By: Erin Gibbons, Ph.D. Pediatric Neuropsychologist, NESCA Having been at NESCA for more than 11 years, I have been fortunate enough to follow many clients throughout their childhood. In some cases, I have conducted two or three neuropsychological evaluations on the same student at different points in their life. After their first experience with an evaluation, parents will often ask,...
By: Kristen Simon, M.Ed, Ed.S Transition Specialist With Spring right around the corner, eighth grade students will begin to prepare for a transition to a new building. For students on IEPs, this means shifting to a new team and planning for supports that will help your child adapt and thrive in a new setting with different adults and expectations. Eighth grade...
By: Cynthia Hess, PsyD Pediatric Neuropsychologist Many of my clients find NESCA after experiencing years of difficulty, whether at school, at home, or in the community. They have often been evaluated previously but still do not clearly understand what underlies their challenges. When clients struggle for years, they have often received a variety of diagnoses. The DSM-V provides diagnostic criteria...
By: Kelley Challen, Ed.M., CAS Director of Transition Services, NESCA One of the exciting aspects of being a transition specialist who evaluates and provides consultation to students and schools across the country is that transition services are dictated by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA 2004), a federal law. Students have similar rights across all 50 states regarding how...
By: Alissa Talamo, PhD Pediatric Neuropsychologist, NESCA Reading 20 minutes per day has been shown to have many positive benefits. Did you know…? Children who read 20 minutes a day/5 days a week are exposed to 1.8 million words in one school year. Compare this to students who read 5 minutes per day – they will be exposed to 282,000 words...
By: Cynthia Hess, PsyD Pediatric Neuropsychologist Fellow and Therapist According to the APA Dictionary of Psychology, boredom is defined as: A state of weariness or ennui resulting from a lack of engagement with stimuli in the environment. It is generally considered to be one of the least desirable conditions of daily life and is often identified by individuals as a...
By Angela Currie, Ph.D. Pediatric Neuropsychologist, NH Director, NESCA When clients come for neuropsychological assessment, a domain of skills that is commonly assessed is executive function. Executive function is a complex set of cognitive and self-management skills that allow for efficient, goal-oriented problem solving and task completion. These skills do not speak to how smart someone is, or whether or...
By: Moira Creedon, Ph.D. Pediatric Neuropsychologist, NESCA There can be a great deal of confusion about what kind of testing you want for your child. No wonder when we have so many options – neuropsychological testing, psychoeducational testing, speech and language testing, occupational therapy testing, personality testing, and psychological testing. The part that can be incredibly challenging is that these...
By Miranda Milana, Psy.D. Pediatric Neuropsychologist During the first few years of life, parents and caregivers are often tracking baby’s exciting first milestones, such as their first steps or first words. Routine well-child visits at the pediatrician’s office will often include the doctor asking what new skills you have noticed since baby’s last visit—Are they sitting unsupported yet? Crawling? Saying...
By: Kelley Challen, Ed.M., CAS Director of Transition Services; Transition Specialist, NESCA Almost 75% of college students reported moderate to severe psychological distress during the 2020-2021 school year (National College Health Assessment, American College Health Association, 2021). College students across the country are continuing to struggle with depression, anxiety, self-harm, and suicidal thoughts this school year. In the weeks leading...
By Dot Lucci, M.Ed., CAGS Director of Consultation and Psychoeducational Counseling Services, NESCA During this holiday season, life for most people gets a bit more hectic. Many of us feel more stressed, busy, and overwhelmed with everyday life as well as preparing for the holidays. Our children are stressed as well, as they feel our stress. Older students feel the...
By: Lyndsay Wood, OTD, OTR/L NESCA Transition Specialist & Occupational Therapist Procrastination is affecting a lot of us these days. There is a wide variety of reasons that people put things off until the last minute. In a previous blog, I discussed tips for anxiety-based procrastination which you can read here. Today I would like to talk about procrastination related...
By: Maggie Rodriguez, Psy.D. Pediatric Neuropsychologist, NESCA One of the most common referral questions I see in my work as a neuropsychologist is, “Does my child have ADHD?” When a child has trouble focusing, Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, or ADHD, is one of the first things that comes to mind, and for good reason. However, ADHD is only one potential underlying cause...
By Yvonne M. Asher, Ph.D. Pediatric Neuropsychologist A recent New York Times article described a trend, noticed by many mental health professionals, where adolescents and young adults have been exploring mental health on social media. The article references the explosion of TikTok videos in which individuals disclose their psychiatric diagnoses and symptoms. For young people searching on social media, these...
By Olivia Rogers, MA., CCC- SLP Speech-Language Pathologist, NESCA A written language disorder is an impairment in fluent word reading (i.e., reading decoding and sight word recognition), reading comprehension, written spelling, and/or written expression (Ehri, 2000; Gough & Tunmer, 1986; Kamhi & Catts, 2012; Tunmer & Chapman, 2007, 2012). As written language disorders are quite complex, appropriate assessment and treatment...
By: Kelley Challen, Ed.M., CAS Director of Transition Services; Transition Specialist, NESCA One of the biggest challenges in supporting students with disabilities, and their families, as they contemplate the transition from high school to college is combatting the many “myths” that exist in our culture and brains about college. Chief among those myths is the expectation that a 17- or...
By: Jane Hauser Director of Marketing & Outreach I recently had the opportunity to learn more about Pediatric Neuropsychologist Ferne Pinard, Ph.D., who joined NESCA in this August. We are thrilled to have her on board and hope you learn more about her background and specialty areas in today’s blog interview. How did you choose pediatric neuropsychology as a profession?...
By: Ann Helmus, Ph.D. NESCA Founder/Director; Clinical Neuropsychologist While supporting a friend who was recently diagnosed with bipolar disorder, I have come to appreciate how challenging it is for people with this disorder to maintain a stable mood state. One of the most helpful resources I discovered in my search for information to help me support my friend was a...
By: Alissa Talamo, PhD Pediatric Neuropsychologist, NESCA According to the International Dyslexia Association (IDA), “Dyslexia is a language-based learning disability. Dyslexia refers to a cluster of symptoms, which result in people having difficulties with specific language skills, particularly reading. Students with dyslexia usually experience difficulties with other language skills such as spelling, writing, and pronouncing words. Dyslexia affects individuals throughout...
By: Sophie Bellenis, OTD, OTR/L Occupational Therapist; Real-life Skills Program Manager and Coach, NESCA It is no surprise that the experience of a high school student is vastly different than that of a college student. This transition is seen as a pivotal step towards independence as we send students off to learn, grow, and explore in an often substantially less...
By: Moira Creedon, Ph.D. Pediatric Neuropsychologist, NESCA As we reach the end of our first month back to school, many of us may be reaching the end of that glorious honeymoon period – the phase when kids are excited to see friends, optimistic for the school year, and reviewing material they likely already know. For some, the return did not...
By: Jane Hauser Director of Marketing & Outreach, NESCA I recently had the opportunity to learn more about Pediatric Neuropsychologist Lauren Halladay, Ph.D., who joins NESCA in September. Learn more about her background and specialties in today’s blog interview. How did you choose pediatric neuropsychology as a profession? My interest was originally piqued when I was younger, as early as...
By: Erin Gibbons, Ph.D. Pediatric Neuropsychologist, NESCA Previous blogs in our recent series addressing frequently asked questions during the intake process, have covered the important differences between school-based testing and an independent neuropsychological evaluation. A neuropsychological evaluation should always be comprehensive, meaning that it covers various aspects of the student’s learning profile: cognition, language, memory, attention, and social-emotional functioning. However,...
By Miranda Milana, Psy.D. Pediatric Neuropsychologist If your child has ever undergone an evaluation through their school system or received an outside neuropsychological evaluation, chances are you have heard the terms “504 plan” or “IEP” thrown around. Given that it can be difficult to understand the differences between the two, we will break down what both of these terms mean...
By: Cynthia Hess, PsyD Pediatric Neuropsychologist While both a school evaluation and a private neuropsychological evaluation often provide valuable information, there are some considerable differences. The primary purpose of a school evaluation is to determine whether or not a student presents with a disability that impairs their ability to access the curriculum and fully participate in the academic and social...
By Angela Currie, Ph.D. Pediatric Neuropsychologist, NH Director, NESCA As part of NESCA’s ongoing blog series addressing some of the most frequently asked questions about neuropsychological testing, today we are addressing why neuropsychologists may choose to delay a diagnosis. At NESCA, I often supervise neuropsychology trainees, and one of the first questions I asked them is: “What is the goal of...
By: Moira Creedon, Ph.D. Pediatric Neuropsychologist, NESCA Neuropsychological testing is a tremendous undertaking in time and effort for a family. It involves intake documents, questionnaires, financial paperwork, insurance information, teacher forms, and the list goes on. I promise this paperwork is meaningful and helpful, a way to get the most out of the time and investment in a neuropsychological evaluation....
By Dot Lucci, M.Ed., CAGS Director of Consultation and Psychoeducational Counseling Services, NESCA Much has been published about parenting and parenting styles, whether in YouTube clips, books, podcasts, scholarly articles, newspaper articles, and so much more. But basically, if you are a parent, you are just doing your job – you are parenting, trying to guide your children, teens, and...
By: Kelley Challen, Ed.M., CAS Director of Transition Services; Transition Specialist, NESCA Summer in the United States is in full swing. If you have teenagers, they may be working, completing driver’s education, visiting colleges, travelling, or even getting started with their college application this summer. No matter what your teenager is doing, this is great time to sit down and...
By: Angela Currie, Ph.D. Pediatric Neuropsychologist, NH Director, NESCA One of the best ways to make the most of your summer is to get outside and engage in lots of outdoor play. We live in a society where we tend to over-schedule ourselves and our children. Particularly during the school year, this makes it very difficult for children to get...
By: Lyndsay Wood, OTD, OTR/L NESCA Transition Specialist & Occupational Therapist Do you, your child or your loved one deal with frequent anxiety? Stress? Panic? Sometimes it may feel like you are spinning out of control. With so much going on in the world, in our own lives, and in our own head, it can feel like an impossible task...
By Olivia Rogers, MA, CCC-SLP Speech-Language Pathologist, NESCA When it comes to executive dysfunction, we often see students struggle with the organization of language. This presents differently in each student, but may be seen as difficulty comprehending information, and getting ideas out of their heads and organized into words or on paper. They might recognize the words when listening or...
By: Kelley Challen, Ed.M., CAS Director of Transition Services; Transition Specialist, NESCA My colleague Tabitha Monahan and I have dedicated several recent blog entries to vocational assessment—a vital tool for helping students to learn about career planning and employment and to set career goals for themselves. Previous blogs have included an overview of vocational assessment as well as an in...
By: Maggie Rodriguez, Psy.D. Pediatric Neuropsychologist, NESCA When most of us hear the term “ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder),” we think of the little boy who can’t sit still at his desk or the girl gazing out the window lost in her own thoughts during class. While difficulties with hyperactivity and/or attention are core features of ADHD–embedded directly in the...
By: Sophie Bellenis, OTD, OTR/L Occupational Therapist; Real-life Skills Program Manager and Coach, NESCA With summer right around the corner, many students are thinking of warm evenings outside, days at the beach, pool or park, summer camps, and summer jobs. For parents, summer can sometimes feel like both a time of fun and a time of struggling to keep up...
By: Cynthia Hess, PsyD Pediatric Neuropsychologist The pandemic has made the already complex job of parenting even more challenging. With parents having to balance working from home and remote learning, many families relied on screens for learning, socialization, and entertainment. Questions about screen time and the impact on child development were already hot topics in our digital age, but the...
By: Kelley Challen, Ed.M., CAS Director of Transition Services; Transition Specialist, NESCA Every child who receives special education services in the United States is entitled to transition services—a coordinated set of activities that will facilitate the student’s preparation for postsecondary education and/or training, competitive employment, independent living, and community participation.[1] In order to provide these services, an IEP team has...
By: Jane Hauser Director of Marketing & Outreach In today’s blog, I have the pleasure of introducing you to NESCA Pediatric Neuropsychologist Maggie Rodriguez, Psy.D., who recently joined our team of expert clinicians. How did you discover your interest in neuropsychology? It was a long and winding road! I went into college, interested in a wide range of subject areas,...
By Miranda Milana, Psy.D. Pediatric Neuropsychologist It is estimated that approximately one third of adults in the United States have met criteria for an alcohol use disorder at some point in their lives, while approximately 10% have met criteria for another substance use disorder. While these numbers are staggering, what is even more astonishing is the fact that consuming substances...
By: Ann Helmus, Ph.D. NESCA Founder/Director; Clinical Neuropsychologist In the world of assessment, “testing the limits” means essentially bending the rules of test administration in order to see if the change in administration allows the test-taker to demonstrate their knowledge more effectively. For example, some children and adolescents respond impulsively to multiple-choice tests, picking the first choice that appears to...
By: Erin Gibbons, Ph.D. Pediatric Neuropsychologist, NESCA The short answer to this question is YES. As a neuropsychologist, I enjoy evaluating students who have complex profiles, including intellectual/developmental disabilities, genetic conditions, and medical complexities. In many cases, these students have been deemed “untestable” and have never had a comprehensive evaluation. This is problematic for two major reasons. First, we cannot...
By Dot Lucci, M.Ed., CAGS Director of Consultation and Psychoeducational Services, NESCA In 1989, Stephen Covey wrote “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People,” and it continues to be a book that is still relevant today, used by many Fortune 500 companies. He was a change-agent, a best-selling author, educator, and business leader, and through his down-to-earth approach, he created...
By: Kelley Challen, Ed.M., CAS Director of Transition Services; Transition Specialist, NESCA One of the most important aspects of transition planning for students with individual education programs (IEPs)—and for every student—is development of postsecondary goals. These goals are often described synonymously as the student’s postsecondary vision: the outcomes that the student and their IEP team expects the student to achieve...
By: Angela Currie, Ph.D. Pediatric Neuropsychologist, NH Director, NESCA The special education process is naturally stressful, particularly when submitting a first request for eligibility. It is difficult to watch your child struggle in school, and while the IEP process may bring hope for things improving, there are complex procedures and timelines, as well as feelings of anxiety and uncertainty, that...
By: Lyndsay Wood, OTD, OTR/L NESCA Transition Specialist & Occupational Therapist Despite our best efforts, procrastination happens. There are many reasons that you may be putting off that large paper, important phone call or those dishes that are stacking up. You may not have the motivation, you may be tired, you may have more fun plans, or maybe it makes you...
By: Stephanie Monaghan-Blout, Psy.D. Pediatric Neuropsychologist As a pediatric neuropsychologist, I often recommend yoga therapy for children with anxiety, impulse control, and/or motor/coordination/sensory issues, as well as issues that alienate them from their body (e.g., eating disorders and trauma). Another group for which a body-focused therapy like yoga would be helpful is children with language challenges who are not equipped...
By Olivia Rogers, MA, CF-SLP Speech-Language Pathologist, NESCA Recently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) updated guidelines for developmental milestones in the Learn the Signs. Act Early program for the first time since its initial release in 2004. This program provides free checklists of developmental milestones and outlines warning signs of developmental...
By: Sophie Bellenis, OTD, OTR/L Occupational Therapist; Real-life Skills Program Manager and Coach, NESCA Personal, professional, and academic goals are a large part of what drives us as we transition from one stage of life to the next. They also provide direction as we choose and maintain the habits and routines that we feel are important to daily life. Determining...
By: Moira Creedon, Ph.D. Pediatric Neuropsychologist, NESCA During intake and feedback meetings with families, I find the same question comes up often from parents: what do I tell my child about all of this? NESCA’s Dr. Erin Gibbons gracefully tackled how to prepare your child for their neuropsychological evaluation. After an evaluation is done, you as a parent now have...
By: Alissa Talamo, PhD Pediatric Neuropsychologist, NESCA Many students struggle to effectively express their ideas in writing at a level equivalent to their understanding of the concepts or information they are writing about… Why? There are many reasons a student may struggle with academic (expository) writing. Such writing requires a student to evaluate evidence, expand upon ideas, and demonstrate knowledge...
By: Moira Creedon, Ph.D. Pediatric Neuropsychologist, NESCA We have hit our third calendar year of COVID. It’s season 3 of this drama series during our Junior Year of COVID. As my colleagues in front line health care discuss ways to avoid burn-out in this lengthy experience, it’s inspired me to think of ways for our kids and teens to avoid...
By: Jane Hauser Director of Marketing & Outreach NESCA is thrilled to have welcomed a new Occupational Therapist who is serving as a Transition Specialist on the Transition Services Team. Learn more about Lyndsay Wood, OTD, OTR/L, in my interview with her below. How did you become interested in Occupational Therapy, specifically for transition-aged students? Right after college, I worked...
By Renée Marchant, Psy.D. Pediatric Neuropsychologist All brains are different. Thus, there is no “one way” to disclose a diagnosis of an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) to a child. The when, where, and how of diagnosis disclosure depends on the child and family’s preferences, values, and experiences. In addition, families do not have to feel alone in this process. Many...
By Yvonne M. Asher, Ph.D. Pediatric Neuropsychologist Even in pre-pandemic times, we saw many children and adolescents where social difficulties were the primary concern. Now, almost two years into the life-altering changes brought on by COVID-19, it is rare that I see a young person whose parents do not raise social concerns. Some common concerns include: My child does not...
By Miranda Milana, Psy.D. Pediatric Neuropsychologist The past 22 months have brought more transitions and changes to our daily lives than ever before. Whether children and parents have had to transition from routine school breaks, or to unprecedented remote learning environments, we have all dealt with our fair share of the unexpected since the COVID-19 pandemic began. As we prepare...
By: Sarah Attanasio OT/s and Lauren Zeitler, MSOT, OTR/L NESCA Occupational Therapist; Feeding Specialist With the holiday season in full swing, families will soon be faced with the significant routine change that comes with school vacation. During this time, it is important to continue working on skills gained and techniques learned during school and therapy. Occupational therapy (OT) sessions often...
By: Cynthia Hess, PsyD Pediatric Neuropsychologist Fellow and Therapist According to the APA Dictionary of Psychology, boredom is defined as: A state of weariness or ennui resulting from a lack of engagement with stimuli in the environment. It is generally considered to be one of the least desirable conditions of daily life and is often identified by individuals as a...
By: Kelley Challen, Ed.M., CAS Director of Transition Services; Transition Specialist, NESCA Over the past few months, my colleague Tabitha Monahan and I have dedicated several of our blog entries to vocational assessment as a critical tool for helping students learn about employment and set career goals for themselves. Previous blogs have provided an overview of vocational assessment as well...
By: Ann Helmus, Ph.D. NESCA Founder/Director; Clinical Neuropsychologist Liam’s mother was distraught, “He’s always in his room. He doesn’t want to see his friends. We’re so worried; something is wrong!” The last time I saw Liam, he was a popular, gregarious ninth grader, a varsity athlete who struggled to focus on schoolwork. Now in college, Liam explained, “Covid ruined everything,”...
By: Sophie Bellenis, OTD, OTR/L Occupational Therapist; Real-life Skills Program Manager and Coach, NESCA Being an occupational therapist (OT) often means working in a profession that many people do not have extensive experience with or knowledge about. It can be hard to give one definition of this profession when OTs are at hospitals and schools, working on advocacy in DC,...
By Dot Lucci, M.Ed., CAGS Director of Consultation and Psychoeducational Services, NESCA Many parents want their children to have friends and a social life, yet are concerned about the quality of their child’s social life. They often describe their child’s afterschool hours as being occupied with screen time, which may actually include others. Other children may be engaged in structured...
By: Angela Currie, Ph.D. Pediatric Neuropsychologist, NH Director, NESCA The holidays are supposed to bring joy, but they also bring a lot of pressure, expectations, and stress. Planning and preparing can take months, and balancing this planning with school events, holiday parties, and our every day demands can be a lot to handle. That said, there are some basic things...
By: Jessica Hanna MS, OTR/L Occupational Therapist, NESCA It’s that time of year when parents and loved ones are looking for the perfect gift. As pediatric occupational therapists, we are often asked about our recommendations for the best toys and activities that encourage learning and the development of specific skills. During an occupational therapy session, toys and games are used...
By: Stephanie Monaghan-Blout, Psy.D. Pediatric Neuropsychologist As parents and teachers, we want the world for our children, and one of the biggest worries is around social development and friendships. This worry is particularly acute when our child has a learning, emotional, or behavioral challenge that affects their functioning in school, the community, and at home. Knowing more about the developmental...
By Renée Marchant, Psy.D. Pediatric Neuropsychologist Research indicates that children and teens with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are more sensitive to heightened physiological sympathetic arousal (the “fight or flight” response), including increased heart rate, breathing rate, feeling “on edge” and body-based tenseness. Heightened physiological arousal is neurologically connected to sensory processing and emotional responses. This is why some children with...
By: Julie Robinson, OT Director of Clinical Services; Occupational Therapist, NESCA As a parent of a child who has just been referred for Occupational Therapy (OT) services, the prospect of what to do next and where to go can be quite confusing. With so many providers in the area, it can be difficult to know who would be the right...
By: Alissa Talamo, PhD Pediatric Neuropsychologist, NESCA Reading 20 minutes per day has been shown to have many positive benefits. Did you know…? Children who read 20 minutes a day/5 days a week are exposed to 1.8 million words in one school year. Compare this to students who read 5 minutes per day – they will be exposed to 282,000 words...
By: Kelley Challen, Ed.M., CAS Director of Transition Services; Transition Specialist, NESCA Over the past month, my colleague Tabitha Monahan and I have been dedicating our blog entries to vocational assessment as a critical tool for helping students learn about employment and set career goals for themselves. Previous blogs have provided an overview of vocational assessment as well as an...
By: Erin Gibbons, Ph.D. Pediatric Neuropsychologist, NESCA As a working mother of two young children, I often feel as if I am being pulled in a million different directions. When I am at work, I want to be present for my clients and families and not distracted by personal problems. When I am at home, I want to leave my...
By: Julie Robinson, OT Director of Clinical Services; Occupational Therapist, NESCA Halloween – a holiday full of tricks and treats. For some children, getting in the Halloween spirit by getting dressed up, carving pumpkins, and going trick-or-treating with friends is what they look forward to all year. For others, dressing up in an itchy costume, not being able to see...
By: Moira Creedon, Ph.D. Pediatric Neuropsychologist, NESCA As we reach the end of our second month back to school, many of us may be reaching the end of that glorious honeymoon period – the phase when kids are excited to see friends, optimistic for the school year, and reviewing material they likely already know. For some, the return did not...
By Olivia Rogers, MA, CF-SLP Speech-Language Pathologist, NESCA What exactly is a theme and why would we use them in speech therapy? A theme can be defined as the creation of various meaningful activities planned around a central topic or idea. For example, using activities that are all about the ocean, sports, or winter. Themed activities can be great for working...
By: Madelyn (Maddie) Girardi, OTD, OTR/L Occupational Therapist, NESCA What do you mean by a vertical surface? If you think about it, most of the activities children do day to day are completed on a horizontal surface, where toys and tools remain static, in one position. Picture a vertical surface, whether it be a wall, window, or an easel. Working...
By: Jane Hauser Director of Marketing & Outreach This September, NESCA welcomed a new neuropsychologist to its team. Learn more about Pediatric & Adult Neuropsychologist Miranda Milana, Psy.D., in my interview with her below. Where did your interest in neuropsychology come from? I knew from an early age that I wanted to work with children. I initially thought I would...
By Renée Marchant, Psy.D. Pediatric Neuropsychologist Bilingual and multilingual children are often diagnosed with both language disorders and autism spectrum disorders later in development than monolingual children. There are a variety of reasons for later diagnosis, such as disparities in service access or structural inequities in society which limit diagnostic or treatment services for bilingual and multilingual families as well...
By: Jessica Hanna MS, OTR/L Occupational Therapist, NESCA With kids back in school, drawings, coloring pages, and written work will make their way from the classroom to backpacks and eventually to the fridge for everyone to admire. From infancy to adulthood, we all hit many milestones in life. Some milestones stand out more than others, but the little ones are...
By Yvonne M. Asher, Ph.D. Pediatric Neuropsychologist For so many children, adolescents, and young adults, I find myself recommending something that seems too simple to be of much use – a list. The power of lists has been identified and described in depth by several experts, such as Atul Gawande (The Checklist Manifesto – an excellent read). These books often...
By: Kelley Challen, Ed.M., CAS Director of Transition Services; Transition Specialist, NESCA Transition planning is a complex process centered around helping students, typically who receive special education services, to set goals for their postsecondary adult lives and to engage in learning, services, and experiences that will help them to ultimately reach those goals. Assessment is a critical aspect of this...
By: Cynthia Hess, PsyD Pediatric Neuropsychologist and Therapist Many parents are wrestling with how much time their children are engaging with screens, and finding themselves wondering how much is too much. Children who experience difficulty related to symptoms of ADHD are especially drawn to the stimulation of screens. And children with ADHD tend to require frequent and immediate rewards, making...
By: Ann Helmus, Ph.D. NESCA Founder/Director One of the well-known impacts of the pandemic has been the loss of physical fitness in children and adolescents because of the loss of opportunities to play sports and generally move around. In addition, many children and adolescents have gained weight during this time. Maintaining a healthy weight and being physically fit offer many...
By Dot Lucci, M.Ed., CAGS Director of Consultation and Psychoeducational Services, NESCA It’s September, and a new school year has already begun for most children. We had hoped that Covid would be behind us and the start of this school year would begin with a greater semblance of the old normal. Sigh…it has not. We are still wearing masks, keeping...
By Lauren Zeitler, MSOT, OTR/L NESCA Occupational Therapist; Feeding Specialist Just like that, summer is over and it is finally time for children to head back to school! This year might look a little different as we move from remote learning and ease back into the school building full time. For children with sensory processing issues, the school building poses...
By: Angela Currie, Ph.D. Pediatric Neuropsychologist, NH Director, NESCA Back in June, I wrote a blog about dealing with uncertainty at the end of the school year. Now, two months later, families are focused on the transition back to school, and a level of uncertainty still remains. Many children are re-entering full in-person learning for the first time in over...
By: Stephanie Monaghan-Blout, Psy.D. Pediatric Neuropsychologist Let’s face it – a lot of parenting involves socializing children whose brains are in the process of being built. This means: They do not yet have the cognitive capacity to understand the moral principles behind such behaviors as “sharing, “being nice” and “using our words.” They are in the process of learning how...
By: Madelyn (Maddie) Girardi, OTD, OTR/L Occupational Therapist, NESCA Our Sense of Touch Tactile processing is our ability to sense and interpret information from our environment through our sense of touch. Information from our tactile system allows us to gauge everyday sensations such as light touch, temperature, vibration, pressure, or pain. Tactile Defensiveness Tactile defensiveness is a term used to...
By: Alissa Talamo, PhD Pediatric Neuropsychologist, NESCA “Reading disability (RD) and math disability (MD) are common developmental disorders that are defined by significant academic underachievement that is unexpected based on an individual’s age and development (e.g., American Psychiatric Association, 2000).” Research has shown that children who struggle with learning to read often also struggle with math and understanding numbers. It...
By: Kelley Challen, Ed.M., CAS Director of Transition Services; Transition Specialist, NESCA As discussed in my previous blog, federal law requires that students with Individual Education Programs (IEPs) be invited to attend their transition IEP meetings. In Massachusetts, this means that students approaching the age of 14, often 8th graders, should be invited to attend their IEP meetings to start...
By: Angela Currie, Ph.D. Pediatric Neuropsychologist, NH Director, NESCA A recent study conducted at the University of Warwick, in the United Kingdom, supported the long-held belief that reduced sleep in children has a significant negative effect on their cognitive and emotional functioning. Findings were recently published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry, in an article, titled “Sleep duration, brain structure, and...
By: Sophie Bellenis, OTD, OTR/L Occupational Therapist; Real-life Skills Program Manager and Coach, NESCA For many of our students with dysgraphia, or those who struggle with the fine motor precision and the skills necessary for written output, digital tools and accommodations that promote the use of tech and keyboarding in the academic setting are immensely helpful. These tools allow our...
By: Moira Creedon, Ph.D. Pediatric Neuropsychologist, NESCA Families often come to testing with questions like these: My child is so smart, why is reading so hard for them? If she can remember the smallest conversation from three years ago, why can’t she remember the two things I sent her upstairs to get? If he can do all of the calculations,...
Speech-Language Pathologist Olivia Rogers, MA, CF-SLP, joined NESCA in June, working with clients in the Newton, Massachusetts office, and is scheduling new clients now. We sat down with Olivia to learn more about her, what her passions in speech and language are and why she joined NESCA. By Jane Hauser Director of Marketing & Outreach How did you initially get interested...
By: Jessica Hanna MS, OTR/L Occupational Therapist, NESCA It’s summertime, and let’s face it, nobody wants to do chores. However, through learning about the benefits of chores in a previous NESCA blog post, we realized all that it can bring to the table to improve child development skills. Nevertheless, let’s step back. No one ever said chores must be painful...
By Renée Marchant, Psy.D. Pediatric Neuropsychologist Executive functioning skills are a “family” of skills that operate in a “top-down” process, controlling and regulating brain regions associated with attention, impulse control, emotion regulation, and meta-cognition or “thinking about thinking.” For more information about executive function skills, please refer to my previous NESCA blog “Teenage Stress and Executive Functioning.” As an evaluator,...
By: Kelley Challen, Ed.M., CAS Director of Transition Services; Transition Specialist, NESCA Federal law requires that students with Individual Education Programs (IEPs) be invited to attend their transition IEP meetings. In Massachusetts, this means that students approaching the age of 14, often 8th graders, should be invited to attend their IEP meetings to start the process of transition planning if...
By Yvonne M. Asher, Ph.D. Pediatric Neuropsychologist When you request a neuropsychological evaluation, you are undoubtably inundated with paperwork. Consent forms, confidentiality forms, COVID forms, and credit card forms. Then, to your surprise, you bring your child to their first appointment, and the neuropsychologist hands you…more forms! Why? What are these forms for, and what will you do with the...
By: Julie Robinson, OT Director of Clinical Services; Occupational Therapist, NESCA As parents or other caregivers of children with special needs, we can often find ourselves confused between what is a sensory response and what is behavior. Although this is often a complex question, and one without a straightforward answer, there are some tools of the trade that OTs use...
By: Ann Helmus, Ph.D. NESCA Founder/Director; Clinical Neuropsychologist As I’ve gotten more serious about pursuing fitness, I’ve become increasingly aware of how powerful the connection is between mind and body. When I’m exercising regularly and eating healthily, I have less anxiety, fewer negative thoughts/judgements and my mood and concentration are better. In this state, I’m more motivated to exercise, and...
Co-authored by: Lauren Zeitler, MSOT, OTR/L, NESCA Occupational Therapist; Feeding Specialist, and Lindsay Delling, OTS, Occupational Therapy Graduate Student Before any assessments, treatment planning, or suggestions of adaptations take place, we must first understand what attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in childhood means, and how it may present and affect each individual child. The American Psychiatric Association defines ADHD as one of the...
By Dot Lucci, M.Ed., CAGS Director of Consultation and Psychoeducational Services, NESCA What a year it’s been! Hopefully with the pandemic restrictions lifted and the start of summer, we are all breathing a sigh of relief. I’m certainly looking forward to traveling, seeing relatives and getting out without masks. The pandemic upturned our lives in so many ways, but now...
