I wrote in another post about my son’s struggles in his first year of college. He is scheduled for a neuropsych evaluation in 2 weeks and we have already done the initial consult. If your student has had one of these done, I have a few questions:
What was invloved in the testing? I know its 6-8 hours but I’m just curious as to what the various components are like.
What did you find out about your student? Any surprises?
Anyone find out that there is nothing wrong with your student? Our neuropsych assured me that is a possibility. (even though he said parents always want to find “something” esp after they spend all that $$)
What kind of treatment/med suggestions came out of the evaluation and have you seen any progress?
Well, we learned he didn’t have adhd (which I knew, the same way I knew his brother did very early on, never mind my husband), that he had anxiety and depression (which we also knew, but he was able to get accommodations in college with the report), and that he’s very bright (which was good for him realize). I wasn’t there so not exactly sure on that end, although the questions I had to answer were a lot.
A neuropsych eval definitely helped to pinpoint my S’s issues. Once the testing was done and we met with the neuropsych the things our S struggled with immediately made sense and we could better support him. Forward to now and he is (thankfully) a successful young adult.
I will say that having an excellent neuropsych is critical.
It’s a long series of established psychological and neurological tests along with a self questionnaire and often a parent and/or teacher questionnaire as well. All of this information is combined to share feedback on where the person appears vs. normative data in various areas and, potentially, a diagnosis if appropriate. If there is a diagnosis, very often there will be recommendations for particular treatments and/or accommodations.
I second @2plustrio’s note above that the real value for us was in him hearing and seeing that everyone lives on a spectrum in all areas and getting him interested in understanding how his brain worked.
I know in these posts, we often type quickly and don’t necessarily say here what we’d say to our kids but take care about using words like “find out there’s nothing wrong” if you’re talking with your kid. Even if they are using that language, it’s important that they hear from you that it’s not about right or wrong, smart or dumb, normal or broken. It’s all just information and they get to decide what to do with it.
So much this. As someone married to a neurodivergent person who grew up thinking they were lazy and stupid because the adults in the room ignored issues, evaluation and support is critical. Therapy and medication work for my spouse. A life coach to help with executive functioning and organization would also be helpful.
My S23, currently a senior but almost 19 years old, just had his first full neuropsych evaluation this spring. During the meetings with the psychologist he did a bunch of “tests“ that ranged from doing math problems to reading comprehension to staring at a box and clicking when an X appeared to an IQ test, and more. She also just talked to him and asked him about his life and how he thought and felt about things and observed his behavior. There were also tons of questionnaires that he filled out and we filled out.
My son was diagnosed with ASD, which we expected, but also anxiety, depression, and slow processing speed, which we did not expect. The recommendations were, honestly, all things we are already doing, but it was positive to see that we have been on the right track and also for my son to see that the support services we have been recommending he take advantage of are also recommended by a professional.
One neuropsych. tested for ability to focus but said the environment of the test was artificial so not to rely on that result. Another neuropsych. , and two psychiatrists, told us there is no objective test for ADHD. There are questionnaires for the student and parent but of course those are subjective.
Other aspects of the testing were more objective and very helpful.
Anxiety and depression can affect focus, concentration, attention so those are possible confounding factors.
It helps to frame tests as a way to learn about learning style so that the right learning environment and supports can be ascertained- the positive spin you are already doing!
Thanks so much for all the replies. This is super helpful. Appreciate the comment about avoiding saying things like “nothing wrong”. Definitely something to keep in mind as we move forward and its so great to hear the success stories. I realize its just information and we (and he) need to decide what we do with that information going forward.
And please be aware that even if you find out something is “wrong” or neurodivergent, it can be a winding path between knowing and “fixing”. Some times fixing is not possible but managing is, but can be challenging to have your kid accept the challenge and take the steps needed to be successful.
Hope you get some good information and a diagnosis.