The Center for Neuropsychological and Psychological Assessment (CNaP) offers neuropsychological and psychological assessment services for individuals from birth to age 30 with a range of medical, neurological, developmental, learning and behavioral concerns.
What is an evaluation / assessment?
Many families call our center requesting “neuropsychological testing”, but formal testing is not always needed to answer the referral questions or to provide recommendations to help the child.
Each child referred to our center is carefully matched to the most appropriate provider and service needed to answer the questions the family, school, and/or medical professionals have. We use a combination of the services below in our consultations, focused evaluations, and comprehensive assessments.
Below are some examples of the evaluations we offer through CNaP:
Diagnostic Interview:
Time: 30 minutes to 2 hours
Who Completes: Psychologist, Neuropsychologist, or Psychology Associate
Purpose: Interview with patient and/or caregivers to assess mental health symptoms, including history (medical, psychiatric, social), mental status, and diagnostic impressions.
Specific Areas of Emphasis: Typically to evaluate for mental health diagnoses / symptoms, to generate a treatment plan, and/ or to determine if further testing is needed or if other services are needed.
Neurobehavioral status exam:
Time: 30 minutes to 1 hour
Who Completes: Neuropsychologist
Purpose: Evaluation of neuro-behavioral domains to monitor change. To assess the impact of a neurological or medical condition on cognitive status.
Specific Areas of Emphasis: Involves clinical interviews and behavioral observations of mental status (e.g., memory, attention, language). In children with a medical condition, this is typically used as a stand alone service to track change over time and/ or to determine if further testing is needed or if other services are needed. It can also be completed as part of a more comprehensive assessment to use observations and interview to assess neurobehavioral status.
Psychological Evaluation:
Time: 2-6 hours
Who Completes: Clinical psychologist with specialized training in assessment
Purpose: Describe psychiatric/ developmental presentation, Clarify diagnosis, Make recommendations for treatment and supports
Specific Areas of Emphasis: Cognitive, emotional, & behavioral functioning in patients who do not have a complex medical condition
Examples: ADHD, mood and anxiety disorders, disruptive behavior disorders
Neuropsychological Evaluation
Time: 2-6 hours
Who Completes: Clinical psychologist with specialized training in neuropsychology (Neuropsychologist)
Purpose: Discuss brain-behavior relationships, Clarify diagnosis, Make recommendations for treatment and supports, Monitor cognitive status in the context of unstable medical condition or changes in treatment
Specific Areas of Emphasis: Cognitive, emotional, & behavioral functioning in the context of medical conditions.
Examples: epilepsy, brain injury, stroke, cancer, genetic conditions, prematurity, prenatal exposures
What might the evaluation include?
Assessments typically include a clinical interview or neurobehavioral status exam with the caregiver(s), observation of the child and, if needed, formal psychological or neuropsychological testing. Formal testing may include measures of the following: intellectual functioning, adaptive skills, attention/executive functions, language and language-related processes, academic/pre-academic achievement, nonverbal/visual processing, learning and memory, motor skills, personality and emotional functioning.
What are the evaluations used for?
Evaluation results can be used to:
- Assist in medical and educational planning
- Determine baseline functioning for follow-up
- Assist in diagnosis of relevant disorders
- Describe skill patterns that impact on school or work functioning
- Monitor change in functioning/status
- Clarify need for supervision or environmental accommodation
- Assist parents with life/school decisions
Types of evaluations not offered through CNaP:
Evaluations that are solely for educational purposes are not covered by any insurance. Parents are encouraged to contact the school system IN WRITING to request an evaluation for an IEP.
Psycho-educational or Educational Evaluation
Time: 2-6 hours
Who Completes: School psychologist, clinical psychologist
Purpose: Clarify academic concerns/ learning disabilities (e.g., dyslexia), Provide data for triennial screenings for IEP, Testing for school-based or standardized test accommodations
Specific Areas of Emphasis: IQ and Academic functioning
Examples: reading accuracy/decoding, fluency, comprehension, math, spelling, written expression
If you have spoken to your school system and they have declined to evaluate your child, please see the website below for potential resources and a template for a formal written request to seek an evaluation. Additionally, if your child is homeschooled, you are able to request an evaluation through their local school system. Please see the website below for additional information and resources.
Evaluations for Autism Spectrum Disorder
Center for Autism Services, Science and Innovation (CASSITM)
Evaluations to determine if a child has an Autism Spectrum Disorder are completed through CASSI by a variety of providers and teams.
Evaluations (psychological or neuropsychological) in children already diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Psychological and Neuropsychological Evaluations of children already diagnosed with ASD are also completed through CASSI by psychologists/neuropsychologists with expertise in ASD.
Trauma - focused evaluations
The Center for Child and Family Traumatic Stress (CCFTS)
Trauma-focused evaluations may be completed through the Center for Child and Family Traumatic Stress.
CNaP does not provide therapy or treatment services
Individual, group, and family therapies and medication management can be found in a variety of programs across the Institute, such as: