CHILD NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL SCREENINGS
Neuropsychological screenings of children/adolescents (ages 3-17) assess various aspects
of cognitive, academic, and behavioral functioning. Screenings provide information about
the child’s strengths and weaknesses to identify ideal learning environments. Screenings
also help identify problems that may not be obvious. Results can help determine if the
child would benefit from specific interventions such as referral to educational specialists,
rehabilitation therapist (e.g., occupational or speech therapists), or other professionals.
Baseline data is important for monitoring the child's functioning over time, and this
information would be valuable if the child were to ever sustain an injury (e.g., concussion)
to determine possible effects of the injury. Finally, results can provide an early screening
for giftedness.
Child neuropsychological screenings involve the following:
1. Interview of the parent/guardian. Behavior rating scales are also completed ahead of
time by the parent/guardian.
2. Formal tests in the following domains:
Formal testing is approximately 2.5-3 hours. A report is prepared summarizing the test
results (including test scores) and recommendations, and a feedback session is held to
explain the results and provide referral sources or other resources.
How can neuropsychological screenings be helpful?
1. Determining strengths and weaknesses:
Each child has a different style for learning new information and approaching new tasks.
For example, some children are hands-on/visual-spatial learners, and tend to be good at
"big picture" processing of new problems. However, these children may have weaker
phonological processing (and subsequently, weaker reading and spelling abilities). Other
children demonstrate stronger language and phonological processing abilities, but may
have weaker visual-motor/visual-spatial skills and “big picture” processing (resulting in
concrete/literal thinking and a preference for details and facts). These children often
perform well in earlier grade levels, but may develop problems in later grades when
academic information becomes more complex and abstract. Child screenings are useful in
exploring the strengths and weaknesses of each child, and recommendations are given to
improve the child’s functioning in areas of weakness.
2. Screening for disorders:
Screenings are helpful for determining whether a child meets criterion for a disorder
and/or is at risk for developing a disorder. Examples include:
*ADD/ADHD (i.e., problems with inattention and/or hyperactivity/impulsivity)
*Learning Disorders (e.g., Reading Disorder/Dyslexia; Math Disorder, Spelling/Writing
Disorders)
*Autism or other pervasive developmental disorders
*Neurological injury/illness
*Language disorders (e.g., expressive language disorder)
*Psychiatric disorders (e.g., mood disorder, anxiety disorder, psychotic disorder, etc.)
*Nonverbal learning disorders
*Motor coordination disorders
*Sensory integration disorders
3. Baseline assessment:
Neuropsychological screenings provide a baseline of a child's functioning in various
cognitive and academic domains, and this information is valuable if the child were to ever
experience a concussion or another neurological injury/illness. In those instances,
repeated testing can help determine whether there has been a significant change in
functioning. Unless baseline data is available before an injury/illness, it is difficult for
neuropsychologists to determine whether there has been a change in functioning above and
beyond what could be related to natural strengths and weaknesses before the injury. Dr.
Baker provides parents/guardians with the raw test scores so this information is available
to other providers in case the child is re-evaluated in the future.
Steps after the screening:
Parents are provided with feedback regarding the screening results, and then provided with
a report summarizing the findings and recommendations. If significant impairments are
found, parents have the option of having the child complete a full neuropsychological
evaluation on another day to obtain more extensive information about the areas of
difficulty. For example, if a child demonstrates normal abilities in most domains, but
exhibits significant impairments in phonological processing, verbal learning, and rapid
verbal retrieval, in-depth testing would include a complete battery of phonological tests (i.
e., to assess phonological awareness, rapid naming, and phonological memory), additional
verbal learning/memory tasks, and additional tests of verbal/language retrieval. This
additional testing helps to develop a comprehensive picture of the child's functioning. If
parents/guardians decide to pursue a full neuropsychological evaluation, the screening cost
is applied toward the cost of the full evaluation.
Is treatment available after the screening is finished?
Dr. Baker provides short-term treatment to teach the child and parents/guardians various
strategies to improve the child's functioning. For example, if a child has problems
focusing her/his attention, an intervention can be developed to teach her/him to better
monitor attention and refocus at times she/he is drifting off. For children with
organizational deficits, interventions focus on teaching step-by-step systems for becoming
more organized, including modeling this behavior and giving the child feedback. For
children with impulsive behaviors, interventions often focus on teaching strategies for
slowing down and double-checking their work. To monitor the effects of interventions,
questionnaires administered to parents and teachers can be re-administered at the
conclusion of treatment to re-assess the areas of difficulty and determine if (and to what
extent) improvement has been made.
Additional information:
For information about the cost of a neuropsychological screening, see the
"Payment/Scheduling" page of this website.
If you are interested in scheduling a neuropsychological screening or want to talk to Dr.
Baker about whether a screening may be useful, feel free to call (602-274-1462) or e-
mail (jasonbaker@bakerneuropsychology.com) him.
Neuropsychological screenings of children/adolescents (ages 3-17) assess various aspects
of cognitive, academic, and behavioral functioning. Screenings provide information about
the child’s strengths and weaknesses to identify ideal learning environments. Screenings
also help identify problems that may not be obvious. Results can help determine if the
child would benefit from specific interventions such as referral to educational specialists,
rehabilitation therapist (e.g., occupational or speech therapists), or other professionals.
Baseline data is important for monitoring the child's functioning over time, and this
information would be valuable if the child were to ever sustain an injury (e.g., concussion)
to determine possible effects of the injury. Finally, results can provide an early screening
for giftedness.
Child neuropsychological screenings involve the following:
1. Interview of the parent/guardian. Behavior rating scales are also completed ahead of
time by the parent/guardian.
2. Formal tests in the following domains:
- Intellectual/academic screening (screens for giftedness; assesses basic academic
skills). - Learning/memory (important for learning and retention of academic material)
- Language (e.g., phonological processing is important for reading and spelling;
expressive/receptive language; determines if a child may need speech/language
therapy). - Attention/concentration (e.g., focused and sustained attention; screens for attention-
deficit disorders). - Executive functions (e.g., self-monitoring and impulse control).
- Visual-spatial/visual-motor (e.g., visual-spatial analysis, visual-motor coordination);
results can determine if a child may need occupational therapy or other services.
Formal testing is approximately 2.5-3 hours. A report is prepared summarizing the test
results (including test scores) and recommendations, and a feedback session is held to
explain the results and provide referral sources or other resources.
How can neuropsychological screenings be helpful?
1. Determining strengths and weaknesses:
Each child has a different style for learning new information and approaching new tasks.
For example, some children are hands-on/visual-spatial learners, and tend to be good at
"big picture" processing of new problems. However, these children may have weaker
phonological processing (and subsequently, weaker reading and spelling abilities). Other
children demonstrate stronger language and phonological processing abilities, but may
have weaker visual-motor/visual-spatial skills and “big picture” processing (resulting in
concrete/literal thinking and a preference for details and facts). These children often
perform well in earlier grade levels, but may develop problems in later grades when
academic information becomes more complex and abstract. Child screenings are useful in
exploring the strengths and weaknesses of each child, and recommendations are given to
improve the child’s functioning in areas of weakness.
2. Screening for disorders:
Screenings are helpful for determining whether a child meets criterion for a disorder
and/or is at risk for developing a disorder. Examples include:
*ADD/ADHD (i.e., problems with inattention and/or hyperactivity/impulsivity)
*Learning Disorders (e.g., Reading Disorder/Dyslexia; Math Disorder, Spelling/Writing
Disorders)
*Autism or other pervasive developmental disorders
*Neurological injury/illness
*Language disorders (e.g., expressive language disorder)
*Psychiatric disorders (e.g., mood disorder, anxiety disorder, psychotic disorder, etc.)
*Nonverbal learning disorders
*Motor coordination disorders
*Sensory integration disorders
3. Baseline assessment:
Neuropsychological screenings provide a baseline of a child's functioning in various
cognitive and academic domains, and this information is valuable if the child were to ever
experience a concussion or another neurological injury/illness. In those instances,
repeated testing can help determine whether there has been a significant change in
functioning. Unless baseline data is available before an injury/illness, it is difficult for
neuropsychologists to determine whether there has been a change in functioning above and
beyond what could be related to natural strengths and weaknesses before the injury. Dr.
Baker provides parents/guardians with the raw test scores so this information is available
to other providers in case the child is re-evaluated in the future.
Steps after the screening:
Parents are provided with feedback regarding the screening results, and then provided with
a report summarizing the findings and recommendations. If significant impairments are
found, parents have the option of having the child complete a full neuropsychological
evaluation on another day to obtain more extensive information about the areas of
difficulty. For example, if a child demonstrates normal abilities in most domains, but
exhibits significant impairments in phonological processing, verbal learning, and rapid
verbal retrieval, in-depth testing would include a complete battery of phonological tests (i.
e., to assess phonological awareness, rapid naming, and phonological memory), additional
verbal learning/memory tasks, and additional tests of verbal/language retrieval. This
additional testing helps to develop a comprehensive picture of the child's functioning. If
parents/guardians decide to pursue a full neuropsychological evaluation, the screening cost
is applied toward the cost of the full evaluation.
Is treatment available after the screening is finished?
Dr. Baker provides short-term treatment to teach the child and parents/guardians various
strategies to improve the child's functioning. For example, if a child has problems
focusing her/his attention, an intervention can be developed to teach her/him to better
monitor attention and refocus at times she/he is drifting off. For children with
organizational deficits, interventions focus on teaching step-by-step systems for becoming
more organized, including modeling this behavior and giving the child feedback. For
children with impulsive behaviors, interventions often focus on teaching strategies for
slowing down and double-checking their work. To monitor the effects of interventions,
questionnaires administered to parents and teachers can be re-administered at the
conclusion of treatment to re-assess the areas of difficulty and determine if (and to what
extent) improvement has been made.
Additional information:
For information about the cost of a neuropsychological screening, see the
"Payment/Scheduling" page of this website.
If you are interested in scheduling a neuropsychological screening or want to talk to Dr.
Baker about whether a screening may be useful, feel free to call (602-274-1462) or e-
mail (jasonbaker@bakerneuropsychology.com) him.
