaluations are appropriate for children and adolescents ages 6 to 18. 

Why are children referred for neuropsychological evaluation and what is assessed?

Children are referred by a doctor, teacher, school psychologist, or other professional because of one or more problems, such as:

• Difficulty in learning, attention, behavior, socialization, cognitive/developmental delays, or emotional issues

• A disease or inborn developmental concern

• A brain injury from an accident, birth trauma, or other physical stress

A typical neuropsychological evaluation of a school-age child may assess these areas: 

• General intellect abilities

• Academic Achievement skills, such as reading and math

• Executive skills, such as organization, planning, inhibition, and mental flexibility

• Attention

• Learning and memory

• Language

• Visual–spatial skills

• Motor coordination

• Behavioral and emotional functioning

• Social skills

Some abilities may be measured in more detail than others, depending on the individual child’s needs. A detailed developmental history and data from the child’s teacher may also be obtained. Observing your child to understand his or her motivation, cooperation, and behavior is a very important part of the evaluation. 

Emerging skills can be assessed in very young children. However, the evaluation of young children is usually shorter in duration, because the child may not yet have developed many of the relevant skils.

What can we expect from a pediatric neuropsychological evaluation?

A neuropsychological evaluation usually includes an interview with parents about the child’s history, observation of and interview with the child, and testing. Testing involves paper and pencil and hands-on activities, answering questions, and sometimes using a computer. Parents and teachers may be asked to fill out questionnaires about their child’s development and behavior.

A trained examiner, or technician, may assist with the administration and scoring of tests, so your child may see more than one person during the evaluation. Parents are usually not in the room during testing, although they may be present with very young children. The time required depends on the child’s age and the referral question.

How to prepare for your child’s neuropsychological evaluation

Please be sure to:

• Make sure your child has a good night’s sleep before the testing. 

• If your child wears glasses or a hearing aid or any other device, make sure to bring it. 

• If your child has special language needs, please alert us to these. 

• If your child is on stimulant medication, such as Ritalin, or other medication, check with the us beforehand about coordinating dosage time with testing. 

• If your child has had previous school testing, an individual educational plan, or has related medical records, please bring or send this information and records to the neuropsychologist for review. 

What you tell your child about this evaluation depends on how much he or she can understand. Be simple and brief and relate your explanation to a problem that your child knows about such as “trouble with spelling,” “problems following directions,” or “feeling upset.” Reassure a worried child that testing does not involve “shots.” Tell your child that you are trying to understand his or her problem to make things better. You may also tell the child that “nobody gets every question right,” and that the important thing is to “try your best.” Your child will probably find the neuropsychological evaluation interesting, and the detailed information that is gathered will contribute to your child’s care.