I am dealing with an elderly patient who lived independently then suffered a "mild" cerebral event. She appeared to have fully recovered when she sustained major head trauma. At this point, I'm trying to figure out if she would have ended up in assisted living anyway owing to the natural progression of her condition or whether it was likely that she could have maintained independence absent the head trauma. I need to reach out to a qualified clinician, but don't know if I should be searching for a neurologist or a neuropsychologist.
Though a neurologist specialises in the study and treatment of disorders of the nervous system, their focus tends to be on the biological, rather than psychological dimension. A neuropsychologist, however, specialises in understanding the impact of a nervous system disorder or injury in relation to specific psychological processes and behaviors. This is especially important in helping people with an acquired brain injury such as stroke, since the site and type of the injury can predict the types of impairments that a person may have in terms of specific cognitive functions, such as expressing or understanding language (as in aphasia).
Your first port of call, though, should probably be with a public organisation such as (in the U.S.) the National Stroke Association or American Stroke Association. They will probably refer you to an occupational therapist or a rehabilitation specialist who specialises in stroke, and can offer you the guidance you need.
http://www.stroke.org
http://www.strokeassociation.org/
Alternatively, a stroke physician would be able to assess if she had been given the correct cardiovascular prevention treatment, in which case a mild cerebrovascular event (such as TIA) would not result in care home admission.
I think both neurologist and neuropsychiatric`s needed for the proper evaluation of post stroke patients . Neurologist needed for evaluating the neurological aspect of patients like chance of progression or resolution or recurrence , Neuropsychiatric's is needed for his/her psychosocial aspect of patients. In my experiences while working with Neurologist I found they (Neurologist and Neuropsychiatric's) usually discuss for post stroke patients
You need an Occupational therapist to assess the person's capacity to perform Activities of daily living and discuss it with the neurologist. There are tests they can do in relation to cognitive capacities that assess the ability to perform practical activities that go with living alone. They can arrange other services that might be needed at the home, such as showering, meals and tnrasport. They will then discuss these with the Neurologist.
I would include an occupational therapist in the assessment. Occupational therapists can perform standardized and functional assessments of a person's BADL and IADL skills.
Based on assessment result, the OT can also make recommendations for adapting the home to address potential cognitive safety issues.
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