Hi all,
I got my neuropsychological testing done. I was pleased with the
overall process. I feel completely vindicated and my learning
disabilities are validated.
the first page said.
This 34 yr old right handed male was referred for a neuropsychological
examination to better delineate his cognitive function. He has a
history of Dyslexia,auditory processing problems,and depression. he
scored 29/30 on the MMSE,missing 1/3 items at delay recall. This score
is within normal limites. A battery of neuropsychological tests was
administered. Scores ranged from high average to impaired. He performed
very well on visual construction as measured by block design which is
consistenet with his *****sment of himself as a very visual thinker.
However,immediate visual memory was in the impaired range as compared
with his peers. Motor speed appeared to hamper his performance on
several tests,but problems with auditory processing were less obvious.
Full re****t to follow.
There is so much,but I am not going to type all. So I am just going to
tell you about summary and recommendations.
SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS:
Mr Andrews scored within normal limits on most tests in a battery of
neuropsychological tests.
His area of greatest strength was in visual construction problems
tested with block design. He was in the high average range on this
subtest. He also scored in the high average range on list generation to
a sound cue. Both of these tasks require complex and strategic thinking
and suggest he has some well-developed mental skills. His lowest score
was on immediate memory for visual material. The difficulty appeared to
be on organizing and encoding the information, as he retained most of
what he had learned after a delay. he had similar difficult with
immediate memory for verbal material. This performance was in the
borderline range, but also improved with a delay. His other borderline
score was in sentence repetition. This may reflect a problem with
auditory processing as it requires word-for-word responses. Limited
auditory processing could also have impacted very memory for
narractive,as he did better with the repeated single word trials on the
CVLT. Nonetheless, Mr Andrews should be assured that he has learned to
cope with his childhood learning problem and should feel confident
about his ability to think through problems outside of the speeded
academic settings where he has experienced failures. This statement is
not intended to convey that he does not continue to experience these
difficulties,but that he has learned effective ways to cope with them
when he is not stressed.
1. Mr. Andrews should be encouraged to find ways to make better use of
his strong visual spatial skills whether through a hobby or some other
outlet.
2. Mr. Andrews should consider seeking to establish as trusting
relation with a mental health professional. He articulates his problems
with self-esteem,sensitivity,and reactivity well. His childhood
problems in school and with a difficult family situation that provides
him with little emotional sup****t combine to make him vulnerable to
recurring episodes of depression and professional sup****t would be
useful for him.
Finally my learning disabilities have been validated. My being a visual
outside the box thinker has been recognized and acknowledged. My being
a compensated learning disabled person has been finally do***ented.
That makes me feel a lot better about myself. Being understood helps
with my depression. I feel that I can finally rest in peace and can
move on with my life and have a new beginning. Today, I already called
Veteran Affairs mental health clinic. I feel that I can trust mental
health professionals now. All I have to do is show them my
neuropsychological testing,and they will understand that I have
learning disabilities and I am intelligent and not stupid with a
psychotic thought disorder.I have an appt on December 13th for
orientation there. I also have an appt on December 11th for neurology
follow-up. All this was done for free because I am a military veteran.
I am very fortunate to be able to get so much help without having to
pay. I wish the same for everybody.
another thing....
my re****t said:
Frontal executive function: the frontal lobes of the brain are involved
with working memory,expressive language language,some aspects of
attention,mental flexibility and planning,and motor control. Digit
span, a test that requires verbal working memory was in the average
range. Simple attention as *****sed by mental control, was in the high
average range. He scored in the low average range on digit symbol, a
task dependent on short term memory,mental flexibility,and psychomotor
speed. He was in the low average range on both part A and part B of
trail making.
so much for me being ADD.....HAHAHAHAHA! My mother didn't believe that
I had ADD. She even told me teachers never told her any concerns about
attention problems. I don't think that I would have mainstreamed out of
special education 4 years faster than predicted if I had attention
deficits. My auditory processing issues made me think that I had ADD
because I couldn't follow what the teacher was saying during lectures.
Visual-spatial contruction tasks: visual-spatial skills were examined
primarily with the block design subtest of the WAIS-III. This was an
area of strength for Mr. Andrews. Despite the motor demands, he
performed well on this task, earning time bonus points on the final
most difficult design. This is consistent with his belief that he is a
visual thinker. Persons with strong visual skills who lack comparable
verbal facility can often be frustrated because they have difficulty
communicating their ideas in a highly verbal society.
That definitely confirms that I am mainly a picture thinker.
General intellectual function: Mr. Andrews scored 29/30 on the MMSE.
this score is within normal limits.
That definitely shows that I am of very sound mind and don't have any
mental decline.
I am very pleased with my results. I feel validated.
Thank God! :-)
Raymond
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