[Psychologic and neuropsychologic evaluation of psychomotor development in children with neurological diseases]

Psychological and neuropsychological assessment of children is focused on behavioral disorders of various dimensions (e.g., abilities and limits of perceptual, expressive, cognitive and emotional functions). Additionally neuropsychological diagnosis attempts to explain relationship between behavioral and brain states. The purpose of diagnosis formulated in this way requires careful selection of test procedures and overall integration of different kinds of data. Especially, severally handicapped cases need this kind of diagnostical approach. Limits of valid diagnostic conclusions are determined by many factors that affect coherent interpretation of the test scores (e.g. the lack of a consistently employed neurologic model of brain development to relate to behavioral functions, significant impairment with coexisting sensory and motor deficits, the different effects of brain lesion depending on age of onset, the interference of maturational and experimental variables with manifestation of brain damage).