How is a neuropsychological assessment different from an assessment done by the school district?
I have been contracted by nearby school districts to conduct independent assessments of students, and I have provided training and consultation to many local school psychologists and counselors, so I have a solid understanding of how the special education process works. School districts are required by law to evaluate children for special education services if a child’s academic progress is significantly below grade level. The school psychologist may administer intelligence tests (IQ), and tests of other cognitive skills. A speech therapist might assess the child’s speech fluency as well as other aspects of language expression and comprehension. A learning specialist administers standardized tests of academic skills—reading, written language, and math.
The neuropsychological assessment is similar to the school assessment, but more detailed. Typically, it covers everything the school assessment does (except speech articulation), but it goes into greater depth in examining various aspects of cognitive processing. It is more “brain oriented,” in the sense that it starts with a fundamental understanding of how children’s brains work when they are learning and processing information. The neuropsychological assessment aims to create a picture of how the child learns best and identify the specific areas of weakness that lead to problems in learning. We closely examine many different kinds of thinking skills, from very simple, elementary skills to very complex, high-level skills.
For example, the assessment will evaluate the child’s abilities in auditory attention, visual-spatial processing, visual-motor integration, phonemic processing, memory, attention span, and executive functioning (planning, organization and inhibition). The results of this evaluation are then applied to an analysis of the child’s skills in reading (and other academic skills). This way, a comprehensive set of recommendations can be made to help the child succeed in school.
Some other differences:
- The neuropsychological assessment is usually more extensive and detailed than the school assessment. The neuropsychologist can diagnose ADHD and related mental health conditions; the school psychologist cannot make these diagnoses.
- The neuropsychologist can evaluate any child with learning problems—mild or severe—but the school often refuses to evaluate the student unless the student has already fallen significantly behind typical classmates. So, the neuropsychologist is able to catch learning problems earlier.
- The neuropsychologist works independently of the school district and is free of budgetary considerations. The neuropsychologist can also make recommendations for services or treatment not offered by the school, or even recommend a private school placement, but the school psychologist is limited to recommending services offered by the school. For these reasons, some parents feel that the neuropsychological assessment offers a more independent opinion about the child’s learning needs.
- The school district assessment is done at no cost to the parents. The neuropsychological assessment is paid for by the parents. It is sometimes covered by insurance if there is a suspicion of an underlying medical disorder, but health insurance usually does not cover “learning disability” assessments.
Parents can submit the results of an independent neuropsychological assessment to the school district as part of an IEP process to determine whether a child is eligible to receive special education services. The school can rely upon the neuropsychologist’s findings to make decisions about the child’s placement and instruction.
Continue to my next post to learn about the interventions that can help dyslexic students learn to read.
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2 says
Great Post. Thanks for sharing.