By Miriam Dreyer, Ph.D. Pediatric Neuropsychologist Fellow Brianna Sharpe’s recent essay for the New York Times – Parenting section titled, “I’d Like to Melt Down When My Kids Do,” captures an essential challenge of parenting – managing one’s own emotions when your child is having big and difficult feelings. Ms. Sharpe writes about her own extensive training as a mental...
By Yvonne M. Asher, Ph.D. Pediatric Neuropsychologist Grandparents can hold a special place for any child. For some, though, grandparents play a central role in their day-to-day lives. When grandparents raise a child, it is often related to parental challenges, tragic circumstances or government intervention. This brings inherent, understandable stressors for grandparents. Additionally, grandparents face the more typical challenges of...
By: Angela Currie, Ph.D. Pediatric Neuropsychologist, NESCA Director of Training and New Hampshire Operations and Cynthia Hess, Psy.D. Pediatric Neuropsychologist Fellow, NESCA Oftentimes, the loss of a celebrity may be a child or adolescent’s first experience with loss or grief. Many this week who grew up admiring the talents of Kobe Bryant are unfortunately finding themselves in this group. Even...
By: Kelley Challen, Ed.M., CAS Director of Transition Services; Transition Specialist Transition planning is a complicated process for schools, families and related service professionals. It is not something that can be done well without key ingredients, such as open minds, collaboration and creative brain power… not to mention time. But when good transition planning happens in the context of a...
By: Alissa Talamo, Ph.D. Pediatric Neuropsychologist There are many parenting styles and trends…helicopter parents, attachment parents, free range parents, and now…the lawnmower parent. All of these parenting styles come from loving, well-meaning parents who want to do what is best for their children and protect them from harm. However, the lawnmower parent, the newest iteration of such approaches, often prevents...
By: Stephanie Monaghan-Blout, Psy.D. Pediatric Neuropsychologist Our children are growing up in a social environment that is too often flavored by fear; fear of inexplicable violence, fear of people who look different than us, whose politics are contrary to what we hold dear, people who seem to despise us as much as we discount them. At the same time, we...
By: Ann Helmus, Ph.D. NESCA Founder/Director Welcome to the new year and a new decade! It’s a perfect time to take a look in the mirror and determine who we are. We reflect on what’s taken place in our lives and ask questions about what’s next. What do we want to keep in our lives or discard? What motivates us?...
By Billy Demiri, CPT Certified Personal Trainer The New Year can bring with it so many possibilities, and beginning a new decade is even more exciting. This is the time of year so many of us envision great goals and changes that we want to make in the new year. A 2016 study published in scientific journal Personality and Social...
By: Reva Tankle, Ph.D. Pediatric Neuropsychologist The Federation for Children with Special Needs in Boston offers a Parent Consultant Training course several times every year. I have been privileged to teach this group about Neuropsychological Assessment and the IEP Process for the past 15 years. While many people take this course to become Parent Advocates as a profession, it is...
By: Meghan Meade, L.Ac, MAOM, MS PREP, CYT Licensed Acupuncturist, NESCA A Primer on Acupuncture While the insertion of needles into the skin to provoke a healing response is a hallmark characteristic of acupuncture, the practice actually involves the potential use of a number of other tools and techniques, including cupping, magnets and other non-insertive tools, and moxibustion, the topical...
By: Amity Kulis, PsyD Pediatric Neuropsychologist, NESCA The CDC estimates that 1 in 59 children are diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and studies by Autism Speaks also found that children with autism have a nearly four times greater chances of having unmet health care needs compared to children without disabilities. With those sobering statistics in mind, it’s...
By: Sophie Bellenis, OTD, OTR/L NESCA Occupational Therapist; Community-based Skills Coach School vacation! Bright lights! Snow! Holiday cards on the wall! Bells a’ringing! For many of us, the holiday season is an exciting, family-filled occasion that brings people together to celebrate yearly traditions. However, for some with sensory needs, the season can be over-stimulating, anxiety producing and difficult to navigate...
By Renée Marchant, Psy.D. Pediatric Neuropsychologist It is increasingly clear to educators, parents, clinicians and the like that teens are experiencing high levels of stress. Why? There are, of course, many reasons stemming from family, social, historical, and systemic “forces” that impact a teen’s personal day-to-day experience. As an evaluator, I am very aware of one “force” affecting our teens:...
By: Dina DiGregorio Karlon, M.A. Transition Specialist, NESCA Sexuality is something that connects all humans throughout the lifespan. We, as parents, want to see our children as forever young and protect them. For many parents it is extremely difficult to consider our children as sexual beings. Add the complexity of having a child with a developmental disability, and it appears...
By: Cynthia Hess, PsyD Pediatric Neuropsychologist Fellow There has been increasing interest in intervention strategies that target self-regulation in childhood. Self-regulation is the process through which the systems of emotion, attention and behavior are controlled in response to a situation, stimulus or demand. It develops rapidly in the early years of life. Self-regulation is necessary for social development because it supports...
By Kathleen Pignone, M.Ed., CRC Transition Specialist Financial Literacy is a much-discussed topic in the field of transition planning and life skills acquisition. Basically, we want our teenagers and young adults to have competence or knowledge in this broad area. Who is responsible for teaching this? Schools, parents, other community providers? The simple answer is all of the above. Here are 10...
By: Sophie Bellenis, OTD, OTR/L Occupational Therapist; Community-based Skills Coach As Halloween evening approaches, it’s important to take a moment to consider the small steps we can take to be inclusive and promote a successful experience for all children and adolescents. While Halloween is a holiday meant to bring communities closer together, trick or treating can sometimes be overwhelming, wrought with...
By Kathleen Pignone, M.Ed., CRC Transition Specialist If they are soft, why are they so crucial in this hard, cruel world? As a transition specialist, I meet with young adults and their parents on a daily basis. All parents want to know what is that missing piece for child to really succeed after high school? What should my priorities be? Is the...
By: Ann Helmus, Ph.D. NESCA Founder/Director I recently came across a raw and powerful blog post on Perfection Pending by Meredith Ethington. It’s a worry-filled, heartfelt and all-too-familiar account of a mother dropping her child off at school in tears, questioning her parenting skills after a tough, embattled morning with her struggling child. We can all relate to her fears,...
By: Reva Tankle, Ph.D. Pediatric Neuropsychologist A child’s pediatrician is often the first professional who hears a parent’s concern that their child is struggling in school. It is comforting to know that The American Academic of Pediatrics has recently provided guidelines to pediatricians that outline the important role they can play when a child is struggling in school. The guidelines refer...
By Dot Lucci, M.Ed., CAGS Many people come to NESCA because their child/children or they are struggling in some aspect of their life, school or work. They come to be evaluated, counseled or to access our integrative services. Often, they are hoping to gain insight into what is amiss and ultimately receive recommendations to help develop a “roadmap” toward improving their...
By Yvonne M. Asher, Ph.D. Pediatric Neuropsychologist Autumn holds excitement for many students – heading back to school to see old friends, meet new teachers and learn new skills. However, for some, a new school year holds more apprehension than enthusiasm. Students worry that their teacher will be mean, their math homework will be hard or that their recess time cut...
By: Sophie Bellenis, OTD, OTR/L Occupational Therapist; Community-based Skills Coach As a school-based occupational therapist, I found myself beginning each academic year by focusing on what my students needed to learn, the skills they needed to develop, and how I could best use my time to help them be successful in the classroom. Despite it being September, every year this inevitably...
By: Angela Currie, Ph.D. Pediatric Neuropsychologist, NESCA Director of Training and New Hampshire Operations There is often lack of awareness or confusion about what a Nonverbal Learning Disability (NLD or NVLD) is. While NLD has been long-discussed in the neuropsychological and educational world, it has not been formally recognized by the medical field due to variability within individual profiles and...
By: Alissa Talamo, Ph.D. Pediatric Neuropsychologist I recently attended the International Dyslexia Association Conference in Atlanta, GA (dyslexiaida.org). Among the conference attendees were researchers, teachers, speech-language pathologists, psychologists, and parents of children with dyslexia. One recurring key point was the importance of early identification of reading difficulties, as early provision of appropriate interventions and services leads to better outcomes....
By: Nancy Roosa, Psy.D. Pediatric Neuropsychologist, NESCA I recently evaluated a 15-year-old boy, who we’ll call Sam, whose parents brought him in due to some concerning new behaviors, including failing classes, disobeying his parents’ rules – particularly around curfew and technology use – and smoking marijuana on a daily basis. When meeting Sam, I was amazed at how engaging, polite...
By: Dina DiGregorio Karlon, M.A. Transition Specialist, NESCA Today, more students with disabilities are opting to attend college. As students plan to pursue college, it’s important for them to understand the increased expectations in college in the areas of academics, independence and social environments. For example, while in high school, the responsibility to get the students the services needed to...
By: Meghan Meade, L.Ac, MAOM, MS PREP, CYT Licensed Acupuncturist, NESCA Acupuncture is one of eight branches of Chinese Medicine that dates back over 3,000 years and involves the insertion of hair-thin needles into the body to provoke a healing response. The body registers needling as a microinjury to which it responds by summoning the immune, nervous and endocrine...
By: Erin Gibbons, Ph.D. Pediatric Neuropsychologist, NESCA In 2018, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) determined that approximately 1 in 59 children is diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Boys are still four times more likely be diagnosed with ASD; however, research indicates that the diagnosis is often missed in girls, especially those who have average intelligence...
By: Kelley Challen, Ed.M., CAS Director of Transition Services; Transition Specialist There are many transitions throughout a person’s life, but as a transition specialist working at a pediatric neuropsychology practice, my focus is most often on helping students who have struggled with learning, social and/or emotional difficulties to plan for and successfully navigate the transition from secondary school to whatever...
By: Reva Tankle, Ph.D. Pediatric Neuropsychologist When should I start transitioning back to the “school routine?” The summer break should be a time for kids to have fun playing with their friends and family and enjoying new adventures and experiences. As the new school year looms, however, parents start to think about how to transition from the flexible downtime of...
By: Ann Helmus, Ph.D. NESCA Founder/Director The final months of the school year always feel intense at NESCA as the clinical staff works diligently to get reports out on shorter timelines, squeeze in extra meetings and school observations, and ride the waves of joy and disappointment with parents who are seeking different educational placements for their child in the fall. ...
By: Stephanie Monaghan-Blout, Psy.D. Pediatric Neuropsychologist Parents often wonder why their children are contending with learning problems or attentional issues, or suffer from emotional difficulties, and if they could have done something different in their parenting to have spared their child. Alternatively, they assume their own genes are condemning their child to these difficulties and challenges. This is the...
By: Alissa Talamo, PhD Clinical Neuropsychologist, NESCA Rodney gets decent grades and achieves close to or at grade level in all of his district assessments. When concerns about his reading achievement were raised and an evaluation was conducted, it was found that his IQ is well above average, superior in some areas, but his reading decoding scores are below the...
By: Ann-Noelle McCowan, M.S, RYT Guidance Counselor; Yoga Specialist For many children and adults, the end of the school year and the start of summer is an eagerly awaited transition. In schools the days are counted down, final assignments handed in, lockers cleaned out and yearbooks signed. Kids imagine the freedom of more sleep and play, and a reduction in work...
By Billy Demiri, CPT Certified Personal Trainer Recently I came across an article that highlights what I have believed to be true since I first started exercising regularly myself…a healthy body will foster a healthy mind. The study shows that “lifting weights helps lift depression; cardiovascular activities reduce the effects of anxiety; and any type of movement improves mental health.” Throughout the...
By: Ryan Ruth Conway, PsyD Clinical Psychologist As a child and adolescent psychologist who specializes in treating anxiety, it is very rare that I work solely with the individual. More commonly, in working with anxious youth, I engage the caregivers in treatment as well, as they serve a unique role in helping children better manage their symptoms. Sometimes I even...
By Jessica Geragosian, Psy.D. Pediatric Neuropsychologist Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a neurological disruption of the arousal system in the brain resulting in difficulties regulating attention and activity levels. ADHD can present with or without hyperactivity. Children with ADHD often have trouble engaging in expected tasks and maintaining appropriate behavioral control due to problems with inattention and lack of self-regulation. This...
Pediatric Neuropsychologist Yvonne Asher, Ph.D., joins NESCA on June 3, servicing clients in the Londonderry, New Hampshire and Newton, Massachusetts offices, and is scheduling new clients now. We sat down with Yvonne to learn more about her, what her passions in neuropsychology are and why she joined NESCA. By Jane Hauser Director of Marketing & Outreach NESCA has 15 neuropsychologists...
By Kathleen Pignone, M.Ed., CRC Transition Specialist If they are soft, why are they so crucial in this hard, cruel world? As a transition specialist, I meet with young adults and their parents on a daily basis. All parents want to know what is that missing piece for child to really succeed after high school? What should my priorities be? Is the...
NESCA currently enjoys having three pediatric neuropsychology fellows on its roster: Caroline Kleeman, Psy.M., Miriam Dreyer, Ph.D., and Zachary Cottrell, Psy.D, LMHC. NESCA’s postdoctoral positions are two-year engagements allowing clinicians who have completed or are finalizing their doctoral degrees to advance their training and acquire/hone their skills in preparation for their long-term careers. We recently sat down with two of...
By: Sophie Bellenis, OTD, OTR/L Occupational Therapist; Community-Based Skills Coach When a school nurse pulls a child into his or her office to complete a basic eye screening, he or she may write, “20/20 vision in both eyes. No visual concerns.” This child has successfully looked at an eye chart and read the letters; demonstrated the ability to look straight ahead,...
By: Zachary Cottrell, Psy.D., LMHC Pediatric Neuropsychology Fellow, NESCA At NESCA, we work with many children with ADHD and issues with executive functions. Fortunately, there is a wide variety of interventions that can be used to aid executive function development, such as martial arts, aerobics, yoga, mindfulness and cognitive-behavioral therapy. However, another option to keep in mind is learning a...
By: Dina Karlon, M.A. Transition Specialist, NESCA Starting to think about the college admissions/testing process? It can be costly and confusing, so we’ve compiled some tips to help you navigate the testing landscape. Tip 1 – SAT or ACT – Which test should a student take? Most colleges will take either, but there are differences to the tests. SATs, which were...
Breaking down a common pathology and get it in balance this spring By Holly Pelletier, L.Ac. Licensed Acupuncturist If you are alive today, chances are you have some form of one of the most common Chinese medical diagnoses, Liver Qi stagnation. Let me break down this complex, and presumably new, terminology. Liver (LV)—In Chinese medicine, all of the meridian systems...
By: Ann Helmus, Ph.D. NESCA Founder/Director It’s finally Spring here in New England – and we are seeing signs of growth and emergence from the winter. At NESCA, we’ve had our own exciting growth over the past few months: In Londonderry, N.H., we brought Dina Karlon on full-time as a Transition Specialist, guiding students and young adults to their next...
By Dot Lucci, M.Ed., CAGS Currently many school districts have social-emotional learning (SEL) goals as part of their mission. They include goals, such as students will: think critically and solve problems; communicate and collaborate effectively; attend to physical, social and emotional health; contribute to and care about their community and world; and, recognize the uniqueness and dignity of individuals of differing...
By Jason McCormick, Psy.D. Pediatric Neuropsychologist In my work as a neuropsychologist, much of my practice involves assessment geared toward transition planning – the move from high school to college or from high school to the working world. For these cases, I find the use of measures of adaptive behavior skills – day-to-day skills associated with self-care, communication, community navigation,...
By: Nancy Roosa, Psy.D. Pediatric Neuropsychologist, NESCA Melanie is a sweet, hard-working 11-year-old girl whose parents brought her to NESCA for an evaluation to try to understand why she was struggling in school. Melanie was a cheerful, vivacious girl who seemed intelligent, curious and articulate. But she was barely getting by in fifth grade, putting in hours on homework every...
By: Angela Currie, Ph.D. Pediatric Neuropsychologist, NESCA Director of Training and New Hampshire Operations While in 2013 there were only 22 states that had laws regarding dyslexia, as of March 2018, 42 states have dyslexia-specific laws, and as discussed in the article Dyslexia Laws in the USA: A 2018 Update by Martha Youman and Nancy Mather, 33 legislative bills...
By: Alissa Talamo, PhD Clinical Neuropsychologist, NESCA Cody is a 17-year-old young man participating in 11th grade. He is a talented runner with a good sense of humor and he has achieved mostly Bs in his college preparatory and advanced college preparatory high school classes. However, Cody’s mother describes him as the kind of kid whose “head would fall off...
By: Alissa Talamo, PhD Clinical Neuropsychologist, NESCA Alexis is a 5-year-old girl midway through kindergarten. She is well-liked, social, and has a strong vocabulary for her age. But her kindergarten teacher has noticed that Alexis has some difficulties in the classroom. Alexis raises her hand often during circle time, but when she is called on she usually freezes or contributes...
By: Kelley Challen, Ed.M., CAS Director of Transition Services, NESCA What are Transition Services? Transition means the process of moving from one life stage to another. In context to NESCA, we are referring to the transition from high school to post-secondary life, and we specialize in working with nontraditional students who often have had accommodations or special education services....
By: Amity Kulis, PsyD Pediatric Neuropsychologist, NESCA “Who get’s the results of the testing, me or my parents?” As a neuropsychologist, clients of all ages ask why they are being tested and who is going to get the information from the testing. Sometimes these questions come from a place of nervousness, while others are asking because they have a general...
By: Erin Gibbons, Ph.D. Pediatric Neuropsychologist, NESCA Anxiety disorders are becoming more and more common among children and adolescents. Recent data from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) reported that 31.9% of adolescents between 13-19 have an identified anxiety disorder. Although fewer statistics are available, it is clear that students who have a developmental, learning, or attention disorder are at...
By: Stephanie Monaghan-Blout, Psy.D. Pediatric Neuropsychologist When a family books an intake for neuropsychological evaluation, they are typically asked to complete a few pieces of paperwork and to bring previous testing and other educational documents such as an Individualized Education Program (IEP) for their intake appointment. Despite this request, many parents will come to the intake session with empty...
By Renée Marchant, Psy.D. Pediatric Neuropsychologist What might this be? A saxophone player? A woman’s face? A bunch of black and white paint? Or is it something else entirely? This classic optical illusion engages the parts of the brain responsible for perception, critical thinking, and problem-solving so that humans can “make sense” of a somewhat ambiguous picture. We know that...
By: Ann Helmus, Ph.D. NESCA Founder/Director So many wonderful things have happened at NESCA in the past year including our recruitment of many talented interns, post-doctoral fellows, and staff members, the opening of an office in the Foxborough/Plainville Area, and the promotion of several staff. As Founder and Director, I continue to be both proud and humbled by the incredibly...
By Jessica Geragosian, Psy.D. Pediatric Neuropsychologist Emilia is in the 7th grade. Teachers have always found her to be an intelligent and academically motivated child; however, she has historically been quite slow in completing classwork and tests. Homework, particularly now in middle school, has been a highly laborious process, taking her far longer than her peers. Emilia’s parents were also...
By Jason McCormick, Psy.D. Pediatric Neuropsychologist I work with a number of parents concerned about the quality of their child’s social life. Lamenting that their child has no true friends, many parents I see note that that their child doesn’t “hang out” with peers. However, when asked about how their child does spend time with peers, many parents report that their child is involved...
By: Ann-Noelle McCowan, M.S, RYT Guidance Counselor; Yoga Specialist As yoga continues to expand its popularity and presence many people still worry that there is something that prohibits their beginning a yoga practice. Yoga increases strength, balance and flexibility while decreasing stress. Yoga increases athletic performance, improves respiration, and promotes better sleep quality. It has been used successfully as a complementary...
By: Dina Karlon, M.A. NESCA Transition Specialist So often students feel pressure to come up with a plan of what they want to do with their lives; college is expensive and it’s a big decision. I will say to you that while it feels overwhelming, there are things you can do to limit the stress. During the winter holiday season, college...
By: Ashlee Cooper NESCA Marketing and Outreach Coordinator PCIT was first developed in the 1970’s. How did you become interested in this treatment? My first exposure to PCIT was in graduate school, in a course through my doctoral program that covered evidence-based therapies for childhood externalizing disorders, including ADHD and disruptive behaviors. I was immediately intrigued by the...
By: Sophie Bellenis, OTD, OTR/L NESCA Occupational Therapist; Community-Based Skills Coach School vacation! Bright lights! Snow! Holiday cards on the wall! Bells a’ringing! For many of us, the holiday season is an exciting, family filled occasion that brings people together to celebrate yearly traditions. However, for some of our children with sensory needs, the season can be over-stimulating, anxiety producing,...
By: Kelley Challen, Ed.M., CAS Director of Transition Services & Assistant Director of NESCA As a transition specialist with a guidance counseling background, I work with many students during the college application process and the transition to managing life on a college campus. I help students and their families determine whether the student is ready to make the transition, whether an...
By: Ashlee Cooper NESCA Marketing and Outreach Coordinator What made you become interested in being a neuropsychologist? I first became interested in neuropsychology when I was in graduate school. I was pursuing a Masters Degree in Developmental Psychology and I worked on a research project looking at brain organization in children with autism. This sparked my interest...
By Holly Pelletier, L.Ac. Licensed Acupuncturist Although no one can argue with the beauty of the changing leaves around us, this time of the year can be hard on people in a multitude of ways. Reason being? For most people, fall merely marks the downward spiral into winter–a season of short days, chilly nights, and colorless, dreary skies....
Billy Demiri, a Personal Trainer in Boston for the past 5 years, has recently joined NESCA to offer Personal and Social Coaching (PSC) for clients. We recently caught up with him while he was doing agility courses, wall sits and resistance bands with a client. Tell us about your background, training, and certifications: I grew up in Malden, Massachusetts....
By Kathleen Pignone, M.Ed., CRC Transition Specialist It feels like every day is a National soup or sandwich day or Taco Tuesday. So much that national recognition months are getting lost in the shuffle. National Disability Employment Awareness Month was declared in 1988 by the United States Congress for October to raise awareness of the employment needs and contributions of individuals with all types of disabilities. The purpose...
By: Angela Currie, Ph.D. Pediatric Neuropsychologist, NESCA Director of Training and New Hampshire Operations There is a lot that we can learn from our children. They are not as burdened as we, and they approach life with more vigor, wonder, and confidence. With this, they do a lot of important things that we adults have forgotten to do. Right...
By: Nancy Roosa, PsyD Pediatric Neuropsychologist, NESCA Last Saturday, I found myself – as part of Team NESCA- at the starting line for a bike ride, waiting apprehensively for my turn to start, carefully balancing my bike between my legs, stretching my legs and checking my tires. I was a bit nervous, because I’m not an experienced or competitive...
By: Alissa Talamo, PhD Clinical Neuropsychologist, NESCA According to Sally Shaywitz M.D., (Audrey G. Ratner Professor of Pediatrics-Neurology; Co-Director, Yale Center for Dyslexia & Creativity), dyslexia is highly prevalent, affecting one in five people, and it represents over 80% of all learning disabilities. Even when a child does not meet the criteria for dyslexia, they may be a reluctant reader. Children...
By: Amity Kulis, PsyD Pediatric Neuropsychologist, NESCA One of my favorite activities as a neuropsychologist is getting to conduct school observations. Many parents ask why would I need a school observation? And the answer is simple, they provide a wealth of information about your child and their everyday experience at school. For so many, understanding the comings and goings of...
By: Ryan Ruth Conway, PsyD Clinical Psychologist, NESCA Earlier this month, the New York Times published an article about intensive therapy, a type of treatment that is more accelerated and condensed than traditional once weekly therapy. The author described a “new wave” of therapy programs popping up around the country designed to help clients with all types of anxiety experience...
By: Ashlee Cooper Marketing and Outreach Coordinator, NESCA What is neuropsychology? How did you get interested in this field? My first introduction to neuropsychology was as a college student when I took coursework in neuroscience and cognition and found it to be fascinating. However, when I started graduate school, I was initially intimidated by neuropsychology courses as I...
By: Rebecca Girard, LICSW, CAS Licensed Clinical Social Worker, NESCA Sophie Bellenis, OTD, OTR/L Occupational Therapist; Community-Based Skills Coach, NESCA This summer, NESCA piloted its first series of social pragmatics groups using the Northeast Arc Spotlight/SDARI model. We are excited to continue offering these groups in the 2018-2019 school year. Please read below to learn more about this model...
By: Nancy Roosa, Psy.D. Pediatric Neuropsychologist, NESCA In the last blog post about increased access to independent evaluations, we cited some provisions that were in the original bill, filed by State Senator Barbara L’Italien and State Representative Jim O’Day, which ultimately did not pass. The increase in rates for IEEs were made by a regulation from the agency, the Executive...
By: Jacquelyn Reinert, Psy.D., LMHC Pediatric Neuropsychologist, NESCA “Transgender and autism, that’s not a thing, is it?” Since joining NESCA last September, I have encountered countless parents, teachers, and professionals who ask this exact question in feedback sessions, case consultations, and team meetings. The conversation that typically follows often calls into question the validity of the intersectionality of Autism Spectrum...
Here is the video link for Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT)! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLvUuRYc2eg. This treatment with live therapy sessions teaches caregivers new and better ways to relate to their child. Dr. Ryan Ruth Conway is now offering this evidence-based therapy at NESCA. rconway@nesca-newton.com.
By: Ryan Ruth Conway, Psy.D. Clinical Psychologist, NESCA First developed in the 1970’s by Sheila M. Eyberg, Ph.D., Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) is a scientifically proven treatment program for young children (ages 2-7) who display challenging behaviors (e.g., noncompliance, defiance, temper tantrums, aggression) and difficulty regulating their emotions. PCIT therapists work with both the child and the parent together....
By: Rebecca Girard, LICSW, CAS Licensed Clinical Social Worker The New York Times recently published an opinion piece titled, How to Meet Autistic People Halfway, an article that challenges the common belief that people on the autism spectrum are avoidant of social interaction and do not desire social connections. The authors, Vikram K. Jaswal and Nameera Akhtar are psychologists and researchers who...
By: Ann-Noelle McCowan, M.S., RYT Guidance Counselor; Yoga Specialist Each school year I observe the fluctuations of student and adult stress, and each August the return of relaxed and recharged kids and adults. For many, summer means a slower pace and longer days filled with activities that bring joy and support our health and happiness. Time with family, friends, and...
By: Nancy Roosa, Psy.D. Pediatric Neuropsychologist, NESCA As an independent group practice, not allied with any one school district, medical or advocacy group, neuropsychologists at NESCA are often called upon to perform independent evaluations for parents who are seeking an unbiased expert opinion related to their child’s developmental and educational needs. In some cases, this is the first evaluation a...
By: Holly Pelletier, L.Ac. Licensed Acupuncturist Acupuncture is a gentle approach to health care that utilizes energy meridians in the body to help facilitate and unblock areas of stagnation and congestion. There are many different ways to perform an acupuncture treatment, some don’t even require the use of needles. Because acupuncture works to restore balance in the body, it...
By: Ann Helmus, Ph.D. NESCA Founder/Director It’s hard to beat Saturday, but Tuesday comes close! Tuesdays at NESCA are all about learning, collaborating, and eating, three of my favorite activities. We start the day with seminar over continental breakfast. Professionals are invited to NESCA to share their work with us, mostly focused on intervention services for children with special needs...
By: Angela Currie, Ph.D. Pediatric Neuropsychologist From an early age, we are subliminally taught that stress is a bad thing. Whether frustrated because your LEGO tower broke or confused about which two paint colors to mix to get green, you were more likely to hear “Calm down – no reason to get stressed,” than you were to hear “Let’s use...
By: Nancy Roosa, Psy.D. Pediatric Neuropsychologist The agonizing discussion around the tragedy of school shootings – happening on a weekly basis in this country — too often devolves into a polarized argument about whether the main problem is guns OR mental health. The argument seems moot, since BOTH access to a firearm and mental health problems have to come...
By: Jacki Reinert, Psy.D., LMHC Pediatric Neuropsychology Post-Doctoral Fellow Content is king. Not all content is created equal. Recently I received a sweet, hand-made Mother’s Day gift from my son. On small pieces of paper, he meticulously filled in a series of incomplete sentences, ranging from “My mom can do many things. I think she’s best at making art” to...
By: Alissa Talamo, Ph.D. Pediatric Neuropsychologist Did you know research shows that 43-65% of students diagnosed with Dyslexia also struggle with math at a level that meets criteria for a Specific Learning Disability in Math? This is in comparison to the general population, where 5-7 % of the population meet criteria for a Specific Math Disability (Dyscalculia – difficulties...
By: Jason McCormick, Psy.D. NESCA Pediatric Neuropsychologist As a neuropsychologist who specializes in working with adolescents and young adults, I have had many years of experience assessing students who are gearing up for the college transition. Having also the vantage point of working regularly with college students, I see up close what kinds of skills help students make a...
By: Ann Helmus, Ph.D. NESCA Founder/Director A five-year old boy, whom I will call Marcel, was referred by his parents for evaluation to determine if he had Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) because he isolated himself socially. With a great deal of effort, I got Marcel through the neuropsychological evaluation process and observed him at his pre-school. Results of the evaluation...
By: Kelley Challen, Ed.M., CAS Director of Transition Services; Transition Specialist On March 26, the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) sent out an important administrative advisory regarding transition services and graduating with a high school diploma (Administrative Advisory SPED 2018-2: Secondary Transition Services and Graduation with a High School Diploma). This much-needed advisory clarifies when and how...
By: Kathleen Pignone, M.Ed., CRC Transition Specialist, NESCA Summer is here. The weather is mostly sunny, we are in New England after all, and many of us are looking forward to our teenagers being out of school and hanging around in the basement playing video games on line with their friends, asking for rides to the mall and wondering why...
By: Sophie Bellenis, OTD, OTR/L Occupational Therapist; Community-Based Skills Coach In order to fully understand the role that occupational therapy can play in pediatric health and wellbeing, it is first important to understand the term “occupation.” The World Federation of Occupational Therapy (WFOT) defines occupations as, “the everyday activities that people do as individuals, in families, and in communities that occupy...
By: Jacki Reinert, Psy.D., LMHC Pediatric Neuropsychology Post-Doctoral Fellow I recently had the opportunity to co-evaluate a young woman in high school who was recently suspended from school due to ongoing peer conflicts with classmates on a social media app called Sarahah. What initially started as an innocent question soon escalated into an online battle, fueled by a misunderstanding and...
By: Jacki Reinert, Psy.D., LMHC Pediatric Neuropsychology Post-Doctoral Fellow In this week’s Modern Parenting blog, let’s talk a little bit about all of those footprints you have been leaving around. Do you remember that photo you shared on Facebook last week, or that status you “liked”? Chances are high that you don’t remember which photo or what status I am...
By: Jacki Reinert, Psy.D., LMHC Pediatric Neuropsychology Post-Doctoral Fellow Prior to entering doctoral studies, my family and I had the opportunity to live overseas for two years. After spending most of my childhood in New England, complete with family vacations to upstate New York, my limited world view left me ill-prepared for the splendor and, at times, sadness of raising our...
By: Ryan Ruth Conway, Psy.D. Clinical Psychologist, NESCA Deciding to enroll your child in mental health treatment is a big step in and of itself. Before initiating the process, there is often a trial and error period of interventions to improve the situation, whether at home or in school, and then coming to terms with the fact that they might...
By: Erin Gibbons, Ph.D. Pediatric Neuropsychologist, NESCA Parenthood is a daunting task to say the least. Not only must we worry about keeping our children healthy and safe, but we are constantly bombarded with information about potentially harmful foods, chemicals, toys, etc. Many parents also have concerns about whether their children are meeting developmental milestones on time and/or whether they should...