EVALUATION METHODS
Does my child need an assessment?
Many parents arrive with simple questions:
- Does my child have ADHD?
- Why does he encounter so many academic difficulties despite his efforts?
- Is it a learning disability?
- Are her difficulties related to attention, memory, or organization?
Adults often ask themselves similar questions:
- Why do I have so much trouble getting organized?
- Why am I constantly overwhelmed despite my efforts?
- Why do I have difficulty with attention or memory?
Memory: several systems that work together
The goal of neuropsychological assessment is precisely to help answer these questions.
It allows us to better understand a person's cognitive functioning, their potential difficulties, but also their resources and strengths.
Each child, adolescent or adult has a unique profile.
The results of a test only make sense when placed in the context of its history, development, environment and current difficulties.
This is why neuropsychological assessment always combines several sources of information.
How does an evaluation take place?
The assessment usually begins with a clinical interview.
This interview helps to clarify:
- the difficulties encountered;
- their history and evolution;
- the family, school or professional context;
- the objectives of the approach.
Depending on the situation, several sessions may then be necessary to explore the different cognitive functions.
The results are finally analyzed and discussed during a feedback interview.
Which functions can be evaluated?
The assessment can explore different dimensions of cognitive functioning:
Attention
- sustained attention;
- selective attention;
- attentional control.
Executive functions
- planning ;
- organization ;
- inhibition;
- cognitive flexibility;
- working memory.
Memory
- working memory;
- long-term memory;
- episodic memory;
- learning.
Language
- understanding ;
- expression ;
- reading
- writing.
Visuospatial abilities
- visual perception;
- spatial organization;
- visual information processing.
The tools are only one part of the evaluation.
The tests allow us to measure certain cognitive abilities.
But they are only part of the process.
Contrary to some misconceptions, forgetting is not necessarily a sign of a malfunction. Two people can achieve comparable results for very different reasons.
That is why the results are always interpreted in light of:
- of the person's history;
- of its development;
- of its environment;
- of his daily difficulties;
- of its resources.
- certain neurological or neurodevelopmental conditions.
The goal is not to produce a list of scores.
The goal is to understand how it works.
The assessment is based on standardized tools widely used in clinical neuropsychology.
Depending on age and situation, it may include:
Memory and presence
Intelligence scales
- WISC-V (children and adolescents)
- attention WAIS-IV (adults);
Attention and executive functions
- TEA-Ch
- NEPSY-II
- Stroop
- Trail Making Test
- Towers of London
- other tests adapted to the age and the clinical question
Memory
- CMS
- CVLT
- Rey
- other verbal and visual memory tests
Standardized questionnaires
- ADHD
- executive functions
- adaptive behavior
- emotional or academic difficulties
- The tools selected always depend on the clinical question being asked. Therefore, not all tests are used for all assessments.
A neuroscience-based approach
My background as a neuroscientist and Emeritus Research Director at the CNRS allows me to approach neuropsychological assessment in light of current knowledge about brain function.
The results are interpreted from a perspective that takes into account both:
- cognitive functions;
- development;
- emotions;
- of the relational environment;
- and the person's living environment.
This approach aligns with the work developed within the framework of the Presence Brain project, which explores how the brain develops and functions within its human environment.
Beyond performance
Cognitive functions never occur in a vacuum.
Attention, memory, organization, and learning are influenced by emotions, stress, relationships, and the environment in which a person lives.
That is why the assessment is not only concerned with what the person is able to do in a test situation.
She also seeks to understand how her abilities manifest in real life.
This approach is in line with my work in neuroscience on the links between brain, cognition and human environment, developed within the framework of the project The Brain of Presence.
Neuropsychological assessment in Marseille
I welcome children, adolescents and adults for neuropsychological assessments tailored to their needs and objectives.