Neuropsychological Evaluation

What Is A Pediatric Neuropsychological Evaluation?

A pediatric neuropsychological evaluation explores how your child thinks, learns, and processes the world. It is an evidence-based assessment of your child’s cognitive, behavioral, and emotional functioning designed to understand their unique neurodevelopmental profile.

The results highlight your child’s individual strengths and challenges to give your family a clear roadmap for:

School Support: Informing academic planning, accommodations, and school advocacy.
Targeted Treatment: Pinpointing the exact therapeutic interventions and strategies that will help.
Family Guidance: Providing practical tools and deeper clarity for home life.

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When a Neuropsychological Evaluation Can Help

If neurodevelopmental, behavioral, or medical factors are impacting your child’s functional trajectory, a comprehensive evaluation provides the diagnostic clarity needed to guide intervention. We offer specialized clinical assessment and targeted support for:

Executive Function & Attention: Diagnostic clarity for suspected ADHD, attentional vulnerabilities, and deficits in cognitive flexibility or problem-solving.
Academics & Information Processing: Identifying specific learning disorders (reading, writing, mathematics) to inform clinical accommodations and school advocacy.
Social-Communication & Regulation: Comprehensive profiling for suspected autism spectrum profiles and complex behavioral or emotional regulation challenges.
Medical & Neurocognitive Shifts: Assessing acute or chronic cognitive changes secondary to concussions, epilepsy, oncology treatments, prematurity, or genetic conditions.

Whether establishing a baseline diagnostic profile or seeking long-term advocacy, we provide the empirical data required to understand and support your child.

What We Assess in a Comprehensive Pediatric Neuropsychological Evaluation

A detailed examination across cognitive, developmental, social, emotional, and functional domains.

Cognitive Abilities

Verbal skills or language skills, visual-spatial skills, processing speed, and fluid reasoning abilities.

Attention and Executive Function

Ability to focus, sustain attention, shift between tasks, self-manage, persevere, initiate, and manage complex problem-solving.

Academic Skills (Reading, Writing, Math)

All areas of academic learning, including reading fluency and comprehension, written expression, and math computation and reasoning.

Memory and Information Processing

How your child encodes, stores, and retrieves both verbal and visual information.

Social-Emotional and Behavioral Functioning

Emotional regulation, social understanding, self-awareness, behavior patterns, level of anxiety, and mood.

Adaptive and Functional Skills

Ability to manage daily living skills, self-care, independence, and social interaction appropriate to their developmental level.

What a Neuropsychological Evaluation Can Identify

A comprehensive evaluation can provide clarity across a wide range of concerns, including:

ADHD
Autism spectrum disorders
Dyslexia and other reading disabilities
Dysgraphia and other written language disabilities
Dyscalculia and other mathematical disabilities
Memory disorders
Impact of medical conditions (such as chemotherapy, neurological disorders, or epilepsy) on overall cognitive and functional status
Recovery and functioning following concussion or other brain injury
Impact of emotional disorders and stress on cognitive, neurodevelopmental, and learning status
Other learning challenges

Types of Support We Provide

Pediatric neuropsychology at Children’s BMC goes beyond a single evaluation. Depending on your family’s needs, our clinicians may provide:

Diagnostic consultations to help determine the right type of assessment or intervention
Screenings for general cognitive concerns, private school entry, or highly capable program consideration
Comprehensive neuropsychological evaluations when deeper diagnostic clarity is needed
School liaison services to help families communicate recommendations to teachers and districts
Intervention and follow-up support, including guidance on strategies, referrals, and coordinated care

How the Evaluation Works: Step by Step

A process designed to understand your child and give your family answers and a path forward.

Intake / Consultation

We meet with you and your child to understand your concerns and gather relevant history and records. This helps us prepare for assessment and puts your child at ease. Bella, our office dog, may greet you in the elevator. If you or your child are uncomfortable around dogs, let us know ahead of time and we will plan accordingly.

First Testing Session

Your child completes standardized assessments (typically 2 to 3 hours) in a supportive, one-on-one environment with built-in breaks. We use evidence-based measures tailored to their developmental level.

Second Testing Session

A second session (1 to 2 weeks later, similar length) continues testing. Multiple sessions allow us to gather comprehensive data and observe patterns across different contexts.

Analysis and Integration

We analyze all data, including test results, observations, developmental history, and school records, to develop a comprehensive understanding of your child's cognitive, emotional, behavioral, and functional profile and strengths.

Feedback and Recommendations

We meet to review findings in practical terms and discuss specific recommendations for school supports, home strategies, referrals, and any needed treatment. You receive a detailed written report.

How to Get Started

1. Call Us

2. Your First Appointment

3. Begin Care

A member of our team will talk with you about your child’s needs, help identify the right service, and answer any initial questions. No referral needed. Call us at (253) 256-3626 or email admin@childrensbmc.com.

We begin with an intake or consultation to understand your child’s history, gather information, and learn what matters most to you and your child. Bring any school evaluations, IEP/504 plans, past evaluations, or report cards you have – but if you don’t have anything, that’s fine too.

Whether you’re starting an evaluation, therapy, or a skills group, we guide you through each step and keep you updated throughout the process. We’re collaborative from day one – a partner in your child’s journey.

If you’d like details about insurance, fees, what to expect, and frequently asked questions, you can learn more at Get Started.

Frequently Asked Questions

We see children of all ages, from toddlers through college-age young adults. We adjust the activities and assessments to match where your child is developmentally so the process feels natural, and we take time to help them feel comfortable so they can do their best.

No referral is needed. You can call us anytime you are concerned about your child’s learning, behavior, or development. Many families reach out on their own, and we are always happy to talk through whether an evaluation makes sense.

Yes. We use research-based assessment tools to determine whether your child has the characteristics of something like ADHD, autism, or a learning disability. More importantly, we help you understand what is really going on with your child and what kind of support will actually help them succeed.

We have created the entire experience with kids in mind and work to keep things engaging and low-pressure. Your child can take breaks when they need them, bring along a comforting item, and have access to snacks. The clinician explains everything they are doing and is there to help if things become frustrating. We make sure to include your child from the beginning of the process so they feel comfortable and know what to expect at each appointment.

Yes, this is one of the most common reasons families pursue evaluations. Our detailed reports give schools the information they need to set up the right support. We include specific, practical recommendations and are happy to talk directly with your child’s school to make sure they understand the findings.

We are not contracted with insurance, but many families still receive reimbursement depending on their plan. In some cases, out-of-network exceptions may allow in-network reimbursement rates. We are happy to provide the information you need to check your coverage and can answer any cost-related questions during your initial call.

The full process typically takes 6 to 8 weeks from your intake appointment to the feedback session where we review results. Testing is usually completed across two sessions, each lasting 2 to 3 hours. In between testing and feedback, our team analyzes all data and prepares a detailed written report. We know waiting for answers can be difficult, and we work to complete the process as efficiently as possible without compromising thoroughness.

Expert Pediatric Neuropsychological Evaluation in Puget Sound

What Is A Pediatric Neuropsychological Evaluation?

When a Neuropsychological Evaluation Can Help