When & Why to Refer for Neuropsychological Assessment?

Referral for neuropsychological assessment is appropriate whenever there is doubt about an individual’s cognitive functioning. Areas of concern may include:

  • Short-term and long-term memory
  • Ability to learn new skills and solve problems
  • Attention, concentration, and distractibility
  • Logical and abstract reasoning functions
  • Ability to understand and express language
  • Visual-spatial organization, visual-motor coordination
  • Planning, synthesizing, and organizing abilities

 

Referring treatment providers will obtain the most from an assessment when the following is specified in the referral:

  • areas of cognitive and/or functional concern
  • type of conclusions desired (e.g., treatment planning, vocational planning, functional limitations, diagnostic impressions).

 

Individuals with a wide variety of suspected or known neurological disorders are referred for neuropsychological assessment, including:

  •  traumatic brain injury
  •  cerebrovascular disorders or risk factors for same (stroke)
  •  demyelinating conditions (Multiple Sclerosis)
  •  degenerative brain disorders (Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s)
  •  seizure disorders
  •  brain tumours (following surgery &/or radiation, chemotherapy)
  •  central nervous system infections
  •  complex/multiple medical conditions

 

Neuropsychological assessment is helpful for addressing questions related to:

  • Identifying a pattern of cognitive strengths and weaknesses.
  • Determining changes and disturbances in cognitive functioning in terms of presence/absence and severity of impairment.
  • Differential diagnosis.
  • Determining whether changes or dysfunction in cognition are associated with neurological disease, psychiatric conditions, developmental disorders, medical causes, other non-neurological conditions (e.g., motivational/effort), or a combination of etiologies.
  • Monitoring cognition.
  • Serial assessment of cognitive changes over time by tracking recovery/improvements or deterioration in cognition and developing a prognosis.
  • Planning.
  • Offering guidelines for rehabilitation, vocational, and/or educational planning.
  • Education.
  • Providing guidelines, expectations, and education for treatment providers, caregivers, and family.