Adolescent and Young Adult

Adolescent and young adults are generally referred for testing by parents, school districts, pediatricians or specialized medical providers, and/or outpatient therapists. There may be concerns about changes in academic performance, changes in behavior and emotional control, the effects of injury or illness (such as concussion), or a lack of improvement over a course of treatment, like psychotherapy. As these are times of significant change and development anyway, our evaluations help to differentiate what is expected and normal from what indicates a problem requiring intervention.Evaluations can be quite lengthy in this age range, and can easily take an entire day (6-8 hours) to complete. The evaluation begins with an interview with the patient and their parent/guardian. We ask that if there have been any prior psychological or neuropsychological evaluations, or relevant medical tests, that copies of results from these evaluations be provided at this time, as these will inform both the interview and later testing.The patient will then engage in testing of all domains of cognition. At the same time, their parent/guardian will complete questionnaires that provide further detailed information useful in honing diagnosis. By lunchtime, most of the cognitive portion of the assessment is completed, and afterwards, any remaining cognitive tests are finished. They will generally finish the day by filling out questionnaires and participating in other tasks that yield information regarding their personality and emotional functioning.

A feedback session is then scheduled and compiled data are presented at that time. Ideally, both family and the patient are present for that session; when feasible, an outpatient therapist or other provider may also attend. Results are shared via a conversational style, and specific recommendations are offered. A report will arrive in the mail shortly after this session, and any new information that arose during feedback will be included in the final report.

Oftentimes, results from these evaluations significantly impacts a young person's academic life. As part of the fee for the evaluation, we will plan to attend one PPT meeting at the school, either in person or over the phone. We find that this helps to ensure that everyone is on the same page and that meaningful changes are created via collaboration. As with all of our evaluations, should either the teen/young adult or their parent have further questions about findings after the feedback and/or PPT, we are glad to answer these questions and to clarify findings via phone conversations. We are also always glad to hear from a family when the teen's functioning has improved!