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NANCY ROOSA

2

Parenting Orchids and Dandelions

By | NESCA Notes 2019

By: Nancy Roosa, Psy.D.
Pediatric Neuropsychologist, NESCA

I recently evaluated a 15-year-old boy, who we’ll call Sam, whose parents brought him in due to some concerning new behaviors, including failing classes, disobeying his parents’ rules – particularly around curfew and technology use – and smoking marijuana on a daily basis. When meeting Sam, I was amazed at how engaging, polite and good-natured he was. It was hard to imagine this young man disobeying his parents and staying out all night, which he was also doing frequently.

Sam had grown up in an affluent and supportive family, the third of four children. The other three were, like their parents, easy-going, adaptable and successful – academically, socially and athletically. They were on the path to becoming independent and successful adults. Sam had always been a bit different. He was the child who had colic as an infant, sleep disturbances throughout childhood, separation anxiety at preschool, and extreme sensitivity to sensory stimuli. His parents cut tags out of his clothes, bought him loose-fitting pants, and avoided birthday parties at Chuck E. Cheese’s – or almost anywhere there would be crowds of loud children, as these situations could reduce Sam to tears.

When evaluating Sam, I was impressed by his intelligence, quick reasoning and solid academic skills.  There was nothing obvious that standard neuropsychology tests uncovered. But Sam was also open and articulate about his difficulties. He explained that he was easily overwhelmed – “jangled,” he called it – in social situations, in a fast-paced classroom or on an athletic field. When he started ninth grade in a challenging parochial school, he was faced with more stressful situations, academically and socially. He became extremely anxious about tests and lengthy homework assignments, so he fell behind academically and developed pretty serious school anxiety. Given his sensitive nature, he was particularly likely to struggle in a class where the teacher was, in his words, “too strict,” or even “mean.” He wasn’t successful enough socially or athletically to sustain his self-esteem in these areas, particularly compared to his talented siblings. He found himself becoming angry and anxious, and he started using marijuana to calm himself. As he described it, getting high was the only time he felt happy and relaxed.

Sam was clearly struggling, easily meeting criteria for an anxiety disorder and a substance use disorder.  But I wanted to explain some of the “why” behind his struggles, so, in talking to his parents, I relied on the explanation put forth by Dr. W. Thomas Boyce, in his book, Orchids and Dandelions: Why Some Children Struggle and How All Can Thrive. He explains that most children are like dandelions, born with sturdy, resilient temperaments so that they, like dandelions, grow and thrive wherever they land –  assuming there’s some minimal level of appropriate conditions. But about 20% of children are more like orchids. They are born with a very sensitive nervous system, which is highly attuned to all the stimulation in the world around them. Dr. Boyce found that for these children, lower levels of stress precipitated a full-fledged anxiety response, involving the release of stress hormones that create a Fight, Flight or Freeze response – an appropriate response for a life-threatening situation, but not much help when facing, say, a strict teacher or a hard test. These children are therefore much more likely to develop full-blown anxiety disorders. On the positive side, their high level of sensitivity to the world around them means they are typically very empathic and emotionally attuned. Like an orchid with careful nurturing, they will develop into exceptional adults.

Fortunately, many orchids do naturally gain resilience as they grow, according to Elaine Arons, Ph.D. In her book The Sensitive Child, she cites studies that find most children who are shy as preschoolers – suffering social and separation anxiety – will develop coping strategies and not appear shy by the time they reach school age. These orchids gain resilience without losing their sensitivity.

But this positive evolution requires good parenting. While dandelions do fine with the average “good-enough” mother, as famously defined by psychologist Donald Winnicott, orchids need parents to be just a bit better.

How does one do this? How can a well-meaning, good-enough parent help these orchids become better able to manage the squalls, large and small, that occur in any one’s life?

Fortunately, there is a wealth of research – contained in books and articles – on building resilience in children. Most emphasize that we need to allow children to struggle with challenges, even to the point of sometimes failing, so they learn that they can cope and succeed in the face of adversity. This message is clear from the title of several such books: e.g. The Blessing of the Skinned Knee: Using Timeless Teachings to Raise Self-Reliant Children, by Wendy Mogel and The Gift of Failure: How the Best Parents Learn to Let Go So Their Children Can Succeed by Jessica Lahey.

We also have a neurobiological explanation for this process. We know that continued exposure to a stressful situation allows the body to habituate and the terrible feelings – such as fear and panic – that accompany a stress response gradually recede. As this happens, the previously scary situation becomes routine, and the child’s self-confidence and willingness to tackle new risks grows. Every preschool teacher knows this. The crying child who is being left by his parents in an unfamiliar preschool will eventually calm down and start to enjoy himself. The process goes more quickly if parents calmly and confidently reassure the child, then leave. The parent who is also anxious, who hovers over the child, attempting to sooth his fears, only increases the child’s anxiety by sending the message that this IS a scary situation. This phenomenon was dramatically illustrated in a study by Susan Crockenberg and Esther Leerkes (Development and Psychopathology, 2006). They found that 6-month-old children had different levels of reactivity – or startle – in response to unfamiliar stimuli. These infants also showed differences in how much they tried to avoid the situation, versus distracting themselves while staying in the presence of the stimuli. Children with high reactivity and a tendency to withdraw from novel stimuli, along with parents who were less sensitive, were more likely to show high anxiety at 2.5 years of age. Exposure to challenge causes the body to habituate and builds resilience. Trying to avoid stressful situations only exacerbates fears.

However, this can be counterintuitive for parents of very sensitive children. In fact, the more attuned a parent is to his/her child’s sensitivity, the harder it becomes. Sam’s parents had always coddled him a bit more than their other children. Knowing that he didn’t like loud birthday parties, his mother tended to decline these invitations. When he became upset and started to cry at a soccer game, his father felt so sorry for him that he didn’t insist that Sam return the next week. This avoidance did not allow Sam to grow and master new situations, but instead narrowed his world.

This is not to say that Sam’s parents should have been less emotionally attuned. Rather, it’s important for parents of children like Sam to walk a fine line between exposing the child to moderate challenges that he can manage but do not overwhelm him. It’s also important that they stay calm themselves, empathizing with the child’s fears but reassuring him at the same time. Not an easy task.

Fortunately, Sam has many strengths, not the least of which are his sensitivity and his intelligence, as well as great artistic gifts. He also has a solid relationship with his parents, even though it has been quite strained of late. After our evaluation, Sam and his parents decided to place him in a therapeutic wilderness program so he could withdraw from daily pot use in a safe place and learn skills from therapists there, as well as learn from peers who were going through similar struggles. This coming year, he will not return to the challenging parochial school he attended for ninth grade and will instead start at an independent school that offers some academic supports and a flourishing arts program. Sam’s roots are well-established, and with a bit more awareness of the gifts and challenges inherent in his sensitive nature, he is expected to grow into a self-confident and resilient young man.

 

About the Author: 
Roosa

Dr. Roosa has been engaged in providing neuropsychological evaluations for children since 1997. She enjoys working with a range of children, particularly those with autism spectrum disorders, as well as children with attentional issues, executive function deficits, anxiety disorders, learning disabilities, or other social, emotional or behavioral problems. Her evaluations are particularly appropriate for children with complex profiles and those whose presentations do not fit neatly into any one diagnostic box. As part of this process, Dr. Roosa is frequently engaged in school visits, IEP Team Meetings, home observations and phone consultations with collateral providers. Dr. Roosa has also consulted with several area schools, either about individual children or about programmatic concerns. She speaks to parent or school groups, upon request.

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.

2

What is Working Memory and How Can We Address It?

By | NESCA Notes 2019

By: Nancy Roosa, Psy.D.
Pediatric Neuropsychologist, NESCA

Melanie is a sweet, hard-working 11-year-old girl whose parents brought her to NESCA for an evaluation to try to understand why she was struggling in school. Melanie was a cheerful, vivacious girl who seemed intelligent, curious and articulate. But she was barely getting by in fifth grade, putting in hours on homework every night on assignments her teachers thought should take 30 minutes. Her parents were concerned about how she was going to manage middle school next year.

During the evaluation, Melanie did quite well on most tests. Her intelligence measured in the “Above Average” range, and her academic skills were solid. She worked hard and even did well on a test of sustained attention. So, it was clear she did not have a classic case of attentional dysregulation.

Upon further analysis, a few striking results emerged. Melanie had a good ability to remember information or work on structured tasks, but got confused on multistep tasks. One important result: she was able to remember and repeat back long strings of digits when repeating them verbatim, but she really struggled when she had to repeat them in reverse. The mental manipulations involved flummoxed her.

This is working memory: the ability to hold multiple bits of information in memory banks while there is another, distracting bit of information processing going on. Working memory is the “working” part of memory, as it holds information long enough for us to use it or store it away in longer-term memory banks. Analogies can be made to computer storage, where current information is held while processing occurs; or a mental chalkboard, where we jot down our ideas while working out a problem. For some children, like Melanie, that computer storage or chalkboard space is quite limited, causing difficulty with many aspects of learning. As a first grader, Melanie easily learned the sounds of letters, but it was harder for her to remember and apply that knowledge while reading words. Similarly, she easily learned math facts, but got stymied on multistep math problems. Finally, she had trouble with multistep directions. When her parents or teachers told her three things to do, her response was typically, “Wait, what?”.

Melanie’s parents were right to be concerned about middle school, since this is when students are presented with more complex assignments, such as lengthy reading and writing assignments, PowerPoint presentations and many other multistep projects, which were going to be hard for her.

Working memory deficits are related to other cognitive processes. Children with attentional regulation deficits or learning disabilities often – but not always – have working memory deficits. However, every child is unique, with an individual set of strengths and weaknesses. Therefore, a comprehensive and well-done evaluation is essential to clarify a child’s specific profile – a vital first step in crafting an appropriate plan for support and treatment.

Now that we identified Melanie’s difficulties as primarily due to working memory deficits, how do we help her?

My recommendations centered first on the types of accommodations Melanie would need in school to manage an uptick in demands.

  • Any complex or multistep assignment needed to be presented in writing so Melanie can refer back to the directions. She should be shown completed models and provided with scoring rubrics.
  • Melanie might need support from a learning specialist to manage complex tasks, by dividing them into component parts, then completing each part and integrating the whole.
  • Melanie should not be expected to take notes while simultaneously listening to a teacher’s instruction. She should be provided with notes or given an outline of the teacher’s talk that she could fill in.
  • Melanie’s pace of work was slow, given the need to frequently check back and remind herself what she was doing. Therefore, teachers should consider giving her shorter homework assignments that focus on quality not quantity, and extra time to complete tests and assignments.

We also discussed the strategies that Melanie would need to learn to compensate for working memory deficits. She was already using some important strategies, likely based on coaching from some talented teachers in her past. She knew she needed to write things down to remember them, so she had become good at creating outlines before she started writing and drawing pictures of math problems. However, as assignments got longer, Melanie was going to need additional strategies. For example, for lengthy reading assignments, Melanie might need to jot down sticky notes on pages or develop an ongoing “story board” to keep track of main character descriptions or plot points.

Once the family brought this information to Melanie’s educational team, they were able to meet and establish important accommodations, including time to work with a learning specialist several times weekly. The team also agreed to continue to monitor her ability to manage future challenges.

Beyond accommodating working memory deficits, there is ongoing research into programs that could actually improve an individual’s working memory. The hope is that by targeted practice, one could strengthen one’s working memory the way we strengthen muscles by working out at the gym. Despite a great deal of research, the preponderance of evidence does not indicate that these kinds of training programs are effective in improving working memory, except on the specific tasks used in the training program itself. At NESCA, we remain optimistic that further research and refinements will eventually yield more promising treatments.

Finally, one of the most important outcomes of the evaluation was a feedback session with Melanie herself, where I explained her learning profile to her in age-appropriate terms. My goal was to help her appreciate her many strengths and understand that her learning challenge was relatively small and specific. She might have to work harder in certain ways, but would be able to be successful in school and life.

At NESCA, we find that when a child is old enough to process this information about their profile, it is vital to provide it. We find that many children, even teenagers and young adults, tend to be black-and-white thinkers. When they struggle in school in any way, they conclude they are “stupid.” It is obviously vital to prevent this kind of global, negative self-concept from developing. Rather, we hope to give the child the self-awareness and confidence to develop and use compensatory strategies, no matter the area of weakness. We need Melanie and children like her to be confident enough to ask a teacher, college professor or even a job supervisor to provide written instructions to a task or go over directions more than once. Our goal is to arm her with enough self-awareness and confidence that she can go into any new situation, as a student or adult, and be successful while not letting her challenges define or limit her.

 

About the Author: 
Roosa

Dr. Roosa has been engaged in providing neuropsychological evaluations for children since 1997. She enjoys working with a range of children, particularly those with autism spectrum disorders, as well as children with attentional issues, executive function deficits, anxiety disorders, learning disabilities, or other social, emotional or behavioral problems. Her evaluations are particularly appropriate for children with complex profiles and those whose presentations do not fit neatly into any one diagnostic box. As part of this process, Dr. Roosa is frequently engaged in school visits, IEP Team Meetings, home observations and phone consultations with collateral providers. Dr. Roosa has also consulted with several area schools, either about individual children or about programmatic concerns. She speaks to parent or school groups, upon request.

 

 

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.

0

Blog Update: Increased Access to Publicly Funded Independent Educational Evaluations (IEEs)

By | NESCA Notes 2018

By: Nancy Roosa, Psy.D.
Pediatric Neuropsychologist, NESCA

In the last blog post about increased access to independent evaluations, we cited some provisions that were in the original bill, filed by State Senator Barbara L’Italien and State Representative Jim O’Day, which ultimately did not pass. The increase in rates for IEEs were made by a regulation from the agency, the Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS), not legislative action. A corrected version of the article is reprinted below. We remain excited about these changes and thankful for the hard work of our friends at MAC, the Ed Law Project, and the many advocates, parents, and psychologists who helped advocate for these changes.

As an independent group practice, not allied with any one school district, medical or advocacy group, neuropsychologists at NESCA are often called upon to perform independent evaluations for parents who are seeking an unbiased expert opinion related to their child’s developmental and educational needs. In some cases, this is the first evaluation a family is seeking for their child. In others, the family is in disagreement with the progression or conclusions of a school-based evaluation process. In Massachusetts, parents may seek private evaluation of their child at their own expense at any time and their educational team must meet to consider the results and recommendations of that evaluation. State and federal laws also provide parents with a procedure for requesting that a school district fund an Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE) if they believe that the school’s evaluation is not adequate or comprehensive enough. It is often helpful for parents who are interested in this important resource to consult with an educational advocate to see if they have a legitimate reason to request public funding for an IEE.

Unfortunately, in the past, the ability of families to access a publicly funded IEE has been limited by the low rates that school districts were required to pay to the independent evaluator, as set by state regulations. The maximum allowable rates were, until recently, $74.94 per hour with an allowed range of 8-12 hours, for a total of $899.28. Very few practicing evaluators are able or willing to accept less than $900 to perform what, by definition, needs to be a comprehensive evaluation in the context of what is often a complex situation centering on a disagreement between a family and a school district. These rates had not been raised since 2007, more than ten years ago. Thus, even when a school district agreed to fund an IEE, the school and family often had trouble finding an expert evaluator willing and able to perform it for the state rate.

This situation has changed, thanks in large part to the committed lobbying efforts of our friends at Mass Advocates for Children (MAC), a group of dedicated lawyers, advocates, parents and others who work tirelessly to ensure that all children in the state have equal access to educational and life opportunities. They focus particularly on those children who have disabilities, are low income and/or are racially, culturally, or linguistically diverse.  Thanks to MAC’s leadership in lobbying for this new change, the Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS) passed new regulations, effective April 1, 2018, which allow a maximum rate of $88.43 per hour, and the range of hours has increased to 9-20, bringing the maximum total rate to $1,768.60. This means more families, particularly those of limited means, should be able to access IEEs if they are needed.

We thank our friends at MAC for their dedicated work on this and other efforts that benefit the most vulnerable children in the Commonwealth. MAC also gives grateful credit to the Ed Law Project and other advocates, parents, and psychologists who helped advocate for this bill, as well as Lead Sponsors of the bill: State Senator Barbara L’Italien and State Representative Jim O’Day.

Please visit the MAC website to appreciate the scope of their many efforts.  https://massadvocates.org/

For more information about the Independent Educational Evaluation process in MA, check out these resources:

NESCA is proud to continue to provide evaluations funded both privately and publicly. While our rates are higher than the state’s standard rate, we are thankful that this increased funding is available to defray costs for families in need.

About the Author: 
Roosa

Dr. Roosa has been engaged in providing neuropsychological evaluations for children since 1997. She enjoys working with a range of children, particularly those with autism spectrum disorders, as well as children with attentional issues, executive function deficits, anxiety disorders, learning disabilities, or other social, emotional or behavioral problems. Her evaluations are particularly appropriate for children with complex profiles and those whose presentations do not fit neatly into any one diagnostic box. As part of this process, Dr. Roosa is frequently engaged in school visits, IEP Team Meetings, home observations and phone consultations with collateral providers. Dr. Roosa has also consulted with several area schools, either about individual children or about programmatic concerns. She speaks to parent or school groups, upon request.

 

 

Neuropsychology & Education Services for Children & Adolescents (NESCA) is a pediatric neuropsychology practice and integrative treatment center with offices in Newton, 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.

0

Increased Access to Publicly Funded Independent Educational Evaluations (IEEs)

By | NESCA Notes 2018

By: Nancy Roosa, Psy.D.
Pediatric Neuropsychologist, NESCA

As an independent group practice, not allied with any one school district, medical or advocacy group, neuropsychologists at NESCA are often called upon to perform independent evaluations for parents who are seeking an unbiased expert opinion related to their child’s developmental and educational needs. In some cases, this is the first evaluation a family is seeking for their child. In others, the family is in disagreement with the progression or conclusions of a school-based evaluation process. In Massachusetts, parents may seek private evaluation of their child at their own expense at any time and their educational team must meet to consider the results and recommendations of that evaluation. State and federal laws also provide parents with a procedure for requesting that a school district fund an Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE) if they believe that the school’s evaluation is not adequate or comprehensive enough. It is often helpful for parents who are interested in this important resource to consult with an educational advocate to see if they have a legitimate reason to request public funding for an IEE.

Unfortunately, in the past, the ability of families to access a publicly funded IEE has been limited by the low rates that school districts were required to pay to the independent evaluator, as set by state regulations. The maximum allowable rates were, until recently, $74.94 per hour with an allowed range of 8-12 hours, for a total of $899.28. Very few practicing evaluators are able or willing to accept less than $900 to perform what, by definition, needs to be a comprehensive evaluation in the context of what is often a complex situation centering on a disagreement between a family and a school district. These rates had not been raised since 2007, more than ten years ago. Thus, even when a school district agreed to fund an IEE, the school and family often had trouble finding an expert evaluator willing and able to perform it for the state rate.

This situation has changed, thanks in large part to the committed lobbying efforts of our friends at Mass Advocates for Children (MAC), a group of dedicated lawyers, advocates, parents and others who work tirelessly to ensure that all children in the state have equal access to educational and life opportunities. They focus particularly on those children who have disabilities, are low income and/or are racially, culturally, or linguistically diverse.  Thanks to MAC’s leadership in lobbying for this new change, the Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS) passed new regulations, effective April 1, 2018, which allow a maximum rate of $88.43 per hour, and the range of hours has increased to 9-20, bringing the maximum total rate to $1,768.60.  In addition, the Bureau of Special Education Appeals will be able to order a higher rate in extraordinary cases. Further, in the rare instances that parents prevail at a hearing and have paid expert fees, the parents would have the right to be reimbursed for these fees by the school district. This means more families, particularly those of limited means, should be able to access IEEs if they are needed.

We thank our friends at MAC for their dedicated work on this and other efforts that benefit the most vulnerable children in the Commonwealth. MAC also gives grateful credit to the Ed Law Project and other advocates, parents, and psychologists who helped advocate for this bill, as well as Lead Sponsors of the bill: State Senator Barbara L’Italien and State Representative Jim O’Day.

Please visit the MAC website to appreciate the scope of their many efforts.  https://massadvocates.org/

For more information about the Independent Educational Evaluation process in MA, check out these resources:

NESCA is proud to continue to provide evaluations funded both privately and publicly. While our rates are higher than the state’s standard rate, we are thankful that this increased funding is available to defray costs for families in need.

About the Author: 
Roosa

Dr. Roosa has been engaged in providing neuropsychological evaluations for children since 1997. She enjoys working with a range of children, particularly those with autism spectrum disorders, as well as children with attentional issues, executive function deficits, anxiety disorders, learning disabilities, or other social, emotional or behavioral problems. Her evaluations are particularly appropriate for children with complex profiles and those whose presentations do not fit neatly into any one diagnostic box. As part of this process, Dr. Roosa is frequently engaged in school visits, IEP Team Meetings, home observations and phone consultations with collateral providers. Dr. Roosa has also consulted with several area schools, either about individual children or about programmatic concerns. She speaks to parent or school groups, upon request.

 

 

Neuropsychology & Education Services for Children & Adolescents (NESCA) is a pediatric neuropsychology practice and integrative treatment center with offices in Newton, 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.

4

Education for Life: Social Emotional Learning

By | NESCA Notes 2018

 

By:  Nancy Roosa, Psy.D.
Pediatric Neuropsychologist

The agonizing discussion around the tragedy of school shootings – happening on a weekly basis in this country — too often devolves into a polarized argument about whether the main problem is guns OR mental health. The argument seems moot, since BOTH access to a firearm and mental health problems have to come together – in one troubled individual – to result in one of these large-scale school massacres. Therefore, while the discussion about gun control is an important one, I’m going to leave that for another forum. In this blog, in my role as a psychologist, I’d like to focus on how we can improve the mental health of our children.

There is no clear answer as to why some students choose to go on a deadly rampage against members of their own community – the peers and adults they spend time with every day – although clearly something has gone very wrong for them in that community. Some research does link bullying and social isolation to school shootings. The U.S. Secret Service and the U.S. Department of Education in a 2004 report found that “almost three-quarters of the (school shooting) attackers felt persecuted, bullied, threatened, attacked, or injured by others prior to the incident. In several cases, individual attackers had experienced bullying and harassment that was long-standing and severe. In some cases, the experience of being bullied seemed to have a significant impact on the attacker and appeared to have been a factor in his decision to mount an attack at the school.”

I do not want to blame the victims, by somehow implying that the social environments at Columbine, Sandy Hook, Parkland and Santa Fe – and all the other sites of horrific massacres – were particularly cruel or harsh. We know that some students at every school feel ostracized and alone, and some are also coping with other serious life stresses, i.e. living in families stressed by poverty, addiction, and/or mental health challenges. But just because this is commonplace doesn’t mean we should accept it. Our society needs a stronger safety net, so that all children are safely housed, well fed and emotionally nurtured in their families, outside of school.

In addition, schools are increasingly recognizing their part in raising the next generation of emotionally mature and secure individuals, and many are attempting to include “social-emotional learning (SEL)” in the curriculum. But while everyone might agree that SEL is a good idea, few people seem to know how to teach it. A recent study by the nonprofit organization CASEL (Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning) found that 83% of principals believe that social-emotional learning is important and a full 95% say they are committed to developing their students’ social and emotional skills. However, only 38% of them had a plan for implementing such learning. Clearly the importance of SEL has been recognized, but doing it well – or doing it at all – still leaves many educators at a loss. Implementing an effective SEL program does require substantial resources – time, money and expertise. Teachers and staff must be trained and then spend time and energy every day implementing the plan. How can we expect schools to find those additional resources when they are already underfunded for the many tasks they are currently charged with? Adding SEL effectively will require that we provide adequate funding to our schools.

Yet, some research shows that the resources invested in SEL bring a hefty payback, not just in social emotional health, which is clearly hard to measure, but also in students’ academic achievement. In 2011, a meta-analysis published in the journal Child Development found that students who participated in a well-implemented SEL program showed an 11 percent gain in academic achievement. In 2015, a study in the Journal of Benefit-Cost Analysis found an $11 benefit for every $1 spent on a rigorous SEL program.

Here in Boston, we have our own success stories involving SEL. One local school, the Mildred Avenue K-8 School in Mattapan, was, 5 years ago, one of the district’s lowest performing schools, at risk of a takeover; now it’s classified as a “level 1” school, the highest category, based on student achievement. Last fall, they were awarded the coveted School on the Move prize by the nonprofit organization Edvestors, which has, for the past 12 years, awarded this prize to a school within the Boston public school district that has made the most progress, based on quantifiable data about student achievement. This school, as well as the other two finalists at this year’s award ceremony in November, highlighted that one important factor was implementing social-emotional learning across the curriculum. They also spoke about the importance of teacher empowerment and creating a sense of an inclusive community in their schools.

Clearly SEL works. Let’s look a bit more closely at what it involves. The cornerstone of SEL learning is gaining five essential skills and competencies, according to CASEL.
1. Self-awareness: recognizing and labeling one’s feelings and accurately identifying one’s strengths and limitations.
2. Self-management: regulating emotions, delaying gratification, managing stress, motivating oneself, and setting and working toward achieving goals.
3. Social awareness: showing empathy, taking others’ perspectives, and recognizing and mobilizing diverse and available supports.
4. Relationship skills: clear communication, active listening, cooperation, nonviolent and constructive conflict resolution, knowing when and how to be a good team player and leader.
5. Responsible decision making: making ethical choices based on consideration of feelings, goals, alternatives and outcomes, and planning and enacting solutions with potential obstacles anticipated.

This is an ambitious list, and we don’t expect these skills to be mastered by 10th grade along with the ability to write a 5-paragraph essay. These are skills that one can—and should!—spend a life time learning. But just pondering this list for a few minutes makes me realize that these are the qualities I value in the people I interact with—my colleagues, friends, and family members—and they are the main qualities that determine whether one lives a productive, satisfying life … much more so than one’s MCAS score.

Will implementing SEL in our schools stop all mass shootings? Sadly, probably not. But will it allow more of the next generation of Americans to grow into socially and emotionally competent individuals? I’d suspect that answer is yes. So let’s start the conversation about this – in every home, in every neighborhood, in every school. Let’s keep our Eyes on this Prize: educating every child for life.

There are a plethora of programs claiming to promote SEL, and a few important guides to distinguish among the programs. Anyone interested in learning how to implement an SEL program could start with one of the following guides. 
· The 2015 CASEL Guide: Effective Social and Emotional Learning Programs (CASEL.org). 
· How to Implement Social and Emotional Learning at Your School, by Maurice J. Elias, Edutopia, March 24, 2016.
· Selecting the Right SEL Program, by Leah Shafer, June 20, 2017. Harvard Graduate School of Education.

 

About the Author:

Roosa

Nancy Roosa, Psy.D. has been engaged in providing neuropsychological evaluations for children since 1997. She enjoys working with a range of children, particularly those with autism spectrum disorders, as well as children with attentional issues, executive function deficits, anxiety disorders, learning disabilities, or other social, emotional or behavioral problems.

Dr. Roosa’s evaluations are highly-individualized and comprehensive, integrating data obtained from a wide range of standardized assessment tools with information gained from history, input from parents, teachers and providers, and important observations gleaned from interacting with the child. Her approach to testing is playful and supportive.

Her evaluations are particularly useful for children with complex profiles and those whose presentations do not fit neatly into any one diagnostic box.

 

To book a consultation with Dr. Roosa 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.

 

0

Thinking About Autism and Neurodiversity

By | NESCA Notes 2018

By: Nancy Roosa, Psy.D. 
Pediatric Neuropsychologist

On December 2, 2017, several of NESCA’s clinical staff had the honor of speaking at The Daniel W. Rosenn Annual AANE Connections Conference with Temple Grandin. Talks included:

We were pleased to be able to share our expertise with more than 500 parents, professionals, and adults with autism. Furthermore, we enjoyed the opportunity to hear Dr. Temple Grandin speak about neurodiversity and the many contributions of neurodiverse individuals to our daily lives. As such, I wanted to share a bit about this topic with you.

Thinking About Autism and Neurodiversity

Without the particular contributions made by people on the spectrum, Temple Grandin says, “we’d still be living in caves and using our social skills to tell each other jokes by firelight.” Dr. Grandin gave an inspiring talk as the keynote speaker at the Autism/Asperger Network’s (AANE) annual conference. One of the main points of her presentation was that anyone capable of making grand and significant contributions to society has to see the world a bit differently. From Albert Einstein to Steve Jobs, revolutionary advances have been made by these unique, creative — but not always well socialized — individuals. In her case, she had remarkable visualization skills and a unique ability to see how cattle interact with their environment, allowing her to design more humane systems for transporting them in slaughterhouses without creating additional, unnecessary stress. Dr. Grandin’s drawings and sketches in the book Thinking in Pictures are truly remarkable.

John Elder Robison made a similar point in his book Switched On (2016) when he talks about his particular gifts in building electronic circuits for musicians. He describes how he could simply intuit how to build circuits to create a particular sound and how he knew immediately if some part of a complex stereo system was not working well. He came to realize that other engineers worked in a more methodical manner, which led him to wonder if his brain is wired differently. Where the neural connections that process social skills might be under-developed in his brain, he suspects he had  stronger connections between his math, sound and visual processing areas, which led to his successful career as an audio engineer for some of the country’s best rock bands – including designing flaming guitars for the band KISS.

In his book, Mr. Robison wondered if he would have traded his gifts to be more “neurotypical” — if he had had that choice. He recounts being very lonely in middle school and high school, but ponders the relative costs and benefits, both to himself personally as well as society. As he writes: “The world is full of friendly people with no technical skills. The few of us who see into machines like others see into humans are singularly uncommon and we’re valued for that.” These are the type of people who make revolutionary advances. He asks ‘if we could make autistic children more neurotypical, should we?’ “Should we trade friends in 7th grade for designing a working spaceship at age 25?”

This is an important point for those of us who work with, live with and/or love people on the spectrum. In our desire to help them lead more “normal” lives, and avoid the pain of being different, we have to also appreciate their differences, since that difference may be the very thing that leads them to a uniquely satisfying life, and perhaps to invent the next new thing that makes all of our lives better.

To learn more about Temple Grandin, John Elder Robison and Neurodiversity, visit the following links:

About the Author:

Nancy Roosa, Psy.D. has been engaged in providing neuropsychological evaluations for children since 1997. She enjoys working with a range of children, particularly those with autism spectrum disorders, as well as children with attentional issues, executive function deficits, anxiety disorders, learning disabilities, or other social, emotional or behavioral problems. Her evaluations are particularly appropriate for children with complex profiles and those whose presentations do not fit neatly into any one diagnostic box. As part of this process, Dr. Roosa is frequently engaged in school visits, IEP Team Meetings, home observations and phone consultations with collateral providers. Dr. Roosa has also consulted with several area schools, either about individual children or about programmatic concerns. She speaks to parent or school groups, upon request.