Pediatric Neuropsychology: Evidence-Based Tools for Creating Effective Treatments

• • Identify the need for and components of a neuropsychological evaluation
• • Interpret the findings of a neuropsychological evaluation
• • Create a matrix of strengths and weaknesses that guide selection of treatment strategies and techniques
• • Determine the neuropsychological underpinnings of learning—especially as they apply to how clients learn from therapy
• • Translate findings from a neuropsychological report into real world applications and interventions
• • Develop a multi-modal treatment plan that includes school, home, and other providers

Using Neuropsychological Assessments to Guide Therapy and Other Interventions for Children and Adolescents
Children and adolescents who come to our offices today often present with multiple learning, social, emotional, and behavioral issues. Clinicians are increasingly under pressure to make diagnoses, develop treatment plans, and complete therapy quickly and effectively. At the same time, these more complex cases are often the most challenging and resistant to treatment.

Dr. Johnson demonstrates how neuropsychological assessments provide a wealth of information to mental health clinicians, schools, and families, along with pointing them toward more focused and effective treatment plans. Over the past decade, we have learned more about how neurological processes underscore the way we learn and relate to one another. Understanding how to address the specific ways in which clients process information, and meeting their needs beyond the consultation room, leads to a stronger alliance with children, adolescents, and their families. By selecting tools and strategies that fit well with the ways that clients process information, progress will be quicker and more satisfying to both the family and clinician. In addition, by taking on a more collaborative role with schools, other clinicians, or medical providers, we can help promote the client's ability to generalize what they learn in therapy across settings—and guide them toward long-lasting growth.