All children are unique and grow and develop at different their own pace. Some children, however, seem to struggle to reach developmental milestones at the expected time and need more help to be successful academically, emotionally, and/or socially. Most often, a child’s parents are the first to notice and express concern about their child’s development, and may observe problems in school, at home, or during social interactions with others. Parents seek evaluation services to increase their understanding of their child’s functioning to guide their efforts to help. Other reasons evaluations are requested include:

A comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation measures multiple aspects of brain functioning including reasoning skills, processing speed, working memory, language development, visual processing skills, memory, attention, concentration, executive functioning skills, and emotional and behavioral functioning. Academic achievement testing is also administered if there are concerns about academic skills or a possible specific learning disorder in reading (dyslexia), math (dyscalculia), or written expression (dysgraphia).

A clinical interview with the parent(s) and neuropsychological evaluation with the patient is conducted on the same day, and is typically completed in one day-long session with breaks, just like a typical school day. Testing with the child/adolescent usually entails a combination of paper and pencil tasks, computerized games, and questionnaires. If testing in an all-day format is not feasible for your child, the evaluation can be spread across two appointments on separate days.

Results are communicated to you in the form of a comprehensive written report and via a thorough feedback session/meeting in person or by phone, typically within two weeks of the completion of the evaluation. The follow-up appointment will be made directly with Dr. Miller on the day of the evaluation.

Pediatric neuropsychologists and school psychologists often use some of the same tests. However, school evaluations focus on deciding if a child has a problem with academic skills such as reading, spelling, or math. School-based evaluations cannot identify a clinical diagnosis, which is often needed to inform treatment outside of school interventions.

Pediatric neuropsychologists focus on understanding why a child is having problems in school or at home. This is done by examining academic skills but also examining all of the thinking skills needed to perform well in and outside of school – skills like memory, attention, and problem-solving.

Understanding a child’s specific thinking strengths and weaknesses helps to better focus school plans and medical treatment and understand potential areas of future difficulty. Because neuropsychologists have training in clinical psychology, they are also able to diagnosis emotional problems like depression and anxiety.

By comparing your child’s test scores to scores of children of similar ages, Dr. Miller will create a profile of your child’s strengths and weaknesses. The results help those involved in your child’s care in a number of ways.
Testing can explain why your child is having school problems. For example, a child may have difficulty reading because of an attention problem, a language disorder, an auditory processing problem, or a reading disability. Testing also guides the design of interventions to draw upon your child’s strengths. The results identify what skills to work on, as well as which strategies to use to help your child.

Testing can help detect the effects of developmental, neurological, and medical problems, such as epilepsy, autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD), dyslexia, or a genetic disorder. Testing may be done to obtain a baseline against which to measure the outcome of treatment, or the child’s development over time. Different childhood disorders result in specific patterns of strengths and weaknesses. These profiles of abilities can help identify a child’s disorder and the brain areas that are involved. For example, testing can help differentiate between an attention deficit and depression, or determine whether a language delay is due to a problem in producing speech, understanding or expressing language, social shyness, autism, or cognitive delay.

Most importantly, testing provides a better understanding of your child’s behavior and learning in school, at home, and in the community. The evaluation can guide teachers, therapists, and you to better help your child achieve his or her potential.

Many children fear new experiences, and coming to an evaluation can certainly be a cause for anxiety. It is important to tell your child that the neuropsychological evaluation will not be like any other doctor appointment, as there will be no shots or physical examination. Children should be reassured that the evaluation is designed to look at how their brain works and how they think, learn, remember things, etc. and in order to do that, they will be asked to do different activities that involve listening, talking, looking at things, building things, and drawing.

If there is something that your child is concerned about in school (e.g., perhaps he or she knows that listening, paying attention, reading, or doing math has been difficult), you can tell him/her that we are doing these activities to see how we can help fix those problem or make life better at school. Some parents also choose to offer their child an incentive or reward to look forward to at the end of the appointment such as play or activity time together, or a favorite food or other treat.

ADHD can have a significant impact on an individual's quality of life, affecting their work, relationships, and overall well-being. Accurate diagnosis and treatment can help individuals better manage their symptoms, improve their functioning, and enhance their overall quality of life.

Many adults with ADHD were not diagnosed during childhood, either because the disorder was not recognized or because they did not exhibit symptoms until later in life. Identifying and treating ADHD in adulthood can help individuals understand and address longstanding challenges and provide a sense of validation and relief that comes from understanding their experiences.

Evaluation for ADHD can rule out other potential causes of symptoms, such as anxiety or depression, and ensure that individuals receive appropriate treatment for their specific needs. Overall, testing for adult ADHD can be a critical step in improving an individual's mental health, well-being, and overall quality of life.