Hi Soccer,

I know how hard today was for you - but it's an outcome that promises to make all the tomorrows of the rest of your life a lot better.

As for the neuro-psych, it's painless, but exhausting.

You'll meet with your neuro-psychologist and do a series of tests (verbal, written, motor skills) that are designed to see how your brain is actually functioning.

In advance of your appointment, he/she will want all of your medical records, educational transcripts and letters from employers and friends to try and get a clear picture of pre-morbid you that can serve as a baseline and determine which tests would be most appropriate.

You will also have a long pre-interview where the neuro-psychologist will ask you questions about yourself, your injury, etc... They like also to talk to a close family member or friend to help get a more complete picture. (For example, I had no idea that I constantly repeated myself until my husband said it and all my friends mentioned it in their letters.)

The testing is usually done over the course of one long day. However, they can break it up if that proves too tiring for you.

Most of the time you will get your results in about two weeks. The neuro-psychologist will call you and a family member (if you want) in for a long discussion about your results and make any treatment suggestions. You will also get a written report.

I understand that you might feel apprehensive about getting neuro-psych feedback. However, it's not as bad as you might imagine. Frankly, it's not that you don't know something is wrong. During the testing, you may find, as I did, that there are tasks you can't do at all. And, of course, you've seen your MRI and live with your deficits every day. So, in short, while the specifics and extent might surprise you, the news that you have a brain injury isn't news at all.

In a funny way, listening to my neuro-psych was a relief. Finally someone understood how I was thinking and feeling and behaving and could explain to me exactly why I was thinking, feeling and behaving that way. Before that, I thought I was going nuts.

The neuro-psych also helped target my cognitive therapy and got me access to some of the support services I obviously needed.