What is the Child Neuropsychological Evaluation?

The study of the brain of children, as well as the pathologies associated with the malfunction of this part of the body, has been a field of great interest for several years. both by psychologists and by health professionals in general who wanted to understand how this set of organs, so important when it comes to understanding the mind, works human.

This interest lies in the fact that both pathologies and problems in neurological development in children have a direct impact on the adult they will be in the future, and learning to treat them correctly is the first step to help in these cases.

With this in mind, here We will delve into the reasons why the Child Neuropsychological Evaluation is a fundamental aspect in supporting the little ones and their families, seeing why it is key in the first years of life.

What is child neuropsychology?

Child neuropsychology is the branch of psychology that is responsible for studying the relationship between the behavior of children and the characteristics of their brain, as well as their pathologies and deficits in the development of their faculties mental.

It is a multidisciplinary discipline that has been nourished throughout its history by highly diverse contributions from other specialties such as neuropsychology, neuropediatrics, behavioral neuroscience, clinical psychology, early care, and psychology educational.

More specifically, child neuropsychology aims to combine the knowledge of clinical psychology with the techniques and knowledge of behavioral neuroscience to assess the cognitive performance of children who may need it.

The main differentiating characteristic of child neuropsychology compared to that of adults is that takes into account as a reference to identify pathologies or alterations the changes that occur during the development of children.

With the advancement of the technologies used by these professionals, neuropsychological intervention in children is increasingly an area with greater possibilities and projections for the future, and its professionals help many families on a daily basis with problems that may introduce.

In this sense, the Child Neuropsychological Assessment is the main tool used by neuropsychology professionals to identify any type of problem in the acquisition of the milestones of psychological development during childhood, and this is increasingly useful in a wide variety of scopes.

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Child Neuropsychological Assessment: Key to effective Early Intervention

The child neuropsychological assessment is implemented by professionals with the aim of evaluating, intervene, prevent and investigate any type of alteration, pathology or neurological imbalance or in the development of children.

This evaluation consists of various effective psychometric techniques, with which qualified professionals achieve establish a profile of the child's cognitive performance, their neuropsychological situation and the state of their higher brain functions.

In addition to that, through child neuropsychological evaluation, professionals can analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the client's cognitive performance; as well as the specific dysfunctions, disorders or pathologies that may exist at the neurological level.

Finally, it should be noted that the neuropsychological assessment is of paramount importance when analyzing or study those disorders in which neuroimaging techniques do not detect any alteration structural; It is then when neuropsychological assessment comes into play as the only way to identify cognitive alterations.

It must be taken into account that even in those cases in which there is no treatment that serves to completely "cure" the disorder, detecting it at its earliest stage is essential to avoid triggering many other problems derived from it, such as school failure, greater exposure to the risk of suffering addictions, very pronounced self-esteem problems, poor development of social skills, etc.

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Disorders addressed by the Child Neuropsychological Assessment

As we have previously indicated, expert professionals in child neuropsychology are responsible for treating a wide variety of disorders and pathologies.

Below we will summarize the main disorders that fall within the powers of child neuropsychological evaluation.

1. Ripening delays

Maturational delays can be defined as those pathologies in which the boy or girl does not present the maturational characteristics typical of their age, but rather that they are in a state prior to their development natural.

These delays can be successfully treated as long as we put ourselves in the hands of a qualified professional who applies the main tools and techniques of his specialization.

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2. school performance problems

School performance problems can be due to multiple causes, among which we can also find a neuropsychological problem in the child.

Through a child neuropsychological evaluation, the professional can intervene in the problem and to reduce said performance problems in learning.

3. neurodevelopmental disorders

Neurodevelopmental disorders are a highly varied set of pathologies and are based on developmental deficits in the acquisition of certain cognitive skills.

Some of these abilities are memory, attention, perception, language, problem solving, and social interaction.

4. acquired brain damage

Acquired brain damage is a phenomenon suffered by both children and adults and in the case of children they can be more easily addressed through clinical neuropsychology.

Some of these pathologies are usually ischemia, embolism, vasculitis, thrombosis or head trauma.

5. learning disorders

Learning disorders such as dyslexia, dyscalculia, or nonverbal learning disorders They constitute another of the groups of consultations most frequently received by professionals in child neuropsychology.

Child neuropsychological evaluation in this type of disorder must be detailed and individualized to achieve cognitive performance profiles adapted to each disorder.

6. ADHD

ADHD or Attention deficit disorder and hyperactivity It is another of the queries most received by neuropsychology professionals.

Is about one of the disorders that affect the academic performance of children with the highest incidence and its intervention has been studied over several decades from the field of neuropsychology.

7. neuropsychiatric disorders

Neuropsychiatric disorders are also among the disorders typical of child neuropsychology.

The most common are tourette syndrome, cognitive deficit disorder and addictions.

Do you want to train in Child Neuropsychological Assessment?

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