This page explains what you and your child can expect when you attend a neuropsychology appointment.
More information about the service is in our patient information leaflet Neuropsychology service – information for parents, carers and families (PDF 43Kb).
How do I get an appointment?
Children are normally only referred by a consultant children's neurologist at St Thomas’ Hospital. It is not possible to be referred by your GP.
Once referred, your child will go on our waiting list and we will send you a questionnaire to complete and return to us. This helps to provide us with useful background information before we see your child.
Cancelling or changing your appointment
If you need to change or cancel your appointment for any reason, contact the service administrator on 020 7188 4638.
Please tell us as soon as possible so we can offer your appointment to another patient.
Before your appointment
Please bring the following with you to your appointment:
- any recent school or therapy reports (if you have not already sent these)
- your child’s glasses and/or hearing aid, if appropriate
- a snack and drink for your child
- a book, magazine or newspaper for yourself as you will be waiting for some time while your child completes the assessment tasks.
When we are able to offer you an appointment, we will contact you to arrange this and send you an appointment letter. If you are concerned that you have not heard from us, please ring the service on 020 7188 4638.
During your appointment
You and your child will make one or two visits to see the psychologist. There will be an initial interview where you can tell us more about your specific concerns or observations.
The psychologist will then typically see your child by themselves for the assessment. The assessment takes the form of quizzes, puzzles, and paper and pencil tasks. They look at different aspects of thinking, such as intellectual functioning (IQ), memory, learning and attention. This part of the assessment can take two to three hours, with breaks.
After your appointment
After the assessment the tasks need to be scored and interpreted, so comprehensive feedback can not normally be given straight away. Once the psychologist has analysed the child’s performance, he/she will write a report. You and your child (if appropriate) will then be given a chance to discuss the results and report with the psychologist. This can be at a follow-up session or via telephone, depending on what suits you best.
The final report will be shared with all medical professionals involved in your child’s care. If we think it may be useful to share the report with non-medical organisations, such as school, we will ask your permission.