What will results tell me

An assessment can help determine an individual’s pattern of strengths and weaknesses. Neuropsychological assessments are sensitive to mild weaknesses that might not be noticeable in daily life. A neuropsychological assessment can determine whether cognitive changes are due to normal aging or a neurological condition. Many medical conditions can impact cognitive functioning including diabetes, sleep apnea, seizures, drug use, depression, and infection. An assessment will help identify these problems.

When potential cognitive problems are identified, an assessment can help provide targets for treatment to improve an individual’s cognitive functioning in daily life. Improvement in many medical conditions can result in improvement in cognitive functioning in daily life. Strengths identified through neuropsychological assessment can be used to help compensate for weaknesses when recovering from illnesses or injuries such as after a traumatic brain injury or stroke.

Different illnesses result in different patterns of cognitive impairment. The results of an assessment can be useful for determining which areas of the brain have been injured and what illnesses might be present.

Sometimes the assessment is used to establish a baseline of an individual’s strengths and weaknesses before there is a problem. This baseline can be used to track changes in cognition and behavior over time if needed.