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A neuropsychological evaluation is a complex, detailed process that not only involves direct testing with the client themselves but consultation and inventories completed by parents, teachers, and/or other family members, as well as dicussion with relevant health care providers. In order to gather all the information necessary to ensure an accurate diagnosis, it generally takes two months from the time of the first session (the intake interview) to the feedback meeting, when the final report is completed, results are explained, and any questions are answered.
The first thing to do is to schedule an intake interview, by calling (603) 494-5920. The intake interview itself lasts roughly an hour. Adult clients are generally seen by themselves for part or all of the interview, although they are welcome to bring along a spouse, family member, or trusted friend if they prefer. If the client is a child or adolescent, Dr. Monaco first meets with the client by themselves before having their parents join in to provide more historical background and discuss their concerns.
New client paperwork includes a description of services, contact and demographic information, and forms providing vital background history. This will be provided to you once you make an intake appointment.
Complete the initial interview with Dr. Monaco, when you describe your concerns and what you're hoping to learn from the evaluation. Dr. Monaco will also ask about background information, such as family, medical, and academic history, as well as details about the presenting concern. This information is a critical part of developing a diagnostic hypothesis that will help identify the appropriate tests to use.
There can be several weeks between the intake interview and the testing appointments, as well as between the actual testing and the completed report. During this time, Dr. Monaco will ask parents, family members, teachers, and health care providers to complete inventories with their impressions of the client and may arrange to talk with them directly. During this time, please feel free to contact Dr. Monaco with any concerns or updates.
This is the part that most people think of when they hear "evaluation." Depending on the reason for referral, the client will complete tests assessing their problem-solving, memory, attention, executive functioning, social, emotional, and/or personality testing over the course of 1-3 sessions. Some of these tests are paper-and-pencil tests, other are completed on the computer, some require verbal responses, and others rely on visual skills. While adults may complete up to 5 hours of testing in one day, children are generally seen for no more than 2-3 hours at a time, in order to obtain the most accurate results.
By the final test session, Dr. Monaco will schedule a feedback meeting. This meeting is when the results are shared with the client, recommendations are reviewed, any questions are answered, and a final report is provided. We understand that this can be a lot of information to process in one setting and so Dr. Monaco is available if there are further questions in the weeks following the feedback as well.