Senior Evaluations

Neuropsychology is defined as the branch of psychology that deals with the relationship between the brain and function such as language, memory, and emotion.

One way to think of neuropsychology is to compare it to an MRI. While an MRI scan evaluates the structure of the brain, neuropsychological testing evaluates the function of the brain.

The results of a diagnostic neuropsychological evaluation can lead to answers that provide a roadmap for treatment and accommodations.

Neuropsychologists are clinical psychologists that are fellowship trained in the field of neuropsychology. This makes them experts in the administration and interpretation of testing and testing results.

A full neuropsychological evaluation at Thomson Memory Center varies by age and specific concern. In general, evaluations follow this structure:

1. Once your appointment is confirmed, our Scheduling staff will send you an intake questionnaire to complete in advance of your appointment. Please complete the form at home and bring the completed form with you for your Thomson doctor to review on the day of your appointment. 
2. Plan to arrive 15 minutes early to complete the check-in process, which includes providing your insurance card to the Front Desk staff. 
3. You may bring a loved one with you to your appointment.
4. Your doctor will greet you and take you, and others who may have accompanied you, to their office.
5. Typically, the first hour of your appointment is reserved for a clinical interview during which the doctor will go over your intake questionnaire with you in greater detail to better understand the difficulties that you or your loved one are experiencing. Don’t be surprised if your doctor asks you a lot of questions, we are simply trying to be thorough and make sure that we fully understand what you have been experiencing on a day to day basis. 
6. After this initial hour of clinical interview, the doctor or a technician will continue to work with you for the remainder of your appointment on various neuropsychological tests that will help the doctor better understand your cognitive abilities. These are generally paper and pencil tests; no needles or bodily fluid samples are taken from you. Anyone that has accompanied you to your appointment and participated in the clinical interview will be asked to wait in the patient lounge before testing begins.
7. The testing process can take anywhere from 2 to 6 hours, depending on the clinical question that you have asked of the doctor. Some individuals complete testing sooner than the allotted time, some individuals take a little longer. This is nothing to be alarmed about and is not necessarily diagnostic in and of itself.
8. Neuropsychological testing is lengthy with the aim of being comprehensive. It is natural to feel daunted by this and to experience some fatigue as the day progresses. You will be offered frequent breaks and refreshments will be made available to you so that you can work through the tests to the best of your ability. It may sound tough, but all we ask is that you put forth your best effort and leave the rest to your Thomson doctor. We are here for you and will do all that we can to help you feel comfortable and supported.
9. After testing is complete and your initial appointment is done, your Thomson doctor will look over the test results, analyze the data in the context of the information that you shared with them during the clinical interview, and prepare a report. 
10. Your Thomson doctor will review their findings and recommendations with you, and whomever else you decide to bring with you, during your follow-up feedback appointment. This is typically a one-hour appointment. Please do not hesitate to ask your doctor any and all questions that you have regarding your symptoms, your diagnosis, and the doctor’s recommendations at this time. We want you to walk away from this appointment feeling prepared with next steps about how to move forward to improve your overall day to day cognitive functioning.