By Ann Helmus, Ph.D.
Founder & Director, NESCA
A few days ago, a routine blood test showed high cholesterol. My doctor was concerned and suggested I start on a life-long medication.
But here’s what was missing from that recommendation:
Six weeks earlier, I had Covid. When I tested negative, I launched into a grueling stretch of all-day meetings, international travel, public speaking, and disrupted sleep. I never fully recovered.
At the time of my blood test, I was still in a post-viral fatigue phase, which is known to increase cholesterol. All other medical tests showed normal results. Instead of looking at the pattern of test results, my doctor focused on the one abnormal value, which likely reflects my lack of adequate recovery from Covid and travel stress, not an underlying problem with cholesterol.
This experience illustrates an important principle in neuropsychological evaluation: An individual test result rarely speaks for itself. It must be interpreted in the context of other results, history, and clinical observation.
There is no test for ADHD or for ASD or for LD or any of the other conditions that we see. There are only data points to be connected. There is no single test result that can explain: why a child is struggling, what the underlying issue is, or the type(s) of support that will help them thrive.
Those answers come from interpretation that involves:
- Deep developmental history-taking
- Pattern analysis across multiple measures
- Direct clinical observation
- Integration of cognitive, emotional, academic, and behavioral data
- And years of diagnostic experience
A neuropsychological evaluation is not like a Covid test, the results of which can be easily interpreted by a layperson. Neuropsychological testing results need to be carefully analyzed and interpreted by a highly trained professional relying on their experience and clinical judgement to determine the meaning of the results, and, most importantly, what they mean for treatment.
When interpretation is shallow, children are likely to be improperly diagnosed, which leads to:
- Wrong educational placements
- Inappropriate medications
- Mismatched interventions
- Years of frustration for a child who was misunderstood
A high-quality evaluation does not simply label. It provides a proper explanation that leads to meaningful intervention. We don’t treat numbers. We don’t treat checklists. We don’t treat isolated test results. We treat human beings.
About the Author
NESCA Founder and Director Ann Helmus, Ph.D., is a licensed clinical neuropsychologist who has been
practicing neuropsychology for 35 years and has been director of NESCA’s Neuropsychology practice for nearly three decades, continuously training and mentoring neuropsychologists to meet the highest professional standards.
To book a neuropsychological evaluation at NESCA, complete NESCA’s online intake form.
NESCA is a pediatric neuropsychology and related services group practice with offices in Newton, Plainville, and Hingham, Massachusetts; Londonderry, New Hampshire; the greater Burlington, Vermont region; and Coral Gables, Florida, serving clients from infancy through young adulthood and their families. For more information, please email info@nesca-newton.com or call 617-658-9800.
