Neurodevelopmental Assessments
What Is A Developmental Assessment?
A neurodevelopmental assessment looks to rule in/out underlying conditions that begin in childhood and often extend across the lifespan, impacting functioning at home, school, work, and socially.
Developmental Assessments
What Are Neurodevelopmental Assessments?
A neurodevelopmental assessment is a test to help us understand someone’s cognitive, adaptive, behavioural, emotional, and developmental functioning. We use these tests to identify someone’s strengths, needs, and see if they might have certain conditions. The conditions might include Intellectual Developmental Disorder, Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), or Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
Why Do We Do This Test?
We provide these tests to help people thrive in their home, school, and work environments, as well as socially and in their community.
Testing can help young people get social, emotional, developmental, and educational supports to improve their lives. For example, a child may be found to have autism and receive the diagnosis to take part in the Ontario Autism Program. Also, adults might need this testing done to help them get ODSP, or services from Developmental Services Ontario.
How Do We Do This Test?
We need to understand a person’s history and see how they developed over time. We get this information by speaking to parents, teachers, and caregivers, talking to the person being tested, looking at their school and medical records, and doing testing ourselves.
Things We Look At:
Pregnancy and Birth History
- Pregnancy and prenatal health
- Exposure to medications or substances
- Whether a baby was premature
- Delivery problems
- Birth weight and early health issues
Early Milestones
- Infant temperament and regulation
- Milestones such as sitting, crawling, and walking
- Language, including first words and sentence use
- Social engagement and play
- Early behaviour or sensory concerns
Later Development
- Learning and school history
- Friendships and social skills
- Emotional and behavioural development
- Daily living skills
- Work, college, or university struggles
- Mental health history and services received
Information We Need:
We will need to see school reports, Individual Education Plans, psychological or medical records, and reports from other health care providers. For example, we need to hear from occupational therapists or speech therapists you or your child may have seen.
Next, we also collect information from parents, caregivers, teachers, the person being tested, and anybody else who may be helpful. Afterward, we interview the person to talk about their history and ask about any concerns they have now. We will ask about their mental health, their family history, their strengths and interests. Finally, we will find out what kind of support they have been given or what they may need.
How Neurodevelopmental Assessment Tests Work:
We choose the kind of test based on how old the person is and what their needs are. Then, we look at these areas:
Cognitive Assessment
- Intellectual functioning
- Verbal and nonverbal reasoning
- Memory, processing speed, and executive functioning
Adaptive Functioning
- Communication
- Socialization
- Self-care and independence
- Community functioning
Social & Emotional Functioning
- Behavioural regulation
- Mood and anxiety
- Attention and impulse control
- Social understanding and relationships
How Does This Test Help?
- We can find out if someone has an intellectual development disorder, autism spectrum disorder, or ADHD
- It helps us understand any mental health or learning problems the person may also have
- We can find out someone’s strengths and where they might need support in their daily life
- Knowing these things can help the person get the right support at school or work
- Testing can help them get the right kind of treatment or therapy
- It can help them find disability services and funding
- And it can help them move through the stages of their lives
What Happens After The Neurodevelopmental Assessment Test?
Once we finish neurodevelopmental assessments, we send questions out to parents, caregivers, and teachers. After that, when everyone fills the forms out we put all the information together and prepare our report. This usually takes 6 to 8 weeks.
Next we will meet with you to tell you our findings, explain the results, and answer your questions. You’ll get a final copy of the report after this meeting and we’ll suggest what to do next.
Autism Testing
Sometimes we may test for autism using a test called an Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, or ADOS.
Not everybody will need to be tested for autism. There are many developmental disorders to consider.