Presented by: Wong

A neuropsychological evaluation is instrumental in differentiating conditions rooted in brain function from those originating from psychological sources. This is particularly important for children who do not respond to intervention. Any underlying central nervous system dysfunction manifesting in specific component skill or processing deficiencies must be addressed for intervention to be effective. The current presentation seeks to illustrate the assessment of specifical learning disorder (SLD) from a neuropsychological perspective. The presentation will introduce attendees to frequently used neuropsychological tests for assessing learning problems in children and discuss issues related to test selection, including methods of nondiscriminatory assessment of diverse students available for both monolingual and bilingual practitioners. Case studies will be used to illustrate the data interpretation process that emphasizes the integration of data across multiple domains—verbal and nonverbal reasoning, attention/executive functioning, language, memory, sensory perception, motor skills, and social emotional/behavioral functioning—to understand each child’s unique profile of strengths and weaknesses, to provide diagnostic clarity, and, more importantly, to determine needed support in school and the community.