How a Neuropsychological Assessment Can Help To Improve a Child’s Mental Health

Focusing on keeping your child’s mental health a priority is an important endeavor. In order to do so, it is important to understand your child individually and how they process the world around them. Understanding the brain and its functions can improve your quality of life as an adult as you learn about yourself and the way you experience the world and the same can be true for children too. 

As a parent, you want the best for your child and to help them learn who they are as a human being and their role in the world. As children grow and develop, understanding how they learn and interact with the world benefits both you and them in the long run as they learn their strengths and weaknesses as well as things they are interested in.

 As exciting and fun as childhood can be, it also comes with challenges as kids are learning about themselves and the world around them which can be confusing and uncertain at times. Having a healthy grasp of the mental health needs for your child helps you support them as their parent as they develop. Consulting a neuropsychologist to assess your child’s cognitive function will give you a comprehensive understanding of the way their brain works which in turn will help you support them with their mental health needs. Being a supportive parent when it comes to mental health will help your child thrive in all environments. 

Using a Neuropsychological Assessment Will Help Support Your Child At School 

Many experts agree that mental health issues can begin early in children, and oftentimes they begin at school. Even if a child is in a supportive learning environment , school can be competitive and overwhelming at times for even neurotypical children. If your child has been struggling with peers or keeping up with their classwork, working with a neuropsychologist to complete an assessment of your child can help you understand if there are any underlying concerns or things that may have gone undiagnosed. 

Once you complete the assessment, a neuropsychologist will provide an in depth report of your child’s intellectual ability as well as their emotional and behavioral strengths and weaknesses. Having this feedback from the assessment is key in supporting your child both in and out of school. Using this information, you can also work with your child’s teacher to provide the support they need at school so they can experience success in the classroom setting. 

When a child feels supported both at home and at school, their mental health drastically increases as they feel safe and loved in all their different environments. Knowledge and experience help kids feel secure, and giving them the knowledge of their own brain and the way it works is powerful for their overall mental wellbeing. 

Feedback Will Help Your Child Gain Coping Skills

One of the biggest stressors in children is when they feel out of control and do not know how to handle themselves or certain situations. Adults struggle with this too, so you can imagine the intensity children can feel at times when things feel out of control or uncertain. 

Anxiety and depression can increase when children do not understand why they act or think a certain way, especially when it may feel like they are the only one out of their peers acting a certain way. Using the feedback gained during a neuropsychological assessment, you can help teach your child coping skills for issues they may be struggling with when it comes to peer relationships, learning and managing emotions. 

 Assessments often provide information for certain diagnoses and once a child understands that there is not anything wrong with them, that their brain simply thinks or works in a different way can provide a lot of comfort to a child that previously felt out of control or misunderstood. With that understanding, you can work with your child to help them have a plan when certain behaviors arise. Having coping skills in place helps increase a child’s self-worth and confidence in their own abilities. Gaining the knowledge from the neuropsychological assessment allows you to target specific skills your child needs both in the present and future. 

Information from Neuropsychological Assessments Can Help Increase Confidence and Interest Levels

If your child has previously struggled with being disinterested or staying committed to interests, it may have been due to attention or confidence issues as well as other underlying issues you were previously unaware of. Kids have an early understanding of their strengths and weaknesses and many struggle with feeling insecure or unsure when trying a new task or activity especially if it came easier to their peers. Frustration levels can arise quickly causing children to shut down from tasks and activities. 

Once a child has a better understanding of the way their behavior and brain works, their confidence and self-esteem naturally increases as they have a stronger sense of self. Having strong self-esteem leads to increased mental health benefits both in the present and long term for children.

 As your child’s confidence builds, so will their curiosity for new experiences and activities as much of the previous anxiety will be managed with a new sense of security and self. Being able to enjoy new experiences and activities is an important component to help increase your child’s mental health. 

Although completing a neuropsychological assessment for your child is an involved process, the results are well worth the time commitment. Typically when working with a neuropsychologist to complete the assessment, your child may have multiple appointments. This is actually a good thing as it allows the results from the assessment to be as thorough and detailed as possible. 

 Using those results, you and your child can begin to learn more about their brain specifically and how to support both their strengths and any struggles they may have been experiencing. Feedback from a neuropsychological assessment is invaluable in supporting your child and their mental health both in the present activities and any future experiences.

Medical Disclaimer: All the content available on the website is just for informational purposes. It’s not a substitute for any Professional advice. Don’t take it personally. As a medical student, I’m just trying to use my information through my content, and please keep in mind it’s not written by a professional doctor. Use the data just for educational purposes.