Evaluation Process

What Our Neuropsychological Testing Includes — And What It Doesn't

At Next Step Counseling and Neuropsychology, we offer insurance-based neuropsychological testing to help identify challenges related to attention, executive functioning, emotional regulation, and other cognitive domains. We also explore how psychological and personality functioning can interfere with outcomes. However, there are some important limitations to keep in mind:

Learning Disabilities (LD):
Our evaluations do not provide formal diagnoses of specific learning disabilities such as dyslexia, dyscalculia, or dysgraphia. Because of insurance billing restrictions and the nature of our assessments, we are unable to offer educational testing that would meet criteria for school-based services or accommodations. If our results suggest patterns of learning-related difficulties, we will provide you with referrals for comprehensive educational testing. We also partner with a trusted agency that offers accessible learning disability evaluations on our referral, helping you access the diagnoses and documentation schools often require but may not provide directly.

Autism Evaluations:

While our clinicians are trained to recognize a range of soft signs of autism spectrum presentation, we do not provide formal autism diagnoses or use gold-standard tools such as the ADOS. However, if autism is a potential concern, we can conduct screenings and provide targeted referrals to qualified specialists who offer full diagnostic evaluations. We'll guide you through the next steps to ensure you and your family get the answers you need.

Informed Participation in Research:

As part of our commitment to advancing the field of neuropsychology, we will ask for your consent to potentially use the testing data from your evaluation in ongoing research projects. Participation is a required part of our evaluation, but your identity will be confidential, you can withdraw at any time, and participation will never affect your care.