Competency evaluations allow the court to know if someone can manage aspects of their lives. While there are standardized forms to complete, a competency evaluation is tailored for the individual. We can help someone feel better about letting their dependent adult live independently, determine if aspects like managing medication, making medical decisions, or managing a checking account have become too much and require assistance. We can help document the underlying condition, whether it's autism, a traumatic brain injury, or a form of dementia. We can perform functional assessments and document the ability to find their way around an area, ask for assistance in case of emergency, or manage a phone.
Neuropsychological assessments can localize neurological impairment to specific areas of the cortex of the brain and can infer to subcortical structures. A neuropsychological assessment is often not specific enough to know if someone can report how medication is to be taken, if they can write a check, if they can cook a meal safely. What's required is a specialized evaluation on functional ability. These evaluations are between 1 and 4 hours and can help document what an individual can and can not do.
If someone has been told they are no longer able to manage things like money or independent living, we can help provide an evaluation to document the skills they have and what aspects of functional ability remains intact. A diagnosis alone, does not provide information regarding functional skills.
Feel free to contact our office if you or your legal team needs someone to be evaluated for competency.