How to understand neurophych report?
 

I finally received my neurophychological assessment report and from what I can understand it is rather shocking, and not so shocking as it fall in line with the areas I remember struggling with.

Does anyone have any good resources that I can look to that might help me understand this better?

PM the results to me and I will try to help you understand what they mean. I have had 3+ NPA's and have studied what they mean.

Thanks Mark.

I know for me, getting the results of my Neuropsych exam was devastating. I knew I was having cognitive challenges, but I didn't realise they were as bad as the exam showed :confused: The scores were so bad that I told my wife I scored slightly higher than that of a potato but not as high as a rutabaga...

If I take the "glass half full" perspective, the good news is that I can't possibly score lower on my next exam.

Now I understand what my low scores mean. I live in Idaho. I must have a potato for a brain.

I don't understand the concept of being devastated. The NPA just quantified what already existed. For me, I finally was able to understand and accept the reason why I was struggling. The NPA did not cause my struggles.

With knowledge, I could choose my battles. No need to fight against my dysfunctions. Instead, I went forward building on my strengths and learning work-arounds for my weaknesses.

lol @ Idaho potato.

___

Seriously though, isn't the whole idea of the testing to find out if you do have specific cognitive weaknesses [as well as show your strengths] so that you can move forward with professional help?

I often see members devastated by their results or really anxious about what their test may show. I do understand the concerns, honestly, but you won't always feel this way. If the tests show weaknesses in certain areas, it doesn't mean that you will always have that and in the meantime it allows your care team to direct treatments or advise about problems you may be having in school or work or with relationships.

Great advice that Mark has said below in the quote...

I've seen the same in young children dealing with many different neuro problems. Focus on strengths. Accommodate weaknesses.

Yup, I agree with that mantra. At the time I had the tests done, it was only 9 months in and I didn't fully comprehend my situation, how I was feeling, and that things might actually get better (still hanging on to this one).In the end, the Neuropsych attribute my performance to my headaches.

Now, my wife and I laugh about this quite regularly.

i had a severe TBI 13 years ago, I'm thinking of getting some evaluations and testing done to explain to myself what is or isn't damaged, and better understand what I'm really dealing with.

what do you do in a neurospych eval? can someone explain the exam and testing process, and how the results are presented to the patient, what is tested and what kind of stuff shows up, or is missed?

i may have had a neurospych eval a very long time ago, I'm not sure.

also what other tests would be recommended to map out my strengths and weaknesses?
I'm looking at getting a DEEG

thanks

agent,

Welcome to NeuroTalk.

What's a DEEG ?

A NeuroPsychological Assessment used a variety of different tests to quantify different kinds of intelligent, memory, cognitive skills, executive functioning, motor speed, processing speed, etc. It can take a minimum of a few hours to 8 hours or more. They cost from $1000 to $5000.

The patient usually is only given a report with general interpretations. Some will include scores and scales compared to normal populations of equal age, education, etc.

For many of us, an NPA just validates what we already suspect but in a way that helps us accept our dysfunctions as real vs imagined.

Some NeuroPsychs will use an NPA to try to direct therapy or changes in direction in career, etc.

So, agent,

What symptoms are you struggling with ?

Feel free to introduce yourself and start your own thread if you want. Use the New Thread button at the top left.

So, if I were to do an NPA and it came back good, would that be a good indicator that my issues may be more so psychological than physiological? What if my baseline was really high so that even though I got damaged I still score better than average?

I'm asking because my neuro suggested we do one if I really want to. If it comes back good I would focus on treating what my neuro thinks my biggest problem is: anxiety and depression.

It's my understanding that if your neuropsychological profile came back showing no cognitive difficulties then the treatment would shift to focus on other things like anxiety and depression that may be causing your difficulties.

This article explains qualitative vs quantative in there somewhere. Sorry if it's hard to read being so long.

The Neuropsychologist doing the testing would not only assess your situation on the quantative i.e. marked results against a "norm", they would also combine their qualitive assessment which is more of a clinical history and takes other things into consideration besides "scores" on the test.

http://www.bcmj.org/article/neuropsy...nical-overview
Neuropsychological assessment in mild traumatic brain injury: A clinical overview
Issue: BCMJ, Vol. 48, No. 9, November 2006, page(s) 447-452 Articles
Brenda Kosaka, PhD, RPsych

I think the initial feeling of devastation comes from the shock/surprise. One of the hallmarks of TBI is lack of self-awareness. While we're aware of some of our deficits, it's predictable that testing would highlight some that had escaped our notice. For example, I didn't realize, among many other things, that I repeated myself so much, had poor impulse control, the attention span of a gnat and difficulty with pattern recognition.

That said, once I got over the mourning, the test was an invaluable tool in my recovery. It allowed my cognitive therapy to be targeted toward my specific deficits. The neuro-psych was the best thing I did after my TBI.

I feel as if I don't have cognitive deficits after my TBI, and I'm afraid that the neuropsych eval will give me something new to worry about. Or it could just reaffirm my opinion and help me make the decision to focus my recovery on treating anxiety and depression. Double-edged sword.

The neuro-psych is the best tool for evaluating how your TBI is really playing out in your cognitive functioning. Don't be afraid of it. If all is well, great! If not, you can start on the therapies and adaptations that will make your life better.

Sadly, we TBI patients aren't always the best judges of how we're performing. Honestly, I didn't realize just how many deficits I was battling. However, once I knew, I got working on them. I have made a much better cognitive recovery than my neurologist predicted initially. That wouldn't have happened without the neuro-psych to document my injuries and get me into the proper treatment.

That is a really good way of looking at it. I know initially it was shocking, but then it was almost a relief that I had this formal report confirming what I was struggling with alone. Now I need to figure out how to move forward.

donnie,

Since you acknowledge your anxiety and depression, there is no reason to not focus on those issues. With them in a better managed condition, any cognitive or other symptoms will be much easier to accommodate.

Hi Mark,

Yeah I agree. What I really wonder is whether my anxiety and depression might actually be the main reason behind my fatigue and constant headaches; that's what my neuro thinks. I don't know how much I believe anxiety and depression can cause constant headaches like mine.