Neuropsychological Evaluations Specialist in Palo Alto, Orange, and San Francisco, CA

Neuropsychological Evaluation

A neuropsychological evaluation is intended to provide accurate diagnosis and to facilitate evidence based treatment planning. We use a data-driven framework to offer an empirically grounded comprehensive evaluation for better understanding the underlying reasons for an individual’s struggles. Additionally, in identifying an individual’s areas of strength, we can also promote the development of personal compensatory strategies to mitigate the impact of any cognitive difficulties on one’s daily lives. Such findings then enable appropriate treatment planning, facilitate rehabilitation, psychotherapy targets, identify the appropriateness of medication consultation, and help individuals regain their independence and quality of life. We seek to communicate this information in a way that is digestible in relation to the individual’s abilities, and individualized so that this information can be meaningfully harnessed to improve wellness. Such a process facilitates a detailed road map for the next steps in an individual’s path toward symptom reduction and improved well being.

A comprehensive evaluation utilizes concrete test data, alongside observations of strategies used in approaching novel tasks, and a methodical history taking approach which accounts for the whole person (including their childhood history, medical and psychological history, experiences in school, work, and home life, relationships, and current life stressors) through discussion with the patient, their loved ones, and their treating providers, as deemed appropriate.

We are passionate about providing high quality, empathic care in an environment that is welcoming and tailored to our patients’ unique histories, symptoms, and life experiences. We are committed to offering accurate, thorough, and compassionate evaluations to help individuals thrive.

Overall, neuropsychological services seek to empower individuals to overcome challenges and improve self-esteem, function optimally in their various environments and endeavors, facilitate their ability to reach their full potential, and enhance their overall well-being. We look forward to the opportunity to discuss how we might be of value in your own journey toward optimized wellness.

Neuropsychological evaluation for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD):

Many individuals have struggled with lifelong problems with attention, concentration, planning, organization, and overcoming procrastination, but have never been formally evaluated or offered appropriate diagnosis or treatments. Often in complex or particularly high functioning individuals, the extent of these struggles may be masked until the demands of the environment outweigh their coping strategies. As an older adolescent or adult, an individual may begin to experience more prominent challenges for a variety of reasons. In such situations, the appropriateness of medication options, targets of psychotherapy interventions, behavioral strategies, relevant accommodations, and other relevant supports, are especially important to identify.

Neuropsychological evaluation for ADHD allows for clarification of the underlying condition(s) which may explain an individual’s attention and concentration difficulties. Such an evaluation entails a highly comprehensive approach for better understanding patterns of attention, processing speed, memory, and higher order cognitive functioning, and places this into a larger context that allows for meaningful interpretation of these findings. Accurate diagnosis may also provide important information about a person’s strengths and weaknesses and inform the development of an effective treatment plan for optimizing everyday functioning. Ultimately, this integrative process facilitates accurate differential diagnosis in which any overlapping conditions or factors may be appropriately considered and integrated into the diagnostic framework. We appreciate that untreated ADHD may confer significantly negative impacts to an individual’s academic, social, and occupational functioning, and therefore tailored, personalized evaluation is essential for equipping the individual with the knowledge and resources necessary to overcome such underlying challenges.

Possible outcomes of a neuropsychological evaluation for ADHD include a diagnosis of ADHD or a diagnosis or another condition believed to explain one’s difficulties, or a detailed explanation of other relevant factors which may explain an individual’s everyday struggles. These findings will ultimately result in targeted recommendations for medication appropriateness, therapy targets, environmental supports, academic or occupational accommodations, and other relevant recommendations.

Neuropsychological testing for ADHD is an important process that can allow individuals with disruptive symptoms to receive an informed diagnosis based on objective findings. This will then open doors to allow individuals to receive the necessary support and interventions to overcome their specific challenges and improve overall quality of life. 

Neuropsychological Evaluation for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD):

Neuropsychological evaluations for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) can assist in facilitating accurate diagnosis and providing an understanding of an individual’s cognitive and psychosocial strengths, challenges, and treatment needs. For a variety of reasons, an adolescent or adult with underlying ASD may not have received a diagnosis or appropriate intervention as a child. Lack of appropriate diagnosis in such cases can have major implications for an individual’s well being and quality of life, and it is thus important to undertake a process whereby one’s underlying social emotional and sensory processing characteristics can be fully considered and elucidated. In other cases, an individual with an established diagnosis of ASD may require an updated evaluation to assist with further treatment planning, and such an assessment may provide a more nuanced and current understanding of their characteristics and symptoms, strengths and weaknesses, and areas requiring ongoing intervention, in order to bolster their functioning. In all cases, given the significant variability in presentation, disruptiveness, treatment needs, and strengths/weaknesses profiles among individuals with ASD, it is critical that individuals receive accurate and individualized evaluation to promote their highest levels of functioning. 

The process of a neuropsychological evaluation for ASD involves a comprehensive assessment of various domains (including intellectual abilities, language functions, social communication, sensory processing, memory, and attention/executive functioning). This process allows us to glean valuable insights into an individual’s unique profile of abilities. Individuals with ASD also often have very significant areas of strength and exceptional ability, and with identification of such areas, we are able to offer more nuanced information regarding the ways in which an individual may harness individual strengths to overcome weaknesses. Such findings then enable us to create tailored and detailed interventions to maximize their potential, including providing relevant evidence-based interventions, such as behavioral therapies, social skills training, and recommendations for family support. Additionally, such an evaluation can also identify comorbid conditions that may be present together with ASD, such as anxiety or ADHD, which may require independent treatment, leading to provision of particularly refined treatment strategies.

Taken together, neuropsychological evaluation offers a comprehensive and individualized approach to support individuals with ASD. Through accurate assessment and tailoring of individual interventions, we seek to empower individuals with ASD to learn of their unique gifts and to each their full potential.

Neuropsychological Evaluation for Medical and Neurologic Conditions:

A variety of known or suspected medical conditions (including long COVID-19, chronic fatigue syndrome, liver or kidney dysfunction, Lyme disease) and neurologic conditions (stroke, traumatic brain injury and concussion, seizures, brain tumor, brain infection, neurodegenerative processes including dementia and mild cognitive impairment) can result in a host of cognitive symptoms, including distractibility, forgetfulness, brain fog, and difficulty carrying out daily activities.

Neuropsychological evaluation allows for an objective assessment of the presence and extent of cognitive weaknesses across various brain regions and networks, and allows us to understand if there is an underlying neurocognitive condition causing these challenges and to clarify the extent of any such abnormalities and their impact on real world functioning. Such evaluation is intended to facilitate recommendations on opportunities to improve symptoms, including through individually tailored strategies and therapeutic targets, and ultimately to enhance overall quality of life. A neuropsychological evaluation can also assist with monitoring the course of any changes in cognitive difficulties over time in order to further refine knowledge of underlying conditions and to facilitate treatment planning. Finally, neuropsychological evaluation can assist in identifying co-occurring conditions which separately require targeted treatment. For example, patients with medical conditions may experience anxiety or depression which may exacerbate their physical or cognitive symptoms. By identifying these co-occurring conditions, we may facilitate treatment planning that address both the medical or neurological and the psychological aspects of an individual’s condition.

Taken together, neuropsychological evaluation may clarify the presence and extent of cognitive abnormalities in relation to underlying conditions, tease out the impact of any comorbid condition, facilitate assessment of change over time, and optimize treatment planning relevant to those conditions. This knowledge is very important for clarifying the next steps to help a person achieve their best levels of functioning.

Neuropsychological Evaluation for Psychiatric Conditions:

Neuropsychological evaluation may be conducted to facilitate better understanding of aspects cognitive and emotional functioning in individuals with known or suspected psychiatric disorders including anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, post-traumatic stress disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, and other relevant conditions. A battery of measures is used to evaluate aspects of attention, memory, processing speed, language, and executive functioning skills, as well as an individual’s unique emotional and personality functions.

Such an evaluation can facilitate diagnostic clarification of complex psychiatric disorders, clarify the extent to which mental health symptoms are impacting everyday cognitive functioning, identify the presence of any co-morbid conditions that are also affecting everyday life, and facilitate an individualized treatment plan including addressing important targets for psychotherapeutic intervention, consideration related to the appropriateness of medication consultation, and other relevant considerations.

A neuropsychological evaluation may be an important step in better understanding underlying mental health conditions and their impact on cognition and everyday functioning, and illuminating a tailored road map for optimizing wellbeing.