About neuropsychology

The CCC neuropsychologist team specialise in understanding the impact of brain function on cognition (thinking skills), behaviour, and emotional functioning (mood). Cognition includes skills such as memory, attention/concentration, speed of thinking, and how people deal with visual and verbal information.

Our team provide neuropsychology assessments to children and young people who have been treated for cancer or a brain tumour through the CCC.

What to expect from a neuropsychology session

The CCC neuropsychologist team will initially contact families via phone to discuss the concerns and reasons leading to the referral. Some children and young people may benefit from a one-off discussion including recommendations with their parents, while others may benefit from a Neuropsychology assessment to examine their cognitive strengths and weaknesses and how this is impacting on their life and school. The neuropsychologist will discuss this with each family and consider what would be most appropriate for the family’s situation.

If a neuropsychological assessment is recommended, it typically follows the following format:

Initial assessment (1 hour)

• The neuropsychologist will talk with you and your child about their development prior to their cancer diagnosis, what changes you have noticed, and the impact of these changes on your child’s day to day life at home and at school.

Assessment (1 to 3 hours)

• Your child will complete an assessment, either by telehealth or face to face at the hospital. These involve a range of pen and paper, and iPad-based tasks.
• Testing can be done over one or several sessions.
• We will also ask you to complete a few short questionnaires about your child to help us in understanding them.

Feedback (1hour)

• After the assessment a feedback session will be conducted where we explain the results of the assessment, and what recommendations or strategies might help your child at home and at school.
• With your permission we can also speak to your child’s school to see how they can best support your child.

Following this, we provide a comprehensive report on the assessment findings and strategies.

Referrals

If you or your child have concerns about thinking skills following the diagnosis or treatment of cancer, please speak to your oncologist or clinical nurse consultant and they can make a referral to the CCC Neuropsychology team.

Our group has strong links with the Murdoch Children's Research Institute (MCRI), and some assessments may be conducted as a part of a research study. This will be discussed with you prior, and only occur with your consent.

All members of our team have undertaken extensive postgraduate education and hold either a Masters or Doctoral level qualification In Neuropsychology. This training takes a minimum of 6 years to complete and requires ongoing registration with the Australian Health Practitioner Registration Agency (AHPRA).

We also have a postgraduate student program and neuropsychology interns working with the team. These individuals are provided with close supervision by our experienced staff members.

Useful resources

More information about the potential cognitive impacts following childhood cancer can be found at:

VICS PICS (Paediatric Intergrated Cancer Service) https://www.vics.org.au/pics-families

St.Jude Children's Research Hospital, Cognitive Effects of Childhood Cancer and Stem Cell Transplant https://together.stjude.org/en-us/life-after-cancer/long-term-effects/cognitive-late-effects.html