The Role of a Neuropsychologist in Epilepsy Care | Dr. Elizabeth Kerr, Clinical Neuropsychologist

It’s #MentalHealthWeek in Canada; in recognition we’re celebrating the critical role of neuropsychology in epilepsy care and in the ECHO Epilepsy knowledge translation model and community of practice. We’re privileged to profile Dr. Elizabeth Kerr, clinical neuropsychologist at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids), who is also a member of our SickKids hub leadership team.

I really enjoy children and had interest in understanding and supporting exceptional children. Neuropsychology is an incredible interdisciplinary profession which allows me to help children and their families, share results that aid in medical decision making, assess outcomes of treatments/interventions, and contribute to scientific knowledge.

The ongoing development of diverse neuroimaging techniques as well as treatments for epilepsy, along with being able to work directly with families and my medical colleagues keeps me passionate about this rewarding career.

I primarily work with children living with epilepsy who are being considered for epilepsy surgery. Seeing how resilient these patients and their families are and learning from them is inherently rewarding. Professionally, there are a multitude of influences that go into interpreting assessment results (e.g. development, nature, severity, and localization of epilepsy, as well as social, familial, and intrinsic factors), each of which is unique for each child. Making sense of the findings for medical planning can be both challenging and rewarding.

It is also rewarding to glean a very unique picture of a child; to understand how their brain functions; and to translate the findings into meaningful recommendations that families can implement to support their child to succeed to their abilities.

Neuropsychology plays as important role in characterizing the impact of epilepsy on cognitive functioning and social-emotional well-being. It is one of several essential investigations that aid in the understanding of the localization of epilepsy and in predicating outcomes for children being considered for epilepsy surgery.

We are always learning! Project Echo – Epilepsy Across the Lifespan, provides an amazing opportunity to learn different perspectives regarding critical questions to ask and elements for care to consider which in turn enhance our competency in providing effective individualized patient care.