Clinical neuropsychology, in close collaboration with neurology, deals with the examination and therapy of congenital or acquired disorders of cognitive functions (perception, attention, executive functions, memory, language, writing, reading, calculation). In our practice, we work with children from 6 months to 18 years of age and their families.

Neuropsychological diagnostics and therapy may become necessary in the case of atypical, sluggish, or delayed psychomotor development in infants and toddlers; when the child reaches motor milestones (sitting without support, standing, independent walking) late or when these stall in development; when speech development and communication lag behind those of peers; or when initiative, attention paid to the environment, exploratory activity, and independence do not reach the level expected for their age, and play activity is impoverished.

For children whose speech development follows a specific course, as speech development disorders can in certain cases predict language disorders, signaled by getting stuck at certain levels of speech development or a slowed pace in reaching maturity stages (cooing, babbling, meaningful word choice, use of grammatical structures, development of linguistic correctness). Communication and speech disorders may affect expressive speech (speech production) exclusively, or production and speech comprehension together.

Learning difficulties may occur in the case of immaturity or partial ability disorders in certain cognitive functions; a child’s school performance being weaker than expected relative to their intellect, or a decline in previous performance, may result from the immaturity of individual cognitive functions. Behind differences in the levels of specific abilities, there may be reading disorders (dyslexia), writing and spelling disorders (dysgraphia), or calculation disorders (dyscalculia). Developmental disorders may affect attention and executive functions, certain memory systems, or thinking. The decline in school performance can cause behavioral and integration problems, make establishing relationships difficult, and symptoms characteristic of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder may appear, accompanied by impulsivity and difficulty in regulating emotions and temper.

In certain neurological conditions, the development of cognitive abilities follows an atypical pace, for example, in syndromes confirmed by a genetic background (e.g., Williams syndrome, Turner syndrome, Fragile X syndrome, etc.). Various forms of epilepsy often affect the developmental course of mental abilities, and certain degenerative diseases are accompanied by a decline in the level of mental abilities.

Neuropsychology has an important task following trauma (cranial or brain injury), as well as before and after surgical interventions (tumor removal, epilepsy). In such cases, the goal of the examination is to understand the nature and possible causes of cognitive disorders and to match brain lesions with behavioral traits. It is significant in clinical pictures such as aphasias, agnosias, memory disorders, perceptual disorders, emotional regulation, and behavioral disorders.

We perform intelligence testing from age 3 and school readiness examinations from age 5. A more detailed examination of cognitive abilities and mapping the cognitive profile (strengths/weaknesses) may also become necessary at a later age, e.g., in the case of career choice.

The main question of diagnostic work refers to which cognitive functions the congenital or developmentally acquired disorder can be most captured in. Diagnostics are based on considering the complete clinical picture; therefore, in addition to cognitive functions (perception, attention, executive functions, memory, language, writing, reading, calculation), the examination of other cognitive processes (motor regulation, action control, emotional processes) also plays an important role. The examination is performed with the help of neuropsychological measurement procedures (paper-pencil tests, computer software). By establishing a cognitive profile, we perform a qualitative and quantitative analysis of competencies (retained, damaged, or underdeveloped abilities/skills). The diagnostic phase includes 1-4 sessions (50-60 minutes each). At the first session, we take the medical history and perform a screening. During the following sessions, we develop the therapeutic and rehabilitation plan within the process of differential diagnostics. We handle the number of diagnostic sessions flexibly because the examination process is tailored individually for everyone.

In the case of acquired disorders, our main task is the restoration of damaged cognitive functions. In the case of congenital abnormalities, due to the developing nervous system (functional brain plasticity), the form of the disorder may show a changing picture over time; therefore, the main goal of therapy is the development of compensatory strategies and providing help in mastering them. Different developmental paths expand the methods and possibilities of development. An equally important task of therapy is the treatment of behavioral and conduct disorders that are often associated with these conditions.

Inquiries can be made at the murmomail@murmo.hu e-mail address.