Neuropsychology Q's?

[Remembering]

What are you confused about? No one said that differential between ADHD and LD would require specialized training in neuropsychology. Any psychologist should be able to administer and interpret a WISC and compare it to a measure of academic achievement such as the WIAT or WJ. I don't assess for and especially don't diagnose neurological disorders and if I see evidence of one, then I refer to someone with specialized training such as a neuropsychologist. I have not administered any of the neuropsych tests that I administered during my clinical rotation since I did my clinical rotation. For example: Boston Naming, Peg Board, Wisconsin Card Sort, Trails A or B, and CVLT are some of the tests that I recall having administered then but have not done since.

I guess I saw myself as doing more than just administering WISCs in the future because I've done more than that throughout my training. I'm just used to building batteries that include neuropsych measures, but I suppose that's only because I was working under neuropsychologists. Could you give a description of how you incorporate assessment into your practice? Thanks!

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[erg923]

I came up with that idea because those evaluations are done all the time where I'm from (Boston). The testing is done for IEPs and in order to get accommodations like extended time for testing. Many colleges and high school (and the SAT board) require psych testing in order to grant these things. I know psychologists (who are not neuropsychologists) who have 4+ month wait lists just to do these assessments.

What you are talking about is a cash only business. This is not something medical insurance pays for.

In that case, the extensive testing you are talking about is done to identify "strengths and weaknesses" for purposes of informing a potential IEP, right? Not for the actual diagnosis or medical treatment planning. You are essentially talking about psyched evals. Thats neither traditional clinical nor neuropsych. Its also a very specialized area/niche. I would suggest you be good at it (ie., be trained in it) , lest you want angry affluent parent texting you at late at night.

 

[erg923]

I guess I saw myself as doing more than just administering WISCs in the future because I've done more than that throughout my training. I'm just used to building batteries that include neuropsych measures, but I suppose that's only because I was working under neuropsychologists. Could you give a description of how you incorporate assessment into your practice? Thanks!

Alot of us incorporate some higher level of psychological assessment ("testing") beyond clinical interviewing methods in our work if its indeed called for...and if it is deemed necessary and/or reimbursable.

We need to be reasonable and judicious about this though because psychological testing has an ROI problem, quite frankly. There are some well defined examples in the literature where an MMPI, WAIS/WISC, WRAT, BASC or various other "objective" measures add to objective treatment outcomes though. For example, I do some bariatric presurgical evals and fight hard to advocate its (ROI) value in this space.

 

[PsyDr]

....The testing is done for IEPs and in order to get accommodations like extended time for testing. Many colleges and high school (and the SAT board) require psych testing in order to grant these things. I know psychologists (who are not neuropsychologists) who have 4+ month wait lists just to do these assessments....

Insurance specifically does not pay for testing for LDs or for any academic purpose. The general rule is that such testing is not for healthcare purposes. If your colleagues are billing for such a thing, you've just described some insurance fraud.

 

[AcronymAllergy]

It really depends on the context of the evaluation. You don't need to be a neuropsychologist to conduct a psychoeducational assessment, which is what it sounds like you're referencing above (e.g., for accommodations in school, or high-stakes evaluations for accommodations on standardized testing). Particularly when you're working toward differential diagnosis and treatment planning of a potential interplay between neurological, general medical, and psychological conditions is when you're venturing into the realm of neuropsychology.

Edit: And as PSYDR pointed out, psychoeducational assessments typically are not covered by insurance. There's still a large demand for them, but they're nearly always paid for out of pocket. However, if someone is paying that much for the evaluation, you'll want to be sure you're qualified to provide it, and that your report will meet the requirements of the testing agency or college/school.