Toronto School Neuropsychology
Dr. O'Connor has completed post doctoral training in school neuropsychology. She offers school neuropsychological assessments to children, adolescents and young adults. She takes referrals from educational personnel, physicians, pediatricians, personal injury and family lawyers, mental health professionals and organizations.
The young people Dr. O'Connor works with typically require comprehensive, in depth school-neuropsychological assessments to get to the root of the psychological/learning issues that plague them. The traditional psychoeducational assessment does not provide the in depth, comprehensive assessment and analysis that her young clients require. This applies specifically to the underlying neuropsychological processing concerns that young people with learning and other psycholological problems often exhibit. The comprehensive, in depth analysis the school neuropsychological assessment offers leads to the development of evidence based, targeted interventions tailored to the individual needs of the young person.
Dr. O'Connor includes the components of a psychoeducational assessment within the school neuropsychological assessments she provides. These include measures of cognitive abilities, academic achievement and screeners to explore social and emotional functions. Dr. O'Connor includes these measures during the initial assessment session, and then proceeds to the more fulsome school neurological assessment if required.
What Is School Neuropsychology?
School
neuropsychology applies knowledge about brain behaviour relationships
to children and adolescents. It integrates knowledge about school
systems, special education laws and procedures, special education interventions and educational neuroscience into the
practice of pediatric neuropsychology. A "comprehensive skill set" which is achieved through post graduate training in school neuropsychology, or other similar programs, is required to effectively analyze assessment data and behaviours from a brain behaviour perspective.
School Neuropsychology utilizes neuropsychological and educational principles to assessments and interventions with young students. School neuropsychology builds understanding of the brain behaviour relationships that underlie the psychological challenges that present in young people and lays the foundation for the development of evidence based targeted interventions to address them.
Toronto School Neuropsychological Assessments
Dr. O'Connor's School Neuropsychological Assessments explore the neuro-biological
underpinnings of childhood learning and behavioral problems. School neuropsychological assessments reveal the young person's neuro-cognitive strengths and weaknesses across a range of domains. This neurocognitive pattern of strengths and weaknesses provides an understanding of how the neurocognitive weaknesses/deficits the student shows affect his/her functioning in areas of concern. It also provides an indication of the student's neurocognitive strengths, and leads to evidence based interventions, which incorporate the student's neurocognitive weaknesses and strengths.
School neuropsychological
evaluations are comprehensive, in depth assessments that increase
understanding of the
brain-behaviour relationships that underlie the psychological and
learning challenges
that present in young people. The assessment provides a comprehensive, in depth profile and analysis of the young
person's
neurocognitive strengths and weaknesses across various neuropsychological domains. These include sensorimotor functions, auditory and visual processing, learning and various types of memory, executive functions, processing speed and cognitive efficiency.
When To Consider School Neuropsychological Testing
Students who show any of the following concerns may benefit from a school neuropsychological assessment:
- The student is showing processing deficiencies on a psychoeducational evaluation.
- The student shows valid large scatter in psychoeducational test performance.
- The student has a known or suspected neurological disorder.
- The student is returning to school after a head injury or neurological insult.
- The student has shown a dramatic drop in achievement that cannot be explained.
- A student who has been diagnosed with or is showing signs of a head injury. This includes a student who has suffered a head
injury, including a mild brain injury or concussion.
- A student with a known or suspected learning disability.
- Students with neuro-developmental risk factors (e.g., prenatal exposure to alcohol, cocaine/cannabis exposure, environmental toxin exposure, nicotine exposure, low birth-weight and prematurity).
- Students with acquired or
congenital brain injury (e.g., anoxia, brain tumours, encephalitis, genetic
abnormalities, meningitis, neurofibromatosis, cerebro vascular diseases or seizure disorders).
- Students who show post traumatic symptoms either from a single acute traumatic event or as the result of chronic, ongoing stressors and who is showing behavioural and/or learning problems.
A School Neuropsychological Assessment Can Help
School neuropsychological assessments are comprehensive, in depth assessments that increase understanding of the brain-behaviour relationships that underlie the psychological and learning challenges that present in young people. They provide a profile of the young person's neurocognitive strengths and weaknesses across a range of domains, which leads to evidence based, targeted interventions.
This pattern of both strengths and weaknesses offers an understanding of how the neurocognitive weaknesses/deficits and strengths the student shows inhibits his/her functioning in areas of concern.
School neuropsychological assessments provide a more comprehensive, in depth assessment than the traditional psychoeducational assessment. This applies specifically to the underlying neuropsychological processing concerns that young people with learning and other psycholological problems often exhibit. The traditional psychoeducational assessment can serve as a critical screener to identify whether a more fulsome school neuropsychological assessment is required.
The School Neuropsychological Assessment can assist when the student has suffered a brain injury, or is showing PTSD as the result of a MVA or other trauma or insult. The School Neuropsychological Testing quantifies the severity of the young person's impairments and provides objective, valid and reliable measures of cognition, emotions, personality and behaviour. These results can also help inform effective intervention programs.