School Neuropsychology
School Neuropsychological Assessments -Toronto
Are you worried about a young person-child, adolescent or young adult-who exhibits worrisome learning/academic and/or social, emotional and behavioral concerns? Is the young person showing or suspected of having significant challenges that would benefit from a more comprehensive assessment, than the traditional psycho-educational evaluation? Dr. O'Connor holds a diplomate in school neuropsychology. She provides comprehensive, in depth school neuropsychological assessments to children, adolescents and yound adults. The young people she 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.
What Is School Neuropsychology?
School neuropsychology is a critical practice area, one which applies 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.
Dr. O'Connor's post doctoral training in School Neuropsychology leads to comprehensive, in depth school neuropsychological assessments based on brain-behavior principles. School neuropsychological assessments integrate neuropsychological and educational principles within the assessment process and the interventions that follow.The school neuropsychological assessment is part of the solution and leads to evidence based interventions to assist young people, their families, the school and others who work with them, to address the psychological challenges they face.
Dr. O'Connor, a licensed clinical and school psychologist offers comprehensive in depth school neuropsychological assessments to children, adolescents and young adults who are suspected of having or showing significant challenges that are interfering with their ability to cope successfully at school, at home and within the community.
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.
How Can A School Neuropsychological Assessment Help?
School neuropsychological assessments provide a profile of the young person's neurocognitive strengths and weaknesses across a range of domains, and 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.
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When To Consider A School Neuropsychological Assessment
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.