Exciting announcement! NESCA is accepting clients for home- and/or community-based Real-life Skills and Executive Function Coaching with Leah Bridge, MSOT, OTR. Leah is available for in-person occupational therapy (OT) and coaching services in the Newton, MA and Central MA areas. NESCA’s team of coaches offer Real-life Skills, Executive Function, Functional OT and Parent/Caregiver Coaching remotely for those outside of the Newton area. To learn more or book coaching services, complete our Intake Form.

Tag

motor skills

Neurodevelopmental Evaluations for Children under Age 5

By | Nesca Notes 2023

By: Lauren Halladay, Ph.D.
Pediatric Neuropsychologist, NESCA

Many families are curious about neurodevelopmental testing. Neuropsychologists who specialize in working with young children are often asked about when it is appropriate to pursue an evaluation, what the evaluation process entails, and where to go.

Why Would a Young Child Need an Evaluation?

There are developmental milestones across several domains that children are expected to achieve within certain timeframes. When children are showing delays in achieving those milestones within expected age ranges, seeking an evaluation may be warranted. From birth to 5 years of age, the areas of development that are especially important to monitor include:

  • Speech and Language (e.g., use of single words/phrases, following directions)
  • Social Skills (e.g., eye contact, social smile, interest in others, imaginative play skills)
  • Motor Skills (e.g., crawling, walking, using a pincer grasp)
  • Cognition/Early Problem Solving Skills (e.g., matching shapes and objects, completing simple puzzles)

If delays in any of the areas listed above are observed, pursing an evaluation sooner rather than later is recommended, as research has shown that early diagnosis and intensive treatment are the most important factors in determining rapid progress and long-term prognosis.

What Does a Neurodevelopmental Evaluation Entail?

Within a comprehensive neurodevelopmental evaluation, the child is administered tests that look at the developmental areas listed above. Information should also be collected from parents, teachers, and other caregivers who know the child well. These evaluations help to provide a better understanding of the child’s developmental profile, including areas of relative strength and weakness. In other words, the evaluation can provide more information about where the child’s skills currently fall when compared to their same age peers. Such information can provide diagnostic clarification, as well as help to inform recommendations for services if needed.

Where to Go

There are several options for where families can pursue evaluations, each with their benefits and drawbacks:

  • Early Intervention (EI): EI is meant to support families of children birth to three years of age who have developmental delays or are at risk of developmental delays. The goal of the Massachusetts EI program is to collaboratively promote skill acquisition based on the family’s priorities and child’s individual needs. Evaluations are typically conducted within the home setting to determine the child’s eligibility for EI services. While these evaluations can provide valuable information about the child’s strengths and weaknesses, a diagnosis will not be provided.
  • Hospital-based Setting: These evaluations are structured differently depending on the hospital system. In most cases, these evaluations are interdisciplinary, meaning that they involve a team of providers from different disciplines (i.e., psychologist, medical provider (pediatrician, nurse practitioner) speech and language pathologist, occupational therapist, etc.). While outcomes of these evaluations can include diagnosis and recommendations for services when appropriate, waitlists are often long, and reports tend to be brief.
  • Independent Setting/Private Practice: Independent evaluations usually involve several visits with a pediatric psychologist or neuropsychologist, rather than with a team of providers. Similar to the hospital-based evaluations, independent evaluations can result in diagnosis when appropriate. Specific recommendations based on the child’s individual profile are offered. These evaluations tend to be more detailed and comprehensive than those conducted by EI and within hospital-based settings. Clinicians also have the option to observe the child in other settings (e.g., daycare, preschool, elementary school), as well as attend school-based meetings.

Relatedly, NESCA is currently providing evaluations for children 12 months to 3 years of age who are showing early signs of an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The wait time is 1 month or less – by design –  so children who meet criteria for an ASD diagnosis can access the appropriate interventions for them. If you are interested in learning more about ASD Diagnostic Testing through NESCA’s ASD Diagnostic Clinic, please visit our website at https://nesca-newton.com/asd-diagnostic-clinic-2/ and/or complete our online Intake Form.

Related resources and links to help track developmental milestones:

 

About Lauren Halladay, Ph.D.

Dr. Halladay conducts comprehensive evaluations of toddlers, preschoolers, and school-aged children with a wide range of developmental, behavioral, and emotional concerns. She particularly enjoys working with individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder, Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, and complex medical conditions. She has experience working in schools, as well as outpatient and inpatient hospital settings. She is passionate about optimizing outcomes for children with neurodevelopmental disabilities by providing evidence-based, family-oriented care.

 

If you are interested in booking an appointment for an evaluation with a Dr. Halladay or another NESCA neuropsychologist/clinician, please fill out and submit our online intake form

 

NESCA is a pediatric neuropsychology practice and integrative treatment center with offices in Newton, Plainville, and Hingham, Massachusetts; Londonderry, New Hampshire; and the greater Burlington, Vermont region, serving clients from infancy through young adulthood and their families. For more information, please email info@nesca-newton.com or call 617-658-9800.

Mind the Gap: Why You Should Consider Summer OT and Speech Services at NESCA

By | NESCA Notes 2021

By: Julie Robinson, OT
Director of Clinical Services; Occupational Therapist, NESCA

It has been a challenging school year, with ever-changing schedules, routines, and unfortunately with a good deal of inconsistency in the provision of therapeutic services through the schools, due to the many impacts of COVID. Parents, caregivers and students have all experienced differing levels of anxiety about what progress has been and is being made, with many children experiencing some level of regression with regard to behavior, self-regulation, motor skills or language development. In anticipation of many of our children returning to school in-person in April, parents have expressed concerns that their children may be lagging behind or that they have not had ample support throughout the earlier parts of their school year to ensure they can keep up with the other children in their class. Over the months of April, May and June, we will all get to see firsthand where the gaps might arise. And then when school is over, many of us might be concerned that the gains of just a few short months will be lost again over summer. This is why those of us at NESCA perceive that the benefits of summer services will be an important part of ensuring progress and the ability to jump right back into learning – as we hope all school will be in-person again in the fall.

NESCA is available to provide summer services, as we do consistently for our weekly patients. In addition, we are offering short-term services to those children who may not qualify for them through their school systems, or for those families who would simply like to supplement what their children are receiving in-district to give them a boost before school begins again in the fall.

Our occupational therapists (OTs) can work on the following areas of focus with your child:

  • self-regulation and coping skills
  • how best to transition from the quiet of home to the multiple stimuli of a classroom full of children
  • how to cope with longer hours of wearing a mask
  • how to follow social distancing requirements, when they long for a closer physical connection with their peers

We can also help to ease the anxiety some children may have about becoming sick or how NOT to feel fearful of getting back into the classroom when sensory processing issues push them to feel uneasy. Our OTs can continue work on handwriting and motor development work started throughout the school year to ensure there is no regression or to improve the speed and automaticity of written expression and legibility. We can teach organizational and executive functioning skills to encourage kids to be independent, prioritize assignments and manage their time. OTs can address self-care skills of dressing, shoe tying, feeding and hygiene, which are likely to require more independence with social distancing requirements. While it’s summer, we help build outdoor skills, such as bike riding and greater self-confidence on the playground to elicit more social connections with peers. Our OTs are providing services in-person in our Newton and Plainville, Massachusetts clinics, by teletherapy or outdoors in the community as appropriate.

Our speech therapists at NESCA can also help to continue and supplement the hard work children have been putting in throughout the school year. They can work on social pragmatics and help with the skills needed to transition from so much time alone, to being in groups with their peers once again. NESCA’s speech therapists can support children on how to:

  • initiate play
  • find shared interests
  • be flexible thinkers
  • communicate with kindness and an appropriate level of voice
  • read gestures and non-verbal communication (especially while wearing masks, which can impede the ability to properly read another person’s mood, reactions or emotions)

We can continue to work on the established goals from school, regarding both expressive and receptive communication, language articulation and language as it pertains to written communication. Our speech therapists are currently providing all services via teletherapy while we work on a transition back to in-person therapy.

If you are interested in seeking out summer services at NESCA, or any of our assessments and services, please contact NESCA’s Director of Clinical Services Julie A. Robinson. She can be reached at jrobinson@nesca-newton.org and will conduct a phone intake with you to help you best determine your needs.

 

About the Author

Julie Robinson is an occupational therapist with over 25 years of experience as a clinician. The work Julie does is integral to human development, wellness and a solid family unit. She particularly enjoys supporting families through the process of adoption and in working with children who are victims of trauma. Julie has extensive experience working with children diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), or who have learning or emotional disabilities. She provides services that address Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) and self-regulation challenges, as well as development of motor and executive functioning skills.

To book an appointment or to learn more about NESCA’s Occupational Therapy Services or other clinical therapies, please fill out our online Intake Form, email info@nesca-newton.com or call 617-658-9800.

 

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.

 

Movement Breaks – Part 2

By | NESCA Notes 2020

By: Julie Robinson, OT

Director of Clinical Services; Occupational Therapist, NESCA

In our last blog, we delved into ideas and suggestions to help preschoolers stay on track with remote and hybrid learning through movement breaks. In this week’s OT Tuesday blog, we move up to our elementary school-aged kids. How do we keep them focused on online learning throughout their long days at home in front of a computer?

Again, here are some suggestions that require minimal equipment, generally using things you can find around your home.

 

Gross Motor for Elementary-age Children

A movement break for 5- to 10-minutes every hour and a half to 2 hours is recommended.

Hopscotch – Draw with chalk or use painter’s tape and play this old school game! Begin by throwing a beanie baby, rock or bean bag so it lands in the first square. Hop over it and jump on all the other squares. At the end, turn around and come back and try to pick up the object while trying to balance on one foot! The next time, throw the object to square 2 and repeat through all the numbers!

 

Photo Credit: sciencebuddies.org

Homemade Hockey Sticks – Use a long wrapping paper roll or tape together paper towel rolls as the handle. Cut a long strip of cardboard and tape to the handle or use an old plastic water bottle. Enjoy playing this game with a balloon or tennis ball. Mark goals with tape, chalk or use empty cardboard boxes.

 

Stack the Cardboard Boxes – Got empty boxes? Have the child stack them up high and knock them over by running into them, or rolling/kicking a soccer ball into them. To make it a little silly, place a tennis ball in the leg of a pair of stockings and the waistband over your child’s head. Use the tennis ball to knock over boxes or cans, with their head upside down.

 

Photo Credit: Hands On As We Grow®

Stair Bean Bag Toss – Try to get bean bags to land on different steps. More points for the higher they land!

 

Tic Tac Toe – Make a big board with sidewalk chalk or painter’s tape. Use bean bags, frisbees, paper plates or crumpled up paper and throw into boxes for a fun spin. Get creative with items around the house – even food!

 

Photo Credit: OT Plan

Belly Catch – Have your child lay on their belly with feet or legs resting on a couch and hands on the floor (plank style). Roll balls or balloons and have them play catch with you, a great exercise to work on core and upper extremity strength.

 

 

 Fine Motor for Elementary-age Children

Photo Credit: Hoglets.org

Monster Feet – Grab some old tissue boxes or cardboard and make your own monster feet. Decorate the toe nails with markers, pom poms or however else you’d like! For an added challenge, try wearing them by using string to tie the child’s feet to them. Or tape their shoes to them and walk around like a monster!

 

Photo Credit: kidsactivitiesblog.com

Homemade Tennis Racquets – Cut slits in a paper plate or punch holes. String yarn through the holes and attach to a paper towel roll, spatula or wooden spoon/popsicle stick. Use it to keep a ball or balloon in the air!

 

Hangman! – Or for an added twist, play Melting snowman! Draw a snowman, and each time someone guesses a letter incorrectly, erase a part of the snowman until he is fully melted!

 

Make Your Own Quicksand – Mix roughly equal parts cornstarch and play sand. Add water until it is the desired consistency.

●       If you don’t have play sand, add 1 cup of water to a bowl and slowly add 1-½ cup of cornstarch and stir.

●       Put toys into quicksand and watch them sink!

 

Paint Pinecones – As the weather gets colder, collect some pine cones or rocks and paint them! Make kindness rocks by writing messages on them with a Sharpie. Leave them out along a wooded trail for others to find.

 

 

About the Author

Julie Robinson is an occupational therapist with over 25 years of experience as a clinician. The work Julie does is integral to human development, wellness and a solid family unit. She particularly enjoys supporting families through the process of adoption and in working with children who are victims of trauma. Julie has extensive experience working with children diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), or who have learning or emotional disabilities. She provides services that address Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) and self-regulation challenges, as well as development of motor and executive functioning skills.

To book an appointment or to learn more about NESCA’s Occupational Therapy Services, please fill out our online Intake Form, email info@nesca-newton.com or call 617-658-9800.

 

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.

 

Movement Breaks – Part 1

By | NESCA Notes 2020

By: Julie Robinson, OT

Director of Clinical Services; Occupational Therapist, NESCA

Many parents are overwhelmed, juggling homeschooling, childcare and work from home. And now that the cold weather has arrived, many parents are looking for activities they can do indoors with their children as movement breaks to support online learning or just to pass some time and get the wiggles out. Here are some suggestions that require minimal equipment, generally using things you can find around your home.

In this week’s OT Tuesday blog, we provide suggestions on both gross and fine motor activities for preschoolers. In our second part of the blog series, we will offer ideas to target fine and gross motor activities for elementary school-age students during movement breaks.

 

Gross Motor Activities for Preschoolers

A 5- to 10-minute movement break is suggested every hour to hour and a half for children in this age group.

Balloon Games – Blow up and see how many times your child can hit the balloon in the air! Use a fly swatter or tennis/badminton racquet to mix it up a little.
Mazes – Use painter’s tape indoors or sidewalk chalk outdoors in the driveway to make mazes for your child to follow. You can even use the lines as a balance beam for added balance practice, draw feet to jump in, make curly lines to indicate twirling around, etc.! If you are looking for ideas, research sensory paths online. You can also draw crazy roads for toy cars or ride-on toys.
Bowling – Fill up old plastic water or soda bottles and have kids knock them over by rolling a ball towards them! You can add stuffed animals on top to make it more enticing.
The Floor Is Lava – Pretend the floor is lava and have the child walk around without touching the ground by walking on pillows and other objects!
Shape Games – Draw shapes, letters or numbers with sidewalk chalk or painter’s tape and try throwing stuffed animals into the shapes an adult calls out. Make it more challenging by increasing the number of shapes, throwing from further away or trying to balance on one foot while throwing.

 

Fine Motor Activities for Preschoolers

Hide Beads In Playdough! – Grab some putty or playdough and hide beads in it. Once all the beads are hidden, encourage your child to try to get them out! This is a great exercise to work on hand strength. It can also be fun to put raw spaghetti into the dough and “string” the beads onto them for working on fine motor precision.
Make Your Own Stamps! – Use household items, such as wine corks, water bottle caps, toilet paper rolls or anything else you can find. Dip them in paint and press onto paper. Enjoy the different shapes you create! For picky eaters, it can be fun to use foods, such as applesauce, yogurt or dips for paint.
Clothespin Activities – Use clothespins to pick up pom poms and put them in containers, such as an ice cube tray. This is a great activity for practicing a tripod grasp.
Shaving Cream Play – Use a tray or large plate and put shaving cream or other messy play materials on it. Allow your child to practice writing their letters with their fingers and have fun with it! To simplify, you can encourage your child to imitate shapes, letters or numbers after you have written them.
Noodle Necklaces – String noodles onto string to make a noodle necklace. Use noodles and put on a string or a pipe cleaner to make a necklace. Color or paint noodles, or soak cooked noodles in food coloring and allow them to dry for more interesting patterns.

 

About the Author

Julie Robinson is an occupational therapist with over 25 years of experience as a clinician. The work Julie does is integral to human development, wellness and a solid family unit. She particularly enjoys supporting families through the process of adoption and in working with children who are victims of trauma. Julie has extensive experience working with children diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), or who have learning or emotional disabilities. She provides services that address Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) and self-regulation challenges, as well as development of motor and executive functioning skills.

To book an appointment or to learn more about NESCA’s Occupational Therapy Services, please fill out our online Intake Form, email info@nesca-newton.com or call 617-658-9800.

 

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.

 

Sensory and Motor Strategies to Support Online Learning

By | NESCA Notes 2020

By: Julie Robinson, OT

Director of Clinical Services; Occupational Therapist, NESCA

For many families, this spring’s experience of remote learning and receiving integrated services was challenging, to say the least. As parents begin to think about their children returning to school this fall questions and concerns arise, not only about regression, but also how they will keep their children engaged in online learning.

For children with sensory processing difficulties and/or motor delays, there may be additional challenges in participating in Zoom classes and remote group learning. Some may have difficulty sustaining their attention, settling their body down to sit in front of a screen, managing the visual challenges of a screen, engaging socially or transitioning from a desired task to an academic one. Below are some suggested strategies, from an OT perspective, that may help your child participate in academics with less stress.

Regulation Strategies

The term “regulation” refers to someone’s ability to match their level of alertness (or arousal) to the environment and an activity. Throughout the day, our brain and our bodies are working to either increase or decrease our arousal levels for us to feel regulated and feel “just right” for the situation.

Sometimes children may have trouble with regulating themselves, causing them to experience dysregulation. Dysregulation can look very different depending on the child and can present as low levels of arousal or high level of arousal. This state may make it challenging for the child to be engaged and participate in certain activities, such as online learning. Sensory strategies are ways to help a child either increase arousal or lower arousal to match the needs of the task of online learning.

If a child is experiencing a low level of arousal, or their engine is running low, they should use a sensory strategy to help feel more alert. These include activities that have fast movement and increase heart rate. Taking movement breaks throughout the day is key! This could mean:

  • Jumping Jacks
  • Frog jumps or jumping on a trampoline
  • Playing at an outdoor playground
  • Creating an obstacle course
  • Doing something as simple as taking a walk around the house
  • Using a sit and spin or bouncing on a therapy ball
  • Hanging from a chin-up bar

If a child is experiencing a high level of arousal and their engine is running high, a sensory strategy to help them feel calm is beneficial. Calming strategies tend to be slower and more rhythmic. Ways to help slow down a child’s engine include:

  • “Heavy work,” such as wall push-ups, carrying books, laundry or groceries, wheelbarrow walk or crab walk can do the trick.
  • Yoga poses. Cosmic Kids Yoga on YouTube has some good videos with stories to encourage young children.
  • Creating a “sensory space” that is quiet and free from distractions. This could be a beanbag chair in the corner, a pop-up tent or a space behind a piece of furniture.
  • Using a weighted/heavy blanket or doing work on the ground with pillows underneath while spending time online may help your child to settle his or her body down. Explore the use of a therapy ball, T-stool, Move and Sit cushion or bike pedals that go under a chair to help kids who have difficulty sitting still.
  • Tactile play can be very calming for some children. Make a bucket of beans and hide small objects in it. Working with Playdough, shaving cream or water play can also help.
  • Encourage deep breathing to promote relaxation. Blow soap bubbles with a straw, pretend to blow out candles or blow a pinwheel.
  • An icy drink or popsicle can prove calming for many children. Or allow them to chew gum while learning to facilitate attention.

Strategies for Transition into Online Learning

As the new school year approaches, the change of routine into online learning may be a challenge for some kids. Here are some strategies to help your child adjust:

  • Create a clear schedule for your child that they can follow throughout the day (and make sure to schedule in plenty of breaks!). It may be helpful to use visuals or pictures, similar to a preschool schedule to help structure the time.
  • Make time for movement breaks around the house or outside. It may help to engage in a movement activity for 10-15 minutes before settling into an online class.
  • Use timers when needed (apps that have a visual timer, such as “Time Timer,” can be beneficial).
  • Create a designated space for the child to do their learning and make it their own.
  • Factor in a reward for good participation at the end of a virtual learning session, particularly for a child who seems resistant to remote learning.
  • Practice some brief online learning opportunities before school begins and slowly increase the time incrementally. Conduct Zoom calls with grandparents or other relatives where they read to the child to help maintain their attention. Search on YouTube together for some craft activities to follow along with. Khan Academy and Outschool have all kinds of online lessons for kids of all ages.

 Preventing Visual Fatigue in Online Learning

Along with the many challenges that come with online learning, the constant staring at electronics can cause strain or fatigue on the eyes. Eye strain can present as headaches, blurry vision, tired eyes and neck aches. In this world of virtual learning, it is more important than ever to help kids with strategies to prevent digital eye strain. Here are some strategies:

  • Turn down the screen brightness and turn up the contrast on screen settings.
  • Every 15-20 minutes, make sure to take a break from looking at the screen; set timers if needed. Sometimes placing your hands over your eyes and staring into them with open eyes can help. No matter what the day’s schedule is, always encourage a break from looking at the screen when needed.
  • Zoom in when text is too small.
  • Set limits for recreational use of electronics and avoid electronics before bed.
  • Sit in an ergonomically proper position when using the computer. This means keeping feet flat on the floor, lower back supported and shoulders related, and arms at a right angle.
  • Position the screen to avoid glare and use natural lighting as much as possible.
  • For a child who may have difficulty looking back and forth from a screen to paper, it may help to place the paper on a contrasting background of red or yellow.

 

About the Author

Julie Robinson is an occupational therapist with over 25 years of experience as a clinician. The work Julie does is integral to human development, wellness and a solid family unit. She particularly enjoys supporting families through the process of adoption and in working with children who are victims of trauma. Julie has extensive experience working with children diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), or who have learning or emotional disabilities. She provides services that address Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) and self-regulation challenges, as well as development of motor and executive functioning skills.

To book an appointment or to learn more about NESCA’s Occupational Therapy Services, please fill out our online Intake Form, email info@nesca-newton.com or call 617-658-9800.

 

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.

 

NESCA’s New OT, Speech & Language and Feeding Services

By | NESCA Notes 2020

An interview between Sophie Bellenis, OTD, OTR/L, NESCA Occupational Therapist; Real-life Skills Program Manager and Coach, and Julie Robinson, OT, NESCA

NESCA just announced that it has expanded its Occupational Therapy (OT) services to include Direct Sensory-/Motor-based OT for its existing and new clients.

As you may know, NESCA already offers educational OT assessments and consultation along with Executive Functioning (EF) and Real-life Skills Coaching, mainly for those students in grades 6 and up. Now, NESCA broadens the range of students it can provide with OT, feeding, speech, language and social skills.

To introduce NESCA families and community members to the new team and its services, NESCA’s Sophie Bellenis, OTD, OTR/L, sat down for an interview with Julie Robinson, OT, to learn more.

What is the main focus of the new OT services that we are adding here at NESCA?

We are so excited to be on board and collaborating with the existing clinical team at NESCA to bring these new services to our community. The main focus of the new OT services is to provide instruction and practice, through teletherapy, and when appropriate at the home or in the community, in order to promote the best functionality kids can achieve on a daily basis. Where academic-based occupational therapy is focused on accessing the curriculum and receiving services while at school, Direct Sensory-/Motor-based OT services really look at giving our clients those wrap-around services outside of school to help with sensory processing, self-regulation, attention/following directions, fine and gross motor skill development, social pragmatics, managing routines, feeding and independence in carrying out daily activities, such as dressing, hygiene and sleep.

Who is a candidate for these new OT services?

We work with children of all ages, but our team typically works with children who are in the fifth grade or below. Many of the skills we are working on are skills that should be targeted and developed early on. Ideally, we are working with children from a young age or as soon as the challenges noted above come to light. Children with motor delays or sensory processing disorders, delays with play skills, and/or feeding difficulties are appropriate for these services.

How does the process of getting OT services start?

We usually start with an OT assessment that is focused on function. Insurance typically covers a 45-minute in-office screening. We would typically conduct a phone intake with the family, then look at the child’s skills using standardized tests for motor/sensory performance. With COVID-19, we are gathering sensory information from The Sensory Processing Measure and assessing other skill levels through interviews and checklists from parents, as well as 1:1 observation either virtually or in-person, as determined through the phone intake.

After an initial assessment is conducted, we work with families on a once or twice weekly basis. Each OT session is 45 minutes long and generally either begins or ends with a conversation with parents.

How do the services work?

We would typically provide services in-person inside the OT clinic at NESCA. Due to COVID-19, we are primarily providing services through telehealth, on a HIPAA-compliant virtual platform on a weekly basis. Sessions are 45 minutes each, with parents involved in part of each session to facilitate engagement of the child, to be coached by the clinician and for education about activities to incorporate in the days before the next session for follow through.

A small number of patients are being seen outdoors at their home or in the community, mainly when online engagement is too challenging, and when it can fit accordingly into clinician schedules. All patients are being seen individually for their services.

How do you set goals for the children you work with?

We get some of our background information for goal-setting from the assessment, but much of the real information on goals, strengths and weaknesses is revealed through observation during our sessions.

From the initial evaluation, we develop a brief report identifying the areas that we need to work on and collaborate with the parents to help achieve those goals and potentially target other areas that arise through ongoing observation and informal assessment during sessions and in parent consults.

When can families expect to see progress with goals being achieved?

We like to see our established goals being achieved in a three to six month time period. While every child is different, many kids go on to work with us for approximately 12 to 18 months, focusing on various goals throughout that period.

What are the related services that have just been introduced at NESCA?

Along with our new occupational therapy services, we are also now providing assessment and treatment of a variety of Speech & Language disorders, including dysphagia, childhood apraxia of speech, phonology/articulation disorder, receptive and expressive language disorder, social pragmatic communication disorder, autism spectrum disorder and language-based learning disabilities.

In addition, our therapists work with children with feeding and swallowing disorders, including transitioning infants to solid foods, weaning from tube feeding, improving sensory tolerance, developing chewing skills, increasing variety and volume of nutritional intake, and reducing avoidance behaviors during mealtimes. Our feeding therapists work with families to make mealtimes easier and more enjoyable for everyone using a systematic desensitization approach to increase sensory comfort with foods. We also employ the TR-eat®—Transdisciplinary Effective Assessment and Treatment—method for highly challenging feeding and eating issues.

Does NESCA accept insurance for its new services?

Direct Sensory-/Motor-based OT at NESCA (not academically-focused), is covered by BCBS and AllWays. Speech therapy at NESCA is covered by BCBS, AllWays and Harvard Pilgrim.

NESCA can provide receipts for Direct Sensory-/Motor-based OT sessions for clients to attempt to submit to their insurance carrier, should they not have insurance through the above carriers. NESCA does not submit claims to any carrier other than those outlined above and cannot guarantee any reimbursement when claims are submitted to them by the client.

It is also worth noting that Educational OT assessment, consultation and treatment is less often, or less completely, covered by insurance because insurance carriers typically only cover treatments that are deemed “medically necessary.” However, this can be a vital service because students spend such a significant amount of their day and week in school programming.

To learn more about NESCA’s Occupational Therapy and Related Services, please click here.

 

About the Interviewer

Dr. Sophie Bellenis is a Licensed Occupational Therapist in Massachusetts, specializing in educational OT and functional life skills development. Dr. Bellenis joined NESCA in the fall of 2017 to offer community-based skills coaching services as a part of the Real-life Skills Program within NESCA’s Transition Services team. Dr. Bellenis graduated from the MGH Institute of Health Professions with a Doctorate in Occupational Therapy, with a focus on pediatrics and international program evaluation. She is a member of the American Occupational Therapy Association, as well as the World Federation of Occupational Therapists. Having spent years delivering direct services at the elementary, middle school and high school levels, Dr. Bellenis has extensive background with school-based occupational therapy services.  She believes that individual sensory needs and visual skills must be taken into account to create comprehensive educational programming.

About the Interviewee
Julie Robinson is an occupational therapist with over 25 years of experience as a clinician. The work Julie does is integral to human development, wellness and a solid family unit. She particularly enjoys supporting families through the process of adoption and in working with children who are victims of trauma. Julie has extensive experience working with children diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), or who have learning or emotional disabilities. She provides services that address Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) and self-regulation challenges, as well as development of motor and executive functioning skills.

 

To book an appointment or to learn more about NESCA’s Occupational Therapy Services, please fill out our online Intake Form, email info@nesca-newton.com or call 617-658-9800.

 

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.

 

Sitting Down to Work – Tips for Proper Set-up and Posture

By | NESCA Notes 2020

By: Sophie Bellenis, OTD, OTR/L

Occupational Therapist; Real-life Skills Program Manager and Coach

When working from home, it’s easy to ignore the important things that most people know about maintaining proper posture. The draw of a bed covered in pillows or a cozy nook on the couch can outweigh the rational knowledge that sitting with good posture will help us to stay focused, decrease back or joint pain, and help build a strong core. When it comes to children, they are often unaware of the ways that posture can affect their bodies and their work. They need cues, reminders and examples of the best way to sit to stay focused and be productive. In our last OT Tuesday blog, we discussed the importance of a child’s physical foundation, the core. When it comes to learning, a strong core helps with postural stability. As the start of a new school year draws near, let’s review some important things to consider about the environment and physical set-up for learning and the best positions for our students’ bodies.

Creating a space for learning helps to differentiate between school and home activities that, for many students, are currently happening in the same building. Here are some tips for setting up this space:

  • Find appropriately sized furniture. Children should have their feet on the ground when sitting at their desk! Tables should be at an appropriate height. Tables that are too tall tend to prompt children to hunch their shoulders or sit on their feet, while tables that are too small cause children to slouch and lean their heads on their hands.
  • Help them organize. Classrooms are built to help students grow their executive function skills, as teachers constantly help set up organizational systems and use tricks to keep students on track. Your child may benefit from color coded folders for each subject, a hard copy of their daily schedule (with pictures for younger kids!) or a visual timer.

There are also a few important things to remember to help with proper seated posture.

  • Use visual reminders. Your child may benefit from a picture of someone using proper seated position posted near their workspace. While they may still need a reminder every so often, having an image gives children a model to mimic.
  • The Rule of 90 Degrees. When sitting at a table, children’s hips, knees and ankles should all be positioned at 90 degrees. This helps to create a solid foundation. When children have a strong foundation and postural stability, they are set up to freely and accurately use their fine motor skills. Being grounded allows for easier writing, typing, cutting and manipulation of all the tools necessary for learning. Ideally, children’s elbows will also create a 90 degree angle.
  • Consider a slant board. Placing a computer or a paper on a slanted board can help students realize that they need to sit up straight, promote proper wrist placement and angle, and draw their eye gaze up from the desk. Writing on a vertical or slanted surface in general can help with the development of handwriting skills.
  • Stabilize that paper. Reminding students to use their non-dominant hand to hold their paper helps with precision and accuracy.
  • Allow them to switch it up! Some tasks really require a child to be sitting up straight, grounded and engaged. For example, a student who is hand-writing a final copy of their paragraph or using scissors for an art class will want to be cognizant of their bodies and how they are seated. In contrast, some activities provide opportunities to move around and change positions. If a student is reading a book for English Language Arts, they may want to lie on their belly or sit in a beanbag chair.
  • Take breaks. No matter how perfect a child’s seated posture is, they will benefit from movement and stretching breaks. Little bodies are built to move, bounce and wiggle!

Prioritizing posture as a child helps to build good habits, evenly distribute stress on the body’s muscle ligaments and joints, and create a strong, grounded foundation.

 

About the Author

Dr. Sophie Bellenis is a Licensed Occupational Therapist in Massachusetts, specializing in educational OT and functional life skills development. Dr. Bellenis joined NESCA in the fall of 2017 to offer community-based skills coaching services as a part of the Real-life Skills Program within NESCA’s Transition Services team. Dr. Bellenis graduated from the MGH Institute of Health Professions with a Doctorate in Occupational Therapy, with a focus on pediatrics and international program evaluation. She is a member of the American Occupational Therapy Association, as well as the World Federation of Occupational Therapists. Having spent years delivering direct services at the elementary, middle school and high school levels, Dr. Bellenis has extensive background with school-based occupational therapy services.  She believes that individual sensory needs and visual skills must be taken into account to create comprehensive educational programming.

To book an appointment or to learn more about NESCA’s Occupational Therapy Services, please fill out our online Intake Form, email info@nesca-newton.com or call 617-658-9800.

 

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.

 

Core Strength and Stability: The Physical Foundation

By | NESCA Notes 2020

By: Sophie Bellenis, OTD, OTR/L

Occupational Therapist; Real-life Skills Program Manager and Coach

As our country heads into a period of unique learning, whether through a remote learning experience, a hybrid model or an in-person option with heightened rules and regulations, I find myself focusing on foundation. Foundation, simply defined, means, “the basis upon which something stands or is supported.” Currently, we are looking at a huge shift in how programs will run, how teachers will teach and how schools will support our children, but these principles are rooted in strong foundations. Our educators have knowledge, proven methods and an evidence base that allows for creativity, flexibility and evolution.

With regard to our students, foundational skills are the basics that help them feel secure and grounded enough to tackle the more individualized and creative aspects of learning. It is, in part, due to these foundational skills that many of our surprisingly resilient children have handled the COVID-19 pandemic with more flexibility and grace than the adults in their lives.

Today, let’s highlight the physical foundation that supports a child throughout their day, the core. Anatomically, the core refers to the transverse abdominis, internal and external oblique muscles, rectus abdominis, and the multifidus and erector spinae. This group of muscles holds a child upright when they are sitting at their seat, standing in line and running around on the playground. It is one of the foundational elements that promotes healthy motor development. Having a strong and active core makes it easier for a child to use their fine motor muscles with intent, stay alert for the duration of a class or a Zoom session, and develop healthy postural habits. Occupational therapists are trained to determine whether these activities are being affected by a weak core and if there is a need for intervention. Teachers and parents who spend substantial time with our children may want to be aware of and look out for the clues and signals of core instability, which include:

  • Compensatory strategies for stability – These are the subconscious ways that children compensate for core weakness. Essentially, they are bad habits that initially help to keep kids from getting too fatigued to participate in activities, but can have negative long-term effects. Some common examples include “W-sitting” and holding a breath during activities that require strength.
  • Leaning on anything and everything – Some children sit and lean their head on their hands or the desk when they write, lean against adults when standing up or sitting on a couch, and lean on furniture or tables when they are standing at home. These same students often slouch down in their seats and hunch their shoulders forward when they stand. This could signify a weak core.
  • Difficulty with balance – The inability to stay balanced and upright may be due to core instability. Many children are still developing the ability to run, jump, walk across a balance beam and stand on one foot, but if they seem to be falling over or losing control of their body more frequently than their peers, a weak core may be the culprit. These balance issues may also be apparent when a child is doing daily activities, such as getting dressed, putting on shoes or getting in and out of a car.
  • Difficulty with fine motor tasks – Sometimes children have a strong core and still have weak fine motor skills; however, often a weak core is exacerbating fine motor deficits. There is a little phrase that goes, “proximal stability for distal mobility” that is used by therapists, yogis and personal trainers alike. This means that it is important to have strength and stability at the core to easily move and control the muscles in our arms and legs.

Notably, helping a child to build their core is not always as simple as doing a few targeted exercises. While pure muscle strength may be the root cause of instability, it is not the only possibility. Other causes include poor alignment of the ribcage and pelvis, the need for some neuromuscular reeducation to help children engage the right muscles, and breathing habits that interfere with proper muscle use. If you feel like core weakness may be interfering with your child’s success, it may be worth seeking an occupational therapy assessment or speaking to your school’s occupational therapist about how to help them feel secure, sturdy and grounded. We can all benefit from a strong foundation.

 

About the Author

Dr. Sophie Bellenis is a Licensed Occupational Therapist in Massachusetts, specializing in educational OT and functional life skills development. Dr. Bellenis joined NESCA in the fall of 2017 to offer community-based skills coaching services as a part of the Real-life Skills Program within NESCA’s Transition Services team. Dr. Bellenis graduated from the MGH Institute of Health Professions with a Doctorate in Occupational Therapy, with a focus on pediatrics and international program evaluation. She is a member of the American Occupational Therapy Association, as well as the World Federation of Occupational Therapists. Having spent years delivering direct services at the elementary, middle school and high school levels, Dr. Bellenis has extensive background with school-based occupational therapy services.  She believes that individual sensory needs and visual skills must be taken into account to create comprehensive educational programming.

To book an appointment or to learn more about NESCA’s Occupational Therapy Services, please fill out our online Intake Form, email info@nesca-newton.com or call 617-658-9800.

 

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.

 

What is a Nonverbal Learning Disability?

By | NESCA Notes 2019

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 lack of clarity on its causal factors. While this is so, there is a very clear pattern that is noted through the neuropsychological evaluation process. And most importantly, there is a breadth of interventions and supports to address NLD-related challenges, highlighting the importance of identifying and understanding this profile in children.

By definition, NLD is a relative strength in left-brain skills, which are largely verbal, and weakness in right-brain nonverbal skills. As such, to understand NLD, it is important to understand the right hemisphere of the brain.

The right side of the brain is responsible for the collection and integration of multiple sources of information, particularly sensory information, lending to an organized “big picture” understanding of events or information. The right brain is thus not only important for basic visual processing and reasoning, but it is also responsible for the organization and coordination of information and skills across a wide range of domains, including learning, motor coordination, self-regulation (e.g. sensory regulation and attention), social thinking, and task management.  As such, the word learning within the “Nonverbal Learning Disability” title is somewhat of a misnomer, as NLD can impact functioning across most any domain.

It is important to understand that NLD is a relative deficit, meaning that it is a personal weakness. Some individuals with NLD may have nonverbal skills that are all technically “average or better,” but they are still discrepant from that person’s strong verbal skills, causing variability within the profile.

Because many students with NLD have strong verbal reasoning, processing, and memory skills, they are often able to compensate and fly under the radar for some time. However, their over-reliance on verbal skills and rote learning tend to become less effective once they are tasked with the abstract demands of middle and high school. As such, while some individuals with NLD may be identified at a young age, others may not be flagged until much later.

As already stated, although NLD profiles can vary significantly, there are fairly predictable patterns that allow for its accurate identification, namely within the following areas:

Visual Reasoning. On structured intellectual assessment, individuals with NLD demonstrate a significant difference between their verbal and visually-based reasoning, with verbal being better. The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, which is currently in its fifth edition and is the most commonly used intellectual test for children, contains two domains of visually-based reasoning. One is the Visual Spatial index, which contains more concrete puzzle-like tasks, and the Fluid Reasoning index, which assesses abstract pattern recognition. At times individuals with NLD struggle with both domains, while other times they may only demonstrate impairment within one. Because there are many factors that can contribute to challenges within either one of these visual domains, a proper NLD diagnosis can only be made through collection of a thorough history, direction observation, and the assessment of other associated challenges, detailed below.

Visual Processing and Perception. In spite of having perfectly fine vision, individuals with NLD have difficulty managing visual input. This may include problems with tracking lines while reading, difficulty discerning visual details (e.g. differentiating math or letter symbols, recognizing errors when editing their writing, misreading graphs and charts, etc.), or difficulty creating mental imagery (i.e. “seeing” and holding information in one’s head).

Motor Integration. Individuals with NLD demonstrate some level of motor integration or coordination difficulties. This may involve fine motor skills (e.g. poor handwriting and spacing on the page, difficulty tying shoes and using utensils, etc.), gross motor skills (e.g. clumsiness, awkwardness when running, poor hand-eye coordination, etc.), or both. Most often, individuals with NLD have appropriate motor strength, but they struggle to appropriately integrate and manage their movements within space and present demands. This may also correspond to difficulties with directionality and finding their way around, causing them to get lost easily.

Social Skills. Individuals with NLD most often meet early social milestones without any concern. In fact, some individuals with NLD may demonstrate early verbal precociousness that gives the appearance of advanced social engagement, which is aided by the fact that individuals with NLD generally possess appropriate foundational pragmatic skills, particularly when one-on-one or with adults. However, as these children grow older, they continue to over-rely on verbal language and miss out on nonverbal language (e.g. body signals) and context clues. As such, children with NLD may misperceive or misinterpret situations or interactions, or they may become overwhelmed by the complexity of typical peer interactions, causing them to withdraw. Often times, individuals with NLD know what they “should do” socially, but they struggle to actually generalize those skills to interactions.

Executive Functioning. Executive functioning refers to a complex set of skills that are responsible for an individual’s ability to engage in goal-directed behavior. This includes skills necessary for self-regulation, such as impulse control, attentional management, and emotional control, as well as skills for task management and cognitive regulation, such as organizing materials, creating a plan, starting a task and sustaining effort, prioritizing and organizing ideas, holding information in memory, etc. Individuals with NLD likely have some executive function strengths, particularly when they can rely on their verbal strengths; however, they are likely to demonstrate significant challenges with the executive function skills that rely on “big picture awareness,” such as organization, integration, planning, prioritizing, time management, and self-monitoring. Individuals with NLD are detail-focused – they often miss the forest for the trees. For some, they compensate by redoing work and over-exerting their efforts, eventually achieving a semblance of desired outcomes at the cost of time and energy; others may produce work that misses the main point of the task or demonstrates a lack of understanding; and others may just become overwhelmed and give up, appearing to lack “motivation.”

Learning. With the above profile, individuals with NLD tend to rely on rote learning, as they do well with concrete repetition of verbal information. However, they may have difficulty flexibly applying this knowledge, and they are likely to struggle with tasks that require more abstract, “big picture” thinking. Parents and teachers of individuals with NLD often report frustration because problems with information retrieval, pattern recognition, and generalization of skills can result in these individuals making the same mistakes over and over again, not seeming to learn from their errors.

Due to the above learning challenges, children with NLD often struggle with math reasoning, doing best with rote calculations than application of knowledge. Challenges with reading comprehension and written expression are also common, as they not only struggle to see the main idea and integrate information, but they also struggle to “see” the images or story in their head. For younger children with NLD, problems with mental imagery may be mistaken for a reading disability, such as dyslexia, due to difficulties holding, appreciating, and learning letters, numbers, and sight words.

Other Associated Challenges. Because the right hemisphere of the brain coordinates and manages sensory input and complexity, individuals with NLD are at higher risk for challenges with self-regulation. This may include sensory sensitivities, variable attention, or difficulties with emotion regulation. As such, those with NLD may demonstrate heightened anxiety or emotional reactivity that is only further-challenged by the complexity of their learning profile. Because of this, individuals with NLD often rely on a rigid, predictable routine. There is a high rate of comorbid, or co-occurring, diagnoses in individuals with NLD, including things such as ADHD, anxiety disorders, specific learning disabilities, and potentially autism spectrum disorder. Because of this, it is important to have a comprehensive understanding of each individual’s profile before devising their intervention plan.

What do we do to support individuals with NLD? The supports set into place can be widely variable depending on the individual child’s profile. Some of the most common recommendations include social skills interventions that target “higher level” skills, such as social perspective taking and problem solving; executive function instruction that aims to teach task management skills, develop “big picture” thinking, and generalize skills across tasks and settings; academic remediation for any specific domain of impairment, potentially including math reasoning, reading comprehension, or written expression; and occupational therapy services to develop skills, such as handwriting and/or keyboarding, visual processing, and motor coordination.

It is important to understand that individuals with NLD struggle with abstraction, so concrete, explicit instruction, with frequent repetition, is often key. This not only applies to academic instruction, but also therapy or instruction in daily living skills at home. Things need to be rehearsed “in real time,” as there needs to be a plan for how to ensure skills translate to life.

Self-advocacy most often needs to be directly taught by first increasing self-awareness, as it may be difficult for individuals with NLD to recognize the patterns within their challenges or self-monitor when support may be needed.

There are many useful resources for further understanding ways to support individuals with NLD. Some available options include Pamela Tanguay’s Nonverbal Learning Disabilities at Home: A Parent’s Guide and Nonverbal Learning Disabilities at School: Educating Students with NLD, Asperger Syndrome and Related Conditions, and Kathryn Stewart’s Helping a Child with Nonverbal Learning Disorder or Asperger’s Disorder: A Parent’s Guide.

Because NLD profiles can be variable, complex, and clouded by co-occurring challenges, a thorough neuropsychological evaluation can be a critical step toward fully understanding an individual child’s needs and thinking about how they will be best supported not just in school, but also in their day to day life. Should you require support in navigating such needs for a child, teen, or young adult in your life, more information about NESCA’s neuropsychological evaluations and team of evaluators is available at www.nesca-newton.com.

 

About the Author:

Dr. Angela Currie is a pediatric neuropsychologist at NESCA. She conducts neuropsychological and psychological evaluations out of our Londonderry, NH office. She specializes in the evaluation of anxious children and teens, working to tease apart the various factors lending to their stress, such as underlying learning, attentional, or emotional challenges. She particularly enjoys working with the seemingly “unmotivated” child, as well as children who have “flown under the radar” for years due to their desire to succeed.

 

To book an evaluation with Dr. Currie or one of our many other expert neuropsychologists, complete NESCA’s online intake form. Indicate whether you are seeking an “evaluation” or “consultation” and your preferred clinician in the referral line.

 

Neuropsychology & Education Services for Children & Adolescents (NESCA) is a pediatric neuropsychology practice and integrative treatment center with offices in Londonderry, NH, Plainville, MA, and Newton, MA serving clients from preschool through young adulthood and their families. For more information, please email info@nesca-newton.com or call (603) 818-8526.

What Does Autism Look Like? Exploring the Differences among Girls and Boys

By | NESCA Notes 2019

 

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 and “milder” forms of ASD. To understand why ASD is more often missed in girls, let’s explore the differences between boys and girls with ASD. This discussion will focus on children with average to above average intelligence (about 50% of all children diagnosed with ASD).

 

Boys Girls
Poor impulse control, more acting out Likely to be quiet and withdrawn
Disruptive behaviors in the classroom setting Tend to be reserved and cooperative at school
Frequent repetitive motor behaviors that are directly observable Lower frequency of these motor behaviors
Lack of interest in imaginary play Very much engaged in imaginary play
Restricted interests may seem unusual – e.g., train schedules, maps, windmills Restricted interests may seem “age appropriate” – e.g., horses, unicorns, ballet
Trouble making friends Might have a few friends
Likely to exhibit angry outbursts when frustrated/anxious Likely to engage in self-harm or other behaviors that are not observed by others when frustrated/anxious
Lack of awareness of being different or not fitting in More motivated to fit in and “hide” social difficulties – might try to imitate the behavior of a peer that is perceived as popular

 

Due to these differences, the diagnosis of ASD is often missed in young girls. Adults might agree that a girl is “odd” or “quirky,” but dismiss these concerns because she has good eye contact, has some friends, and does not engage in hand flapping or other unusual behaviors. Unfortunately, other girls might be misdiagnosed, which could lead to ineffective or inappropriate treatment interventions. Most commonly, they might be misdiagnosed with ADHD or Anxiety Disorder.

In many cases, girls with ASD have increasing difficulties with social interactions as they get older and demands get higher. A young girl with ASD might be able to “get by” in social interactions but by the time she reaches adolescence, she is not able to navigate the intricacies of the social milieu. This can lead to social isolation and high risk of being bullied or rejected by peers.

Unfortunately, a missed diagnosis of ASD for a young girl can have long-reaching ramifications. She might experience depression, anxiety and/or low self-esteem, wondering why she doesn’t “fit in” and “feels different” from other girls. She might start to struggle in school or disconnect from activities that she used to enjoy. Moreover, missing the diagnosis in childhood means that she did not receive services to support her social and peer interaction skills during her formative years.

As always, when parents or other caregivers have concerns about a child’s development, it is important to seek an evaluation from a professional. And if the findings do not feel quite right, parents should never feel uncomfortable about seeking a second opinion.

 

About the Author: 

Erin Gibbons, Ph.D. is a pediatric neuropsychologist with expertise in neurodevelopmental and neuropsychological assessment of infants,

children, and adolescents presenting with developmental disabilities including autism spectrum disorders, Down syndrome, intellectual disabilities, learning disabilities, and attention deficit disorders. She has a particular interest in assessing students with complex medical histories and/or neurological impairments, including those who are cognitively delayed, nonverbal, or physically disabled. Dr. Gibbons joined NESCA in 2011 after completing a two-year post-doctoral fellowship in the Developmental Medicine Center at Boston Children’s Hospital. She particularly enjoys working with young children, especially those who are transitioning from Early Intervention into preschool. Having been trained in administration of the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS), Dr. Gibbons has experience diagnosing autism spectrum disorders in children aged 12 months and above.

 

If you are interested in booking an evaluation with Dr. Gibbons or another NESCA neuropsychologist, please fill out and submit 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.

Skip to content