FAQs

What age groups do you serve? 

I have helped students of all ages from pre-school through college. I have worked with preschoolers in Early Intervention and in the past three decades have advised countless children, adolescents, and adults in a variety of settings, including well-regarded schools and clinics.  

If a student has uneven academic performance, are you able to help? 

I have helped many students who perform below their potential. Quite often, problems can be traced to underlying learning issues that affect memory, spatial processing, organizing, communicating, and other areas. Emotional issues often take their toll as well. After the sources of the challenges are identified, I work with the student and family members on new strategies and techniques aimed at improving overall performance. Changes might include new ways to address time management, concentration, and the student’s surroundings. I can help you build an experienced team offering a wide range of creative interventions through tapping my network of educational and mental health professionals.  

What is a neuropsychological evaluation? 

Specifically, neuropsychological assessment involves giving one-on-one measures, often available only to licensed psychologists. The assessment usually looks at general problem solving, language, motor skills, visual and sensory perception, memory, and behavior. Observations during performance add just as much to the interpretations as scores do. I compare scores over time when possible to track progress in a specific way, to see what adjustments in supports might be needed. I integrate patterns that appear across many sources, including tests, observations and background provided by family members and others who know the student. I then make detailed recommendations based upon the findings. 

How does a neuropsychological evaluation help? 

This evaluation helps by providing a road map for everyone working with the child.  It sensitively freezes the action, which makes it easier for everyone involved to pinpoint specific strengths and challenges and to see the big picture. Different parts of how a person thinks and acts can be understood more thoroughly than they can in fleeting day-to-day events, even those closely watched through other types of observation. Having additional points of view and information frees our thinking and perceiving about a person’s predicament from what is otherwise (often informally) at hand. Testing also specifies someone’s strengths. At the end of the process, practical recommendations, including those not discernible through other methods, are made in a comprehensive written report.

Do you assess for test accommodations such as extra time? 

Yes, I do this often for tests such as the SAT, ACT, MCAT, LSAT, GRE, USMLE, bar exams, and so forth.   

Do you accept insurance and how much does an evaluation cost?

I can be an out-of-network provider, and insurance companies may pay for parts of an evaluation, depending on the specifics of the policy. Clients pay my office directly and then request their insurance to reimburse them. I am not a member of any insurance panels. Neuropsychological evaluations may be covered with employer arrangements such as flexible spending accounts. The cost is determined by the needs of an individual client, which would be discussed at the outset. Here is a link of five tax deductions and credits. Choosing an out-of-network clinician offers many meaningful benefits, allowing prioritization of fit, depth of understanding, and specialization, without the limits of just those limited services or assessment measures that might be approved by an insurance company. Additionally, people often value the added privacy that comes with avoiding insurance.

Please feel free to call (212-462-9251) or to email (larryhess@hushmail.com) Dr. Hess for a complimentary preliminary consult to discuss your situation and how he could help.