Neuropsychological Evaluation

A NEST neuropsychological evaluation identifies your child's strengths and challenges as a learner. It sheds light on how your child's brain functions and impacts their ability to learn. Some children have an atypical profile of strengths and challenges that can make managing classroom, social, or general life demands difficult. The results of a neuropsychological evaluation will guide us in developing a plan of intervention to address areas of vulnerabilities and ensure that strengths are optimized. To fully understand your child’s needs, we explore the various ways they function across multiple settings (school, home, with friends) as well as their sensory processing, nutrition, health issues, and sleep. We link evaluation findings to classroom behaviors to create a comprehensive and practical plan that promotes learning and social success.

Specific areas evaluated include: Intelligence , Receptive and Expressive Language Skills, Visual-Spatial, Visual-Motor Skills and Fine-Motor Skills, Academic Skills in Reading, Math and Writing, Social-Emotional Functioning, Attention, Problem Solving, Memory, Executive Functioning

Psychoeducational Evaluation

A NEST psychoeducational evaluation is used to gain a global sense of your child’s current level of functioning and areas of difficulty. It is shorter and less comprehensive than a neuropsychological evaluation but does provide sufficient information to identify specific learning disabilities/differences or giftedness and to pick up on emotional distress that may be affecting your child's functioning. While a psychoeducational evaluation can help you understand what learning challenges your child may be experiencing, it does not typically detail why they exist. Results of a psychoeducational evaluation can be used to provide recommendations for general learning and counseling support. In some situations, a psychoeducational evaluation may be good place to start, especially if your child has never been evaluated before.

Specific areas evaluated include: Intelligence, Academic and Achievement Skills in Reading, Math and Writing, Social-Emotional Functioning

These areas of functioning are primarily assessed through standardized tests administered in our office. Questionnaires and parent/teacher input are used as needed to help us understand how your child behaves in school and at home.

Test Accommodations and Language Waivers

Children with learning disabilities may struggle when taking classroom tests and standardized specialized exams like the ISEE, SAT and ACTs. We will help facilitate accommodations for your child, such as 1.5x extended time, taking the exam in a separate location, and extended breaks to help your child reach their full potential.

Parent and School Consultations

It takes a team to get a child all the accommodations they need! At NEST we believe that ongoing communication and collaboration is essential. We work with teachers, and other school staff to ensure that your child’s needs are being met, and to promote consistency between parents and school goals and interventions.
At NEST we also offer Individual Parent Consultations to parents who are unsure whether or not an evaluation is needed or are seeking a second opinion regarding diagnosis and treatment recommendations provided by another professional.

Parent Support

At NEST, we believe that helping parents fully understand their child’s strengths and weaknesses is essential to achieving optimal outcomes. We work with parents on setting realistic expectations, developing strategies to help their child learn, and supporting social development. Our goal is to reduce the stress surrounding learning issues, which is paramount for success both in and out of the classroom.

Psychotherapy

The NEST team approach is both compassionate and pragmatic. Our goal is to connect with children and their families to address any presenting problems and improve quality of life. Drawing from multiple treatment approaches, including psychodynamic and cognitive behavioral psychotherapy, we will help your child develop adaptive coping strategies, and bolster their self-esteem and confidence. Social-emotional development is strongly emphasized, with the goal of helping your child gain lifelong strategies to benefit them in and out of the classroom.

Referrals to Support Services

NEST also provides referral services to outside professionals for educational remediation, occupational and speech/language therapies, psychiatric evaluations, and school placement. We have many close connections and will work with you to find providers who will best meet your child’s needs.