ASSESSMENT INFORMATION SHEET

Assessment Purpose:

The purpose of this assessment is to determine if any changes have occurred in your thinking (for example, with attention, memory, language, problem-solving or other thinking skills) as a result of an injury, illness, or another event. The assessment also looks to explore a range of factors that might account for any difficulties identified or which impact upon your recovery and to make recommendations to promote your recovery. If this assessment is requested by ACC or another funder, then they may request the Neuropsychologist’s opinion on specific referral questions regarding your injury and current functioning.

Assessment Process:

The neuropsychological assessment will include an initial appointment about your injury and how you have been since the injury. The Neuropsychologist will also ask you some questions about your background history, for example, your education, work, health, injury, and mental health history. This information is important to help the Neuropsychologist identify and understand changes that may have happened as a result of your injury. A support person is welcome during this discussion, which will take between one and two hours.
The Neuropsychologist will also review your medical and rehabilitation records and may speak with members of your rehabilitation team. The Neuropsychologist may also ask for your consent to speak with someone who knows you well, such as a spouse or partner, a good friend, or a parent/adult child.
Following the initial appointment, the Neuropsychologist will ask you to carry out a series of standardised tests. This usually takes between two and six hours and is usually completed over several appointments. The tasks will vary: some will involve words, some will involve numbers, and some will involve visual information. These tasks are designed carefully to assess how your brain processes information.
Your task is to answer questions as accurately as you can. It is important that you give your best effort on all tests. This does not mean you have to get every answer or problem correct; no one ever does. Some tests will be more difficult, while some may be easy to complete. Some of the included measures help to demonstrate whether you are providing full effort across this process to ensure that we are getting valid results from the testing.
If you have a support person present, they will need to go out to the waiting area during the testing part of the assessment. This is because there is research indicating that the presence of a third person during testing may lower scores on tests.
As you go through the tasks the Neuropsychologist will not tell you what your results are. It takes some time to analyse the results properly, and the Neuropsychologist also does not want to cause you to change how you respond.
Once the assessment is complete, you will be offered a feedback appointment (often several weeks after the assessment), where you can discuss the findings of the assessment, the assessor’s clinical opinion, and recommendations. This feedback appointment can also be completed via telehealth if you would prefer. Please discuss this with the Neuropsychologist if this is something you would like more information about.

Foreseeable Risks, Discomforts, and Benefits:

For some people, neuropsychological assessments can cause fatigue, frustration, and anxiousness. An attempt will be made to help you minimise these factors, and you are welcome to request a break at any stage.

If you have any questions or concerns about the information in this information sheet, please bring this to the attention of the Neuropsychologist.