In his Tuesday visit with Dr. Mayer on July 22nd, Will asked some questions regarding the upcoming neuro-psyche exam. Happily, Dr. Mayer was open to sharing with him the main areas of focus in this assessment which Will is scheduled to take on the 25th and 26th of August. This time frame was chosen because it will give Will an opportunity to get back into speech therapy during September, should he need further assistance.
The exam is broken up into segments dealing with Attention, Concentration, and Memory. Memory is broken down into Visual memory, Auditory memory, Delayed memory, Recall and Recognition. They also test Executive Function to see if the frontal lobe has been affected in its ability to stay on task and deal with distractions such as starting and stopping. There is also an assessment of Verbal function including amplitude of the voice, Perceptual function and Motor function. Mood and coping styles are also analyzed. Strengths are assessed with an eye to using those strengths to help compensate for any weaknesses that may be noted.
To help Will prepare to take this exam, Dr. Mayer suggested we work on Semantic memory (recalling the Presidents of the United States etc.) Episodic memory (what did you have for lunch yesterday.) And Prospective memory (what are your appointments for tomorrow.) He also encouraged him to keep up his journal writing and to work on getting those words that are on the tip of his tongue out of the files and onto the air waves.
Will has some significant work ahead of him, but the time table for executing it seems manageable.
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