Pediatric Neurodevelopmental Evaluation

What to expect with a Pediatric Neurodevelopmental Evaluation?

What to expect before a neurodevelopmental evaluation?

Families are often referred to our center by a teacher or pediatrician who notices potential signs of autism spectrum disorder.

We will ask your pediatrician to complete a referral form that explains their concerns. You also need to submit other information, such as medical records, previous evaluations and school records.

Our team will need two to four weeks to review all the information, and a scheduler will help you make an appointment. You will need to fill out and submit an intake questionnaire to discuss your child’s development history.

What to expect during a neurodevelopmental evaluation?

Depending on your child’s age, your family should expect to meet with a psychologist for about four to six hours. If your child is young, you will usually be able to stay in the room with them while the psychologist conducts the developmental testing.

During this evaluation, your child will be given a range of questions and activities geared toward their age. For example, your child may be asked to follow directions, answer questions and play in various ways. Along the way, the psychology team will gather lots of information, including:

• Social, how your child interacts with others
• Emotional, how your child understands emotions in themselves and others
• Cognitive, how your child thinks, learns and understands
• Behavioral, including whether your child has behaviors that they repeat

It may be helpful for you to know that the evaluation is designed so that each child will be able to do some of the activities, while there may be some that will be too difficult.

What to expect after a neurodevelopmental evaluation?

Within two weeks, you will receive initial feedback on the pediatric developmental evaluation. We’ll also give you a list of steps to take so that your child can start treatment as soon as possible. Within a month, you will get a full report with detailed testing results and recommendations for treatment. You also will have a follow-up appointment with a psychologist, where you can ask questions and discuss the suggested treatment and other recommendations.

Your child might also be referred for medical tests, such as lab tests, genetic screening or an electroencephalogram (EEG). An EEG looks at patterns in the brain’s electrical activity that can be used to confirm an autism spectrum diagnosis.

Your child may be referred to different kinds of specialists, including:

• A speech therapist to help your child with speech and language
• An occupational therapist to work on motor skills or sensory issues, if your child over- or under-reacts to sights, sounds or smells
• A behavioral therapist to work on social and communication skills
• A psychiatrist to discuss potential medications, such as to help with sleep, anxiety or depression

We usually re-evaluate your child every three years to keep track of how they’re progressing and to get them any additional support they need.

How do I prepare my child for a Pediatric Neurodevelopmental Evaluation?

Depending on their age, you can explain to your child that they will be meeting for several hours with a psychologist who will ask them questions and play with them. You might let them know that there will be different kinds of activities. Some activities might remind them of things they do in school (if they are school age) and some might be easier than others.