Comprehensive psychological and neuropsychological assessments typically involve 3 separate appointments:

1. The Diagnostic Interview – This is the initial meeting and involves a comprehensive review of the patient’s history and discussion about current symptoms/concerns. During this appointment, the provider will make decisions about which tests to order, provide an overview of the assessment process, and schedule follow-up appointments. The patient must be present for the Diagnostic Interview. Please bring any previous test results, medical records, or relevant educational information with you to this appointment.

2. The Testing Appointment – This appointment varies considerably depending on the nature of the assessment. Some testing appointments will last 60-90 minutes, while comprehensive academic or neuropsychological assessments can take an entire day to complete. During the Testing Appointment, the patient will work independently with the examiner – completing cognitive, academic, neuropsychological, and/or attention-related testing. Patients will also complete any self-report questionnaires. During this time, parents or caregivers (when applicable) will also have questionnaires to complete separately from the patient. Some assessments will require parent interviews with the examiner. Neuropsychological tests may involve memory, processing, attention, executive functioning, movement, language, and perception. As assessments are a lengthy process, please do not bring siblings, young children, or any other visitors to the appointment with you.

3. The Test Results Feedback Session – This is a meeting with the provider to review test scores, interpretations, any appropriate diagnoses, and recommendations for continued treatment. These recommendations will provide information about how to approach the diagnoses medically as well as in the home and school environments. A copy of the formal assessment report for your records will be made available at the time of the appointment or the following week (depending on the clinician and the type of assessment – this can be discussed in the initial meeting).

The typical assessment involves the 3 meetings described above, but it also requires additional time to score measures, interpret data, and write the formal report. The overall process may take approximately 10 hours to complete from start to finish (including face-to-face time, scoring, interpretation, and report writing). Because it is such a time-intensive process, we are not able to see a high volume of patients. As a result, patients may wait on average for 6-12 months for their initial Diagnostic Interview. Alliance maintains a cancellation list so patients can be moved forward in the case of earlier openings. If you miss an appointment, you may have to wait a considerable length of time before your appointment is rescheduled. If you are unable to attend an appointment or no longer wish to keep it, please call us in advance to reschedule so that we can fill your spot with someone from the cancellation list. Information about late cancellation and no-show fees is included in the new patient paperwork.

Thank you for your interest our practice! We look forward to working with you and your family. If you have any questions about the assessment process, please contact the office at (256) 801-8937 or email [email protected].