All patients considering surgery to treat epilepsy will need to complete a neuropsychological evaluation as part of their pre-surgical work-up. This formal assessment is very detailed and provides a high quality clinical picture of how a patient is developing and how the patient’s medical condition may be impacting his/her level of functioning.
It is essential in directing medical and surgical treatment, and is used to treat the patient comprehensively by helping design both educational and therapeutic interventions.
Testing sessions typically take 1-3 hours for infants and toddlers, 4 hours for school-aged children, and 4-6 hours for older adolescents and young adults. Areas typically assessed include intellectual functioning, reasoning and problem-solving, attention, executive functioning, language, learning and memory, processing speed, and visual-motor skills. Some brief academic testing may also be included. In addition, your child’s behavioral adjustment and social-emotional functioning will also be assessed, to provide care that takes into account the “whole person” and is consistent with your child’s unique strengths and needs.
