TPP 299a: Dr. Jonine Nazar-Biesman on Navigating the Neuropsych Evaluation Process

The neuropsych assessment process can be daunting and complicated to navigate, especially in recent years as a result of COVID,  so I’m excited to share my conversation with pediatric and adolescent young adult neuropsychologist, Dr. Jonine Nazar-Biesman. Jonine’s work is about taking into consideration the whole child and the big picture when assessments are being done. 

In this episode, we talk about what parents should think about when vetting psychologists to assess their child, the difference between a neuropsych, a psychoeducational, and a psychological assessment, and how parents can navigate getting a better assessment if they believe their child got the wrong diagnosis. We also talked about what to do with all the feedback parents get from an evaluation and how that feedback can best be relayed to our kids, and to their schools.Dr. Jonine Nazar-Biesman has over 25 years of experience specializing in assessing and treating children, adolescents, and young adults with neurodevelopmental disorders such as Autism, ADHD, learning differences, and genetic conditions. She works closely with families, treatment teams, schools, and the community to ameliorate social-emotional, behavioral, and educational challenges.  

Things you'll learn from this episode:

• What parents should think about when looking for someone to do an assessment for their child, as well as tips for vetting evaluators
• The difference between a neuropsych, a psychoeducational, and a psychological assessment
• How Jonine works with students and adjusts the evaluation process during the assessment in response to what she’s discovering
• How parents can navigate getting a better assessment if they believe their child got the wrong diagnosis
• Whether or not a neuropsych evaluation would benefit every neurodivergent child
• How feedback is ideally shared with parents, kids, and schools after an assessment has been completed
• How the COVID pandemic has impacted the assessment process
• How parents can best use the detailed feedback they receive as part of the neuropsych evaluation process

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