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The Role of the Neuropsychologist in Life Care Planning
Published in Roger O. Weed, Debra E. Berens, Life Care Planning and Case Management Handbook, 2018
While there are a number of educational requirements for neuropsychologists, the experience each brings to a particular disorder differs. This being the case, it is incumbent when making a referral for a neuropsychological examination to determine the experience of the neuropsychologist in the particular area of interest. In the case of children, it is important that the neuropsychologist have experience in working with children of the same age as the child to be evaluated. In children, not only the disorder but the developmental stage of the child must be considered. The application of adult brain behavior relationship is not consistently appropriate. Family and socio-environmental issues are often more complex with evaluating children or adolescents. While it is helpful to utilize a pediatric neuropsychologist, there is not always an available specialist in every area of the country. The American Board of Clinical Neuropsychology has a subspecialty board certification for Pediatric Neuropsychologists that can be located on the website noted earlier. The American Academy of Pediatric Neuropsychology (AAPdN) also has a listing of their board certified specialists found at www.theaapn.org. If no pediatric specialist is available, it may be useful to determine the number of evaluations provided for children and adolescents in a year performed by the neuropsychologist to whom a referral is to be made.
Putting It All Together and Writing a Report
Published in Christopher J. Nicholls, Neurodevelopmental Disorders in Children and Adolescents, 2018
Once our findings have been looked at from the big picture level, the clinician should next ask him- or herself whether the pattern of findings is consistent with what is known about the hypothesized underlying condition. If a child has trouble with reading, for example, do the findings match the science that suggests challenges with phonological awareness, rapid naming, etc.? Or, alternatively, does the child show intact core language skills and phonological awareness but struggles with reading secondary to a lack of automaticity of decoding skills? This is the point at which it is essential to have reference texts that describe current findings for given conditions, such as the Handbook of Pediatric Neuropsychology (Davis, 2011) or the Handbook of Neurodevelopmental and Genetic Disorders in Children (Goldstein & Reynolds, 2010). Clinicians are also advised to secure some form of electronic library search access and to perform literature reviews on clinical conditions presented by our patients, if one is not familiar with the most recent findings regarding the condition. Working with neurodevelopmental disorders requires a lifelong commitment to continuing education. Science is moving so rapidly that it is impossible for any clinician to remain current in their knowledge, and therefore optimally helpful to their patients, without the use of resources.
The Practice of Child Neuropsychology in Spanish-speaking Countries: What We’ve Learned and Where to Go from Here
Published in Developmental Neuropsychology, 2020
Rafael E. Oliveras-Rentas, Ivonne Romero-García, Itziar Benito-Sánchez, Daniela Ramos-Usuga, Juan Carlos Arango-Lasprilla
The limited training and qualifications that many self-perceived pediatric neuropsychologists reported raises ethical issues that must be effectively addressed to maximize the quality of service provision to Spanish-speaking children. These general issues in clinical training have been previously raised as the most frequently perceived ethical misconduct among clinical neuropsychologists in Latin America and Spain (Olabarrieta-Landa, Caracuel Romero, Panyavin, & Arango-Lasprilla, 2017; Panyavin, Goldberg-Looney, Rivera, Perrin, & Arango-Lasprilla, 2015). With respect to the educational and clinical context, pediatric neuropsychology is considered a distinct subspecialty area from general or adult neuropsychology, due to the clear differences in theory and conceptualization of the dynamically developing versus the developed brain models (Baron et al., 2011; Reynolds, 2019). Required competencies involve the understanding of the evolution of age-specific neuronal and behavioral functions as well as the complex interactions with multiple systems, including sociocultural factors, family interaction, social development, educational environment, and healthcare, among others. Therefore, limited training and inadequate professional specialty qualifications can potentially result in a disservice to pediatric patients, particularly with respect to planning their future.
Spanish-Speaking Pediatric Neuropsychology: Recent Research and New Frontiers
Published in Developmental Neuropsychology, 2020
These articles highlight a number of new frontiers that must be developed in order to significantly advance the field of Pediatric Neuropsychology in Spanish-speaking countries. First, clinical psychology doctoral programs must offer tracks that specialize in pediatric neuropsychology. The teaching faculty should include experts from abroad with experience. For instance, there are many Hispanics in the United States and professionals in Spain who are recognized in the field would be ideal candidates to share knowledge as part of new training programs. Second, there are very few neuropsychological tests for Spanish-speaking children and adolescents and more are needed for accurate assessment. This involves translating and culturally-adapting existing tests, developing new tests, and validating and providing normative data for these tests. Third, it is critical to create evidence-based neuropsychological rehabilitation programs with demonstrated effectiveness for Spanish-speaking children and adolescents. To provide an evidence-base, the collaboration of researchers with a strong background in methodology, psychometrics, and statistics is critical.
Improving Wait Times for Pediatric Neuropsychology Services
Published in Evidence-Based Practice in Child and Adolescent Mental Health, 2020
Jennifer Cass, Mary Fristad, Jahnavi Valleru, James Gallup, Eric Butter
Finally, the type of case (e.g., epilepsy surgery or concussion) and parent preference drove whether an intake was scheduled versus a child being booked straight into testing, creating inequity in wait times. Incorporating intake visits into our model of care reduced wait times and may help streamline care, but did lead, on average, to a 35-day gap between those scheduled immediately for testing versus those who first had an intake appointment first. Even with a two-step process from referral to testing, however, the wait time is around 3 months shorter than our longest wait times in early 2015. Future efforts will target better standardization across routine, non-urgent cases. Telehealth has significantly expanded within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Recent alterations in insurance reimbursements may allow for offering an intake visit for all families regardless of their travel distance although licensing issues need to be considered when practicing across state lines. Overall, the processes articulated in this report have the potential to be beneficial in settings beyond pediatric neuropsychology. It is anticipated they could have a similar benefit in other assessment settings that have long wait times, such as are common in adult neuropsychology, learning disability, and autism evaluation centers. An intake model and increasing medical clinic consultation may allow for targeted care, maximizing resources, and services at the level necessary for promoting child success.