Clinical Psychology / Paediatric Clinical Neuropsychology Services
Clinical Psychology Assessment
Assessment of psychological functioning and clinical formulation of presenting problems, with recommendations for support.
Special interest in children presenting with developmental trauma histories.
Diagnostic Assessment
Autism Spectrum Disorder (multi-disciplinary)
Attention Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder
Intellectual Disability
Specific Learning Disorders e.g. Dyslexia
Paediatric Clinical Neuropsychology Assessment
Paediatric Clinical Neuropsychology assessments are normally associated with children and young people who have medical conditions or injuries that may be affecting their brain and development. This could be a condition they are born with such as a genetic or neurodevelopmental disorder, or something that occurred during development, for example a brain injury, brain tumour, epilepsy, or stroke.
When carrying out an assessment a Paediatric Clinical Neuropsychologist is concerned with determining how such a condition may be affecting a child’s thinking skills, learning, behaviour and/or emotional wellbeing. The assessment can help identify a child or young person’s strengths and weaknesses to inform treatment and the types of strategies that might be useful at home and at school. The assessment is tailored to meet each child or young person’s individual needs.
Adapted from Paediatric Neuropsychology Service: Neuropsychological Assessment Information for Parents and Carers. Kings College Hospital, NHS Trust. February 2022.
In addition to the above, complex trauma i.e. exposure to chronic, interpersonal trauma in childhood, has been associated with structural and functional alterations in brain development, which in turn can result in problems with learning and behaviour.
In such instances, combining neuropsychological assessment with a clinical psychological assessment is beneficial in that it can help clinicians to gain a comprehensive understanding of each child or young person's unique set of cognitive strengths, weaknesses and associated behavioural profile within the context of a complex trauma history. This process can be a vital aide in diagnosing, conceptualising, and designing effective interventions for children and young people with histories of complex trauma and can help to avoid the common misdiagnoses or mislabelling that lead to ineffective interventions.
Dawna Gabowitz , Marla Zucker & Alexandra Cook (2008) Neuropsychological Assessment in Clinical Evaluation of Children and Adolescents with Complex Trauma, Journal of Child & Adolescent Trauma, 1:2, 163-178, DOI: 10.1080/19361520802003822
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