A neuropsychological evaluation offers insight about your child's specific pattern of development in the areas of cognitive, social, emotional, adaptive, and personality functioning.

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A neuropsychological assessment will reveal your child's unique strengths and weaknesses and their learning profile through the use of paper-and-pencil, interactive, and computerized tests. In other words, a neuropsychological evaluation will help you understand how your child’s brain functions and processes information, and how that translates in school and/or daily life. This process will give you insight into the links between how your child sees the world and how he/she learns, thinks, relates to others, and manages his/her feelings. This broad ranged view of a student is of great importance when a team (including the parents) is trying to learn how your child thinks and feels, why your child has trouble with some tasks, and what your child needs to help them thrive.

Has your child been exposed to two or more languages from birth or from a very young age (typically before 2 years old)? Or has your child learned a second language after they mastered the first? Nevertheless, a bilingual assessment is critical for children who speak more than one language and/or have been raised in a bilingual environment.

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Bilingual children often demonstrate mixed profiles of language development. For example, they may be stronger in one domain of language in their primary language yet stronger in another domain of language in their secondary language. It is important to consider that many bilingual children may not demonstrate the same level of performance across domains (e.g., vocabulary learning, word knowledge, syntax, discourse, comprehension, etc.). Researchers have found that even when children are dominant in one language or the other, they often know some items in the weaker language that that they do not use in the stronger language (Bedore et al., 2005; Pena et al., 2002). Because language is learned in context, children learn vocabulary items in the language in which they hear and use them (Pearson, Fernandez, Lewedeg, & Oller, 1997); Pena et al., 2002). Therefore, a bilingual assessment is important to consider because bilingual children may exhibit different language and thinking profiles in comparison to their monolingual peers.

An independent educational evaluation (IEE) is an evaluation of a student by a qualified professional who does not work for a school district responsible for the education of the child.

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The evaluation is typically initiated by a parent and/or a school district when additional information or a second opinion is needed for a child's education, placement, or services. The pediatric neuropsychologist will answer the referral questions requested from the school district. Typically, the assessor will comment on whether the student has a disability and needs special education and other services within the school environment.

Neuropsychological assessment is frequently requested to ascertain specific accommodations that the student is entitled to in school and testing settings.

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Accommodations, such as extended time, extra breaks, and read-alouds serve to level the playing field and offer equal opportunity for the student to show what they have learned.

Accommodations are task-specific in that they are designed to reduce or eliminate the impact of the impairment on an activity. Legally, accommodations are not designed to bring out the optimum in a student, but rather to stop failure.