NESCA is currently accepting Therapy and Executive Function Coaching clients from middle school-age through adulthood with Therapist/Executive Function Coach/Parent Coach Carly Loureiro, MSW, LCSW. Carly specializes in the ASD population and also sees individuals who are highly anxious, depressed, or suffer with low self-esteem. 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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Summer Reading Ideas

By | NESCA Notes 2022

By: Alissa Talamo, PhD
Pediatric Neuropsychologist, NESCA

Research demonstrates that children lose reading skills over the summer break. A 2020 study found that students in 3rd to 5th grades lost, on average, about 20 percent of their school-year gains in reading during the summer. So, how do we encourage a reluctant reader to read during the summer? There are several fun opportunities that allow your child to read a book of their choice and earn prizes at the same time!

For example:

www.scholastic.com/site/summer-reading.html Scholastic Books offers a program that encourages children to “read books and stories; attend author events; interact with their favorite characters; play book-based games and activities; join dance parties; and more!” Children can read any book of their choice. They can also download and print a report of their reading progress. Additionally, by keeping Reading Streaks™, your child will help unlock a donation of 100,000 books from Scholastic to Save the Children, providing books to children in rural America with limited or no access to books.

Bookworm Wednesdays | Showcase Cinemas According to their website, Bookworm Wednesdays is “A fun and rewarding summer reading program developed to encourage young children to read during the summer months.” Bookworm Wednesdays allows children to earn free movie admission to a select children’s film when they present a book report at a participating Cinema de Lux, Showcase, or Multiplex Cinemas box office. There are several local participating sites, including Patriot Place and Legacy Place. (Parents, as well as children under the age of 6, receive free admission and do not need to submit a book report).

www.barnesandnobleinc.com This is an opportunity for your child to earn free books! Your child can read any 8 books and complete the reading journal available at the Barnes & Noble website. Then your child brings the completed reading journal to any participating Barnes & Noble bookstore and chooses their free book from the books listed on the Reading Journal list (see the website for the list of titles available to choose from this summer). Free reward books must be collected from a local Barnes & Noble store during July and August.

Finally, check out your local library for programs! Most local libraries have reading incentive programs that children can participate in all summer long.

Other ideas include…

  • Have your child read a book that has been made into a movie (If the book is above their reading level, read the book to them or allow them to listen to the book as an audio recording). Once the child has completed their reading, enjoy a family movie night with popcorn and more.
  • Have your child read about a specific topic or place and then plan a field trip. For example, an older student could read “Little Women” and then visit Louisa May Alcott’s house in Concord, MA, or watch the 2019 version of the movie and then visit Lyman Estate in Waltham where some of the filming took place!
  • Allow your child to pick their own books. Allow them to choose from subjects of interest to them (parent-approved, of course), as they are more likely to read something they picked! Also, allow them to choose books from different book types (e.g., paperback, graphic novel, audiobooks).
  • If you are going on a family vacation, encourage your child to read books about the area (fact or fiction) and plan to visit some of the places mentioned in the book. Day trips are also encouraged. Your child could read a book about animals and then visit a local zoo or aquarium.

If you are unsure of which books are at your child’s reading level, many libraries break down books by grade level. Ultimately, summer reading should not be so easy that it is boring, but it also should not be too difficult, as that can cause frustration. Allowing children to pick out books at their independent reading level is best. Research has found that children read more and learn best when they are allowed to select the books they read.

Happy Summer Reading!

 

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.

October is Dyslexia Awareness Month

By | NESCA Notes 2022

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 their lives; however, its impact can change at different stages in a person’s life. It is referred to as a learning disability because dyslexia can make it very difficult for a student to succeed academically in the typical instructional environment, and in its more severe forms, will qualify a student for special education, special accommodations, or extra support services.” Also, it is important to recognize that dyslexia is not due to either a lack of intelligence or a lack of desire to learn, and with appropriate and sufficient teaching methods, students with dyslexia can learn successfully.

Fortunately, there are effective strategies to help students with dyslexia. However, some common approaches to teaching reading (e.g., guided reading, balanced literacy) have not been found to be effective enough for the struggling reader. What research has found to be most effective is Structured Literacy. Structured Literacy instruction includes specific elements that are necessary for a dyslexic reader to make reading progress. Such elements include phonemic awareness (the ability to notice, think about, and work with individual sounds in words, such as separating the spoken word “cat” into three distinct phonemes), phonological awareness (the ability to recognize and manipulate the spoken parts of sentences and words), sound-symbol association (e.g., identify printed letters and what sounds they make), syllable instruction, morphology (smallest unit of meaning in the language), syntax (e.g., grammar), and semantics (meaning). In order to be most effective, students with dyslexia need to be taught using an explicit instruction method, with a teacher trained in a program that meets that student’s specific needs, the instruction needs to be taught in a logical order (basic concepts before more difficult ones), and each step needs to be based on previously learned concepts (cumulative).

According to the IDA, a comprehensive evaluation to assess for dyslexia, as well as to assess for any other potential language challenges or learning disabilities, should include intellectual and academic achievement testing, as well as assessment of critical underlying language skills that are closely linked to dyslexia, such as receptive and expressive language skills, phonology (phonological awareness, phonemic awareness), and rapid naming (e.g., quickly reading single letters or numbers). Additionally, a full evaluation should assess a student’s ability to read a list of unrelated real words as well as a list of pseudowords (made up pretend words to assess a child’s ability to apply reading rules), in addition to a student’s ability to read in context (e.g., stories). If a student is found to demonstrate that they meet criteria for a diagnosis of dyslexia, a specialized program should be developed by the school in order to provide appropriate services and accommodations.

Sources:

https://dyslexiaida.org/dyslexia-basics-2

https://dyslexiaida.org/effective-reading-instruction-for-students-with-dyslexia

www.readingrockets.org

 

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.

Pediatric Neuropsychologist Maggie Rodriguez, Psy.D., Joins NESCA

By | NESCA Notes 2022

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, including medicine. Eventually, I realized my area of interest was truly in psychology. I discovered that I really enjoyed neuropsychological evaluations, since they combined my interests in psychology, neuroscience, working with medical providers, educators, as well as writing and the creativity involved in making a child come alive in a report.

In graduate school, I was fortunate to learn from a number of extremely talented neuropsychologists in a variety of settings. While completing a placement at Children’s Hospital Boston, I remember hearing my very wise supervisor say that, “one year in the correct school placement is worth two years of therapy.” As I continued on with my coursework and clinical training, I repeatedly saw the truth in that statement. I witnessed the value of nuanced neuropsychological assessment in allowing students to receive accurate diagnoses and, in turn, the correct academic accommodations and interventions. I wanted to be part of that, not only to help children and teens succeed academically but to prevent the secondary effects that undiagnosed and untreated learning disorders, neurodevelopmental disorders, and cognitive challenges can have on emotional health, self-esteem, and social functioning.

On the personal side, my interest in neuropsychology was sparked again when I had my own child evaluated. It was surprisingly powerful to go through the process on the parent side, and after taking some time off to have a family, I knew that I wanted to get back into neuropsychology again!

Why did you choose to come to NESCA when re-entering your professional career?

There were several reasons that I looked into NESCA and ultimately opted to join its team. I learned about NESCA while researching neuropsychologists for my child’s evaluation and was impressed with what I saw. Additionally, one of my former testing supervisors told me NESCA is among the best in the business. Having that kind of endorsement from such a trusted source provided me with great confidence being part of NESCA.

I also was really drawn in by NESCA’s emphasis on the continued growth and learning for its clinicians. It was obvious that NESCA is comprised of a highly invested and collaborative team. Every one of us has a lot to learn still, and I valued the opportunity for not just a job, but the continued learning.

NESCA also offers a great work/life balance. Having a family of my own and parents who are approaching the stage where they also require care is a lot to balance. NESCA’s emphasis on supporting its staff in balancing work and life has made it very rewarding. I’ve seen several examples of how the culture of understanding is very much active.

On a very practical level, having clear protocols for handling day-to-day Covid strategies, like masking, cleaning, etc., has been comforting. Returning to clinical work in the midst of a pandemic has been a big transition, and knowing NESCA has put in place measures for keeping staff and clients safe is tremendously important to me. Seeing the creativity and agility in the way the team here tackled the larger challenges—evaluating clients safely and in-person—during Covid was inspiring and told me a lot about the team and culture. Learning that NESCA adapted its methods of testing via the two-office model demonstrated to me that they, as a practice, they are able to roll with those kinds of challenges. That was also very reassuring.

Finally, the interview process provided me with the chance to speak with a number of NESCA’s clinical staff. I was able to get a great feel for the culture and high standards the practice has, which made me confident that this was the right fit for me.

What kinds of concerns do you evaluate or enjoy the most?

I really enjoy working with kids of varying ages, but I do have a keen interest in working with families and children who are just hitting the adolescent years. I get the opportunity to help them understand how all the, sometimes confusing, pieces fit together.

I really enjoy working with kids who may be deemed as “complicated,” where things may have previously been overlooked. Maybe things were going fine for them until they hit a wall academically. Perhaps they got to middle school or high school or even college and began to wonder why things seemed to be falling apart for them. I enjoy the challenge of working with kids who are experiencing executive function deficits, social communication issues, kids whose disability or disabilities are not as straightforward. I like to tease apart whether there are executive function (EF) issues, Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), or sensory integration challenges…or perhaps explore whether it could be something else altogether. Is a child’s rigidity due to anxiety, an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), cognitive issues or a combination of overlapping challenges? I love teasing all of these things apart. I also work with children whose families have concerns about potential language-based learning disabilities (LBLD), communication issues and challenges with social pragmatics.

It’s incredibly rewarding when you are able to help families understand answers to these kinds of questions that they may have been grappling with for a long time.

 

About Pediatric Neuropsychologist Maggie Rodriguez, Psy.D. 

Maggie Rodriguez, Psy.D., provides comprehensive evaluation services for children, adolescents, and young adults with often complex presentations. She particularly enjoys working with individuals who have concerns about attention and executive functioning, language-based learning disorders, and those with overlapping cognitive and social/emotional difficulties.

Prior to joining NESCA, Dr. Rodriguez worked in private practice, where she completed assessments with high-functioning students presenting with complex cognitive profiles whose areas of weakness may have gone previously undiagnosed. Dr. Rodriguez’s experience also includes pre- and post-doctoral training in the Learning Disability Clinic at Boston Children’s Hospital and the Neurodevelopmental Center at MassGeneral for Children/North Shore Medical Center. Dr. Rodriguez has spent significant time working with students in academic settings, including k-12 public and charter school systems and private academic programs, such as the Threshold Program at Lesley University.

Dr. Rodriguez earned her Psy.D. from William James College in 2012, where her coursework and practicum training focused on clinical work with children and adolescents and on assessment. Her doctoral thesis centered on cultural issues related to evaluation.

To book a neuropsychological evaluation with Dr. Rodriguez or another expert neuropsychologist at NESCA, 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 and Plainville, Massachusetts, as well as Londonderry, New Hampshire. NESCA serves clients from preschool through young adulthood and their families. For more information, please email info@nesca-newton.com or call 617-658-9800.

When the Struggle with Writing is Real

By | NESCA Notes 2022

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 in a clear and concise way. In order to write effectively, a student must access and implement several higher order processes simultaneously, including but not limited to:

  • thinking
  • organization of ideas
  • retrieval of needed information
  • being able to remember an idea long enough to write it down…

while at the same time, the student also needs to think about writing mechanics (e.g., handwriting, spelling, punctuation).

All of these sub-components need to be pulled together for a student to create a well-written product. As a result, students often avoid writing or write only the minimal amount necessary.

Students with both language-based learning disabilities (LBLD) and AD/HD are at particular risk to struggle, as student with LBLD often have difficulty with word retrieval, syntax, and spelling to name a few, while students diagnosed with AD/HD inherently struggle with task initiation, planning, distractibility, and are vulnerable to reduced handwriting skills and careless errors.

In order to support all students, we need to help them develop more efficient skills. Research has shown that students can be taught to organize their language and ideas. Graphic organizers are an example of an organizational strategy. Some well-researched and effective programs include “Brain Frames,” a set of six graphical patterns that students draw to organize their language and ideas (www.architectsforlearning.com) and “Thinking Maps,” a set of eight visual patterns that correlate to specific cognitive processes (www.thinkingmaps.com). Another benefit of the graphic organizers is that the skills learned can be applied to more than just writing, but as writing is a critical skill necessary for school success as well as in the workforce, it is important that we help our students develop these skills and recognize that they do have the ability to demonstrate their knowledge in written form.

If your child is having difficulty with writing, let us know by completing our online Intake Form.

Resources used for this blog include:

  • Architectsforlearning.com
  • Thinkingmaps.com
  • PBS.org
  • adlit.org

 

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.