My job has many parts. Some things I have to do, some I look forward to, but seeing my young patients—that’s like dessert. Or it’s like falling in love: completely wholehearted. A little girl comes in and everything about her—her bravery or her fear, her sweetness and patience or the anger and frustration she feels because of the learning problems she’s
With summer right around the corner, many parents are actively exploring summer programs for their children. As a child psychologist, one of the more common questions that I hear from parents during this process is, “What, if anything, should I tell my child’s counselor/camp about his/her neurobehavioral problems?” For many parents, a tension exists between wanting to make their child’s
There is a natural human impulse to make certain times special. How and what we celebrate is part of what gives us our identity. And yet, when I think of children like Alicia, who’s 11, I sometimes wish there were no holidays. Alicia has anxiety disorder and she needs a lot of structure in her life to avoid feeling stressed
Alan Barret, who was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in second grade, had been my patient for five years. In that time, he’d done really well. At 13, he was a stocky, cheerful boy who loved to draw, did well in school, and had good friends. He was particularly close to his brother – the two boys played
In the season of giving thanks, I often think of a family I will call the Renfields. Their first child, Ray, was diagnosed early in life with moderate autism spectrum. Some parents are overwhelmed by such a finding, but the Renfields stayed positive. “This is a child with real strengths,” the dad told me. “We’re so lucky to have the
Recent federal and state legislation known as Response to Intervention (RtI) has influenced current trends in education policies across state school districts. The RtI movement identifies procedures and methods for identifying and intervening with children who have potential learning disabilities. As of the 2010–2011 school year, the legislation mandates that schools serving grades K through 12 use RtI as an
“Abbie is a complete puzzle to me,” her mother, Julia Mason, confided. “Last year in first grade she had a meltdown at the class Halloween party. She wouldn’t talk to anybody. She stared at the floor. Finally she just went out and sat on the stairs and when people tried to get by her, she cried and said they were
RNBC is pleased to introduce the newest member of the clinical team; Anne Howard, Ph.D. Dr. Howard is a certified school psychologist and will be licensed as a clinical psychologist this November. “My dual training allows me to assess children through both a clinical and school lens,” says Dr. Howard. “The school is often the first place parents and teachers
For the past few years I’ve been involved with a wonderful family called the Warners. The little girl, who’s about six, was diagnosed with autism at the age of two. Her parents are so healthy about the way they think about their child and how they interact with her. They want to foster her development, but they are realistic about
We at Rush NeuroBehavioral Center are pleased to announce a new service, starting in September, for the assessment and treatment of stress and anxiety disorders in children and adolescents. We’ve all experienced some level of anxiety during childhood. It may be short-lived and not have much of an impact on our lives. But when a child experiences fear or worry