NESCA is currently accepting therapy and executive function coaching clients from middle school-age through adulthood with Therapist, Executive Function Coach, and Parent Coach Carly Loureiro, MSW, LICSW. Carly specializes in therapy for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders and individuals who are highly anxious, depressed, suffer with low self-esteem, etc. She also offers parent coaching and family sessions when needed. For more information or to schedule appointments, please complete our Intake Form.

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covid19

9

What In-person School Looks Like During COVID-19

By | NESCA Notes 2020

By: Tabitha Monahan, M.A., CRC
Transition Specialist/Counselor

Fall is approaching, and school is starting. As a student, I always knew summer was close to ending when Staples started their “Most Wonderful Time of the Year” commercial. The joy that parents and the community feel as fall approaches and another year of learning begins is understandably absent this year. Many parents, teachers and students are still unsure if they will be remote, in-person or both. All are too aware that even if students and teachers return to the school building, school will not look as it did in the fall of 2019. The comradery that our children experience through recess and interactive group work will be limited. Lunch will not be the boisterous room of students comparing who is in each class and what teachers are giving homework the first week.

What can we expect then–especially our students who need the small in-person support they have received from their special education teachers, teaching assistants and related service providers? I was able to get a glimpse of what our new in-person normal would look like providing vocational counseling and support during an extended-school year (ESY) program this summer. When returning to school, the first thing I learned—remembered, is how resilient children are. Most students in the programs had very few issues with masks. For those who did, more frequent mask breaks and workarounds, such as face shields, greater distance between them and other students or neck scarves let them still participate in much needed in-person support. Hand-washing and sanitizer have become the norm, and staff and students had frequent opportunities to use both. Social Skills groups still occurred but were modified to continue to be possible. Community-based opportunities were limited, but again, teachers and service providers have long been accustomed to finding out of the box solutions for their students.

Yes, the first day was nerveracking. How were the students going to tolerate wearing a mask for hours on end? How were my co-workers and I going to wear a mask all day long? How was I going to get a drink safely while wearing a mask? But we did. Staff and students alike remained diligent with hand-washing, and the students were ready to learn. Teachers and teaching assistants (TAs) were available and came together for short periods to help students understand challenging tasks. Some of our children and students have behaviors or need activities of daily living (ADL) support that may have us more uneasy with their health and safety returning to in-person learning. Teachers and TAs were prepared for that, too. Whether it was a face shield with a mask, an extra set of clothes to change into or an additional layer of PPE, the student’s needs were met, and we all returned the next day.

Every district seems to have its own approach and plan. Still, in the end, each plan’s goal is the same: have every student continue to learn and prepare for life after high school and have each person return home safe and healthy.

 

About the Author

Tabitha Monahan, M.A., CRC, is an experienced transition evaluator and vocational counselor. While she is well-versed in supporting a wide range of transition-aged youth, she is especially passionate and knowledgeable in helping clients and their families navigate the complex systems of adult services and benefits as well as medical and mental health systems. She is further adept in working individually with students of all abilities to empower self-advocacy and goal achievement.

 

To schedule an appointment with one of NESCA’s expert transition specialists or neuropsychologists, please complete our online intake form. 

 

Neuropsychology & Education Services for Children & Adolescents (NESCA) is a pediatric neuropsychology practice and integrative treatment center with offices in Newton and Plainville, Massachusetts, and Londonderry, New Hampshire, serving clients from preschool through young adulthood and their families. For more information, please email info@nesca-newton.com or call 617-658-9800.

 

5

There Is No Wrong Decision

By | NESCA Notes 2020

By:  Alissa Talamo, Ph.D.
Pediatric Neuropsychologist

We are living in an unprecedented time. As such, parents are faced with decisions that they have never faced before. For example, families are facing the challenging decision about whether or not to send their children back to school for in-person classes in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. Parents have to wrestle with the idea that, on the one hand, sending children to school could increase the risk of COVID-19 among children and family members; while on the other hand, children who don’t return to in-person school may experience disruptions in their education and may miss out on the social interaction and community feeling within the school building. In addition, some families simply don’t have a choice because they need to go to work or a family member at home is immunocompromised.

What is most important is to recognize is that whether or not to send a child to school in the fall means something different to everybody. It is imperative that, as parents, you give yourself permission to feel whatever it is that you are feeling, and that you do what feels right for you and your family. It may be difficult to accept, but we have little control over much of what is happening around us right now. While it is important to acknowledge how you are feeling, it is equally important to remember that, in fact, any reactions are normal under the current circumstances.

How you respond to stress during the COVID-19 pandemic can depend on your background, your financial situation, your health and emotional background, your social support system, the community you live in and many other factors. When it comes to parenting, every day can be a challenge, and the coronavirus has made an already scary world feel even more menacing.  Remember to “ignore the noise” and give yourself credit for taking care of yourself and your family.

 

 

About the Author:

With NESCA since its inception in 2007, Dr. Talamo had previously practiced for many years as a child and adolescent clinical psychologist before completing postdoctoral re-training in pediatric neuropsychology at the Children’s Evaluation Center.

After receiving her undergraduate degree from Columbia University, Dr. Talamo earned her doctorate in clinical health psychology from Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine at Yeshiva University.

She has given a number of presentations, most recently on “How to Recognize a Struggling Reader,” “Supporting Students with Working Memory Limitations,” (with Bonnie Singer, Ph.D., CCC-SLP of Architects for Learning), and “Executive Function in Elementary and Middle School Students.”

Dr. Talamo specializes in working with children and adolescents with language-based learning disabilities including dyslexia, attentional disorders, and emotional issues. She is also interested in working with highly gifted children.

Her professional memberships include MAGE (Massachusetts Association for Gifted Education), IDA (International Dyslexia Association), MABIDA (the Massachusetts division of IDA) and MNS (the Massachusetts Neuropsychological Society).

She is the mother of one teenage girl.

To book a consultation with Dr. Talamo or one of our many other expert neuropsychologists, complete NESCA’s online intake form.

Neuropsychology & Education Services for Children & Adolescents (NESCA) is a pediatric neuropsychology practice and integrative treatment center with offices in Newton, Massachusetts, Plainville, Massachusetts, and Londonderry, New Hampshire, serving clients from preschool through young adulthood and their families. For more information, please email info@nesca-newton.com or call 617-658-9800.

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