What does a child neuropsychologist do?
The health of our little ones will always be our top priority. Surely you wonder How do I know if I should take my child to a neuropsychologist? In order to choose the right psychologist for our son or daughter, the first thing we must know is that psychology has different approaches. It should be noted that none is better than another; they have simply arisen in the face of different needs or with a different view of the problem.
Below we will present one of them, we will talk about what neuropsychology is, its characteristics, and the population to which it usually directs its services.
What differentiates neuropsychology from other approaches?
As mentioned, the area of psychology is very broad, it has many theories that seek to cover each of the needs of patients; Most of these specialties seek their field of work in the intangible, that is, in what is not possible to directly look at or touch, for example, emotions, thoughts.
That is why neuropsychology differs from other approaches by being the only one that finds its intervention from the combination of indicators, behaviors, and physical aspects such as the nervous system, aspects that do not require any type of subjective interpretation.
What is neuropsychology?
It is a science that is interested in looking at how aspects of the brain or nervous system can have an impact on behavior. That is, it studies behavior through the brain, that’s where it finds the answers. It is dedicated to studying all higher mental functions such as memory, language, motor skills, and pathologies.
What does a child neuropsychologist do?
Child neuropsychology, also called developmental neuropsychology, is responsible for looking at the relationship between behavior and the developing brain. It is dedicated to evaluating and intervening specifically in cases where there are problems or brain injuries.
The specific process of the intervention will depend on the particularities of the case, for example, the age at which it occurred, the reasons, etc. It should be noted that these professionals usually have a specialization in the child area, since the child’s brain works in a very different way than the adult, being largely complex and changing.
How does a child neuropsychologist intervene?
Evaluation: These are clinical, psychometric, or neurological techniques to discover the peculiarities of the child’s cognitive processing. From here it is determined if the child requires this type of intervention, either because it is already damaged or because it is at risk.
Prevention: This is aimed at the population that could develop a certain problem over time, which shows certain signs that could escalate. As the name indicates, it aims to prevent this from happening through programs specific to the characteristics of the child.
Neuropsychological rehabilitation or cognitive rehabilitation: These are cognitive rehabilitation programs that work under objectives. It is intended, on the one hand, to recover functions or it is desired that the child be able to perform the activities that are established according to her age.
What problems does child neuropsychology treat?
Although this area is extremely broad and on many occasions, the parents who come with their little ones still do not have a clear diagnosis, the problems that are most often addressed are: 
- Dyslexia.
- Attention deficit disorder.
- Emotional and behavioral alterations resulting from injuries or alterations of the nervous system.
- Language disorders.
- learning disorders
- Low birth weight children.
- Genetic or acquired alterations.
- Epilepsies.
Let’s not forget that once we manage to identify if this help is necessary for our little one, the goal is to identify an institution or professional that has the training and documentation that supports their knowledge in this field.
We hope that this article is very helpful and allows you to make the best decision to continue caring for your son or daughter’s mental health.
Source: Child Neuropsychology Book by José Antonio Portellano.
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