Visual-Perceptional Abilities
These tests are designed to assess an individual's ability to organize and plan visually, including recognizing patterns, tracking objects, and analyzing and manipulating visual images and the ability to use fine motor skills effectively.
Social Cognition
This area of cognition refers to abilities that involve complex thought processing in social situations. These include the recognizing emotions, personal insight, self-evaluation, and self-regulation. Theory of mind is another component of this domain of cognition. It is the understanding that others have intentions, desires, beliefs, perceptions, and emotions different from one's own and that such intentions, desires, and so forth affect people's actions and behaviors. (APA Dictionary of Psychology, 2020)
Language and Speech
The domain of language and communication focuses on receptive and expressive language abilities, including the ability to understand spoken or written language, communicate thoughts, and follow directions. (American Psychiatric Association, 2013; OIDAP, 2009) This also includes the ability to name objects, find words, fluency, and grammar.
Learning and Memory
These tests measure the patient's the ability to register and store new information and retrieve information as needed (OIDAP, 2009; WHO, 2001). Functions and types of of memory assessed include delayed memory, short-term and long-term memory, perspective memory, verbal memory, retrieval of memory, and functions used in learning and information processing.
Attention and Concentration
This looks at the ability to focus on relevant information and discarding those that are distracting. This is also the ability to sustain attention and the speed at which information is processed. Problems in this area can be symptoms of attention deficit or hyperactivity disorders.
Executive Functioning
Executive Functioning is high-level thinking and complex decision-making abilities. These are necessary for planning, focusing attention, remembering, and executing instructions, thinking strategically, and responding to feedback. Assessment of executive functioning also looks at mental flexibility, our ability to change our thoughts and behaviors, and response inhibition, our ability to suppress inappropriate responses.
Adaptive Functioning
Adaptive functioning specifically assesses the ability to interact with others socially in different environments and situations. This is a subset of the domain of social cognition.
Academic Functioning
Specifically measure the correlation between academic achievement or the lack of achievement to psychological distress/disorders.
Intellectual Functioning
Intellectual functioning is the ability to think, plan, reason, and communicate effectively. These skills are important for learning, solving problems, and practicing good judgment.
Motor Skills and Coordination
Tests designed to assess motor speed/reaction time and coordination skills. This type of assessment can help diagnose neurological disorders.
Personality Assessment
A personality assessment is a test that is scored according to scientific/empirical standards to predict behaviors in various settings such as school, home life, work, interpersonal, and other areas.