The importance of neuropsychological evaluation to know about a child’s learning and development

The human brain is the most important and essential organ in the human body as it controls all the voluntary (the movement of the arms, leg, body) and involuntary (physiological processes and activities inside the body) actions. There is a complete field of medical science known as ‘neuroscience’ which deals with the study of the nervous system and the functioning of the brain. The human brain receives and sends all the information inside the body with the help of millions of neurons, which allows the brain to control and monitor the thought, emotions, and movements of an individual. Neuroscience is a vast field in itself, and the particular study of the relationship between the brain and the nervous system and how it affects the way an individual function daily is called ‘neuropsychology.’ The neuropsychologist is experts who know about the functions of the brain, and they conduct evaluations to know the behavioral changes which may have occurred to an injury or illness in the central nervous system.

The child or pediatric neuropsychology is the study of the relationship between the brain development and functioning and behavior of young kids. There are people of all ages who suffer from different neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Multiple sclerosis, Epilepsy, and Migraines. Child psychology emphasizes the learning of a child’s brain functioning on his behavior and conduct. One of the toughest things to do is understanding the personality and behavior of a child completely. The brain of a child develops at a pace which is not controlled in any way. Two children of the same ages may react differently to a problem and think differently for a solution. The need of neuropsychological evaluation arises when a parent is worried about the child’s development which includes the child’s language skills, motor skills, problem solving skills, visual spatial, cognitive skills, and adaptive functioning. The neuropsychological evaluation for child near me will help to know if the child is suffering from certain diseases or disorders which includes Down syndrome, Autism Spectrum disorder (ASD), Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Traumatic Brain Injury, and other various behavioral and emotional disorders. The neuropsychological evaluation is a comprehensive test and assessment of behavioral and cognitive changes of an individual done by use of certain written test and procedures. The parents may feel the need for a neuropsychological evaluation of their child to identify concerns in particular areas which includes

  • Cognitive
    • Problems in verbal and non-verbal reasoning and solving of issues
    • Delay is adaptive learning and functioning
  • Language
    • Difficulties in speaking and understanding of language.
    • Challenges in carrying out a normal conversation
    • Trouble in understanding even commonly spoken phrases
  • Self-regulation
    • Having trouble to focus on things, getting easily distracted
    • Need reminders and prompts to complete the tasks or work
    • Struggle to understand and perform multiple step commands
    • Problem is remembering things and forgetting things
  • Academic
    • Getting low grades in the examination
    • Difficulties in comprehension, fluency, doing arithmetic problems, spelling and sentence formation
    • Needing extra time and effort to complete the homework and assignments
  • Behavioral problems
    • Verbal or physical aggression
    • Self-injury and hurting oneself
    • Defying commands from the parents and senior people
  • Social
    • Not interested in conversing or interacting with peers.
    • Ignoring to respond to the peers
    • Limited to their selves
  • Emotional
    • Getting easily upset and sad
    • Irregular eating and sleeping patterns
    • Thinking most of the time negatively
    • Lack of interest in anything
  • Visual spatial and visual motor
    • Poor formation of letter and words
    • Difficulty in using motor skills such as in buttoning shirt, tying laces, or unwrapping items
    • Struggling in understanding multiple images such as so many math problems on a single sheet of paper.

The neuropsychological evaluation for a child near me are all non-invasive solutions with no pain, surgeries, therapies, or need of electrodes. The evaluation is conducted by a qualified and experienced neuropsychologist who takes 4 to 5 hours to provide the test, assess the responses of the child, and analyze the written test submitted by the child. The evaluation can be scheduled by the parent in a single appointment or a series of sessions with 1 or 2 hour time duration. The common test needed to judge the intelligence of the individuals are the Benton Visual Retention Test and the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale. The written test includes different questions, and the scores of the child are used to measure intelligence, language, problem solving, attention and memory, visual perception, hand movements, social skills, and anxiety. The results of the test are evaluated by the neuropsychologist and used to

  • Clarify or disregard a diagnosis
  • Provide the strengths and weaknesses of the child and recommend further education, training or therapy session
  • The proper recommendation to other specialists which includes educational therapists, neuropsychologist, cognitive professionals, and vocational counselors.

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