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A Tale of Two Social Styles: Classical and Jazz Socializers (Republished from Nov. 27, 2017)

By | NESCA Notes 2018

By Jason McCormick, Psy.D.
Pediatric Neuropsychologist

I work with a number of parents concerned about the quality of their child’s social life.  Lamenting that their child has no true friends, many parents I see note that that their child doesn’t “hang out” with peers.  However, when asked about how their child does spend time with peers, many parents report that their child is involved in several different structured after-school activities, such as a church youth group, scouting, or a gaming club.  In other words, while not getting together with peers in less structured settings, these students often do, despite parent misgivings, have satisfying social lives.

I find it useful to think about socializers as lying in one of two camps: Jazz and Classical.  Jazz socializers are all about improv.  They’ll head downtown with a friend and see where the afternoon takes them, invite a friend over with no particular plan or agenda, or wander the mall in a herd.  They care little about predictability and in fact relish spontaneity and surprise.  Classical socializers, by contrast, are most comfortable with structure.  They crave predictability, wanting to know the specific parameters of a social activity, including the start and end times, the purpose, and the rules of engagement.  Classical socializers, then, tend to do best with organized social activities.

It’s important to note that one type of socializing is not better than the other; it’s about a match.  I say that as many parents of Classical socializing children worry that their children will grow up to be friendless and alone.  To those concerns, I observe that there are plenty of socially-satisfied Classical socializing adults: they have their book club the first Monday of every month, poker night every other Thursday, weekly chorus practice, and bar trivia on Wednesdays.

Thus, rather than trying cram to their Classical socializing child into a Jazz paradigm – which in fact runs the risk of leading to more social isolation due to anxiety stemming from the mismatch – I encourage parents to embrace the kind of socializer that their child is.  For parents of Classical socializers, that means supporting their child’s social satisfaction and growth through the encouragement of their participation in a variety of structured after-school activities (of course without over-scheduling).  In addition to giving their children a chance for a rich and rewarding social life now, participation in such activities serves as an important practice and preparation for adult life, as in college and as adults in the working world, that is how Classical socializers will be most socially satisfied.

 

About the Author:

McCormick

Dr. Jason McCormick is a senior clinician at NESCA, sees children, adolescents and young adults with a variety of presenting issues, including Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD), dyslexia and non-verbal learning disability. He has expertise in Asperger’s Disorder and has volunteered at the Asperger’s Association of New England (AANE). Dr. McCormick mainly sees individuals ranging from age 10 through the college years, and he has a particular interest in the often difficult transition between high school and college. As part of his work with older students, Dr. McCormick is very familiar with the documentation requirements of standardized testing boards. He also holds an advisory and consultative role with a prestigious local university, assisting in the provision of appropriate academic accommodations to their students with learning disabilities and other issues complicating their education.

 

To book a consultation with Dr. McCormick 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, MA, 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

Director’s Update

By | NESCA Notes 2017

 

By:  Ann Helmus, Ph.D.
NESCA Founder/Director

NESCA was founded on the idea that a thorough evaluation reflecting careful analysis of information gathered from history, observations, and testing data is crucial in formulating a comprehensive, individualized plan for supporting a child to realize their potential. Increasingly, NESCA is expanding its intervention services, which allows for a higher level of integration between the evaluator and treater. Clearly recognizing the benefit of psychopharmacological intervention for many children and adolescents, at NESCA, we focus on the powerful benefits of many non-medication approaches.

Our experience, supported by research, is that significant improvements in functioning result from psychoeducation, direct teaching of strategies to parents and students, and intervention at the physical level. Psychoeducation refers to the process of educating clients and their parents about the nature of challenges such as anxiety or ADHD.  Beyond gaining a thorough understanding of the challenges faced by a client, parents, teachers, and students need strategies for managing problematic symptoms and behaviors. Teaching and helping parents and students practice these strategies often yields huge changes in functioning.  Finally, the mind and body are interconnected and intervening at the physical level is often more straight-forward for many of our clients, leading to impressive changes in cognitive and emotional functioning.

NESCA offers the following therapeutic interventions:

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT):

CBT is an evidence-based therapy that focuses on identifying and changing thoughts patterns and behaviors that are interfering with functioning.  Of note, we have a therapist who is highly experienced in psychotherapeutic intervention with children and adolescents who are on the autism spectrum, including the use of the Sidekicks app developed by the Affinity Project.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT):

ACT uses approaches such as mindfulness and behavioral change strategies to help clients increase flexibility and reach goals.

Intensive Outpatient Therapy:

Many children require more frequent meetings in order to master the strategies that are being taught for behavioral/emotional regulation or social functioning. NESCA’s intensive out-patient therapy programs generally involve three weekly sessions of direct service for the child followed by brief parent guidance meetings.

Therapy Groups:

NESCA offers a group for school-age children with ADHD and their parents. Children meet in one group while their parents meet concurrently in another group, both led by experienced psychologists.  Starting in 2018, NESCA will be offering drama-based therapy groups based on the Spotlight model developed at the Northeast Arc and researched by the Social Competence and Treatment Lab at Stony Brook University.

Back to School Program:

This intensive program was developed to address school refusal through both home-based and center-based psychotherapy, parent guidance and school consultation.

Community Based Skills Coaching:

Many clients struggle to generalize strategies that they have learned in therapy to daily living. NESCA has highly skilled coaches that work with adolescents and young adults in the community to practice skills and strategies.

Postsecondary Transition Planning:

Adolescents with developmental challenges, learning disabilities, and psychiatric issues often need support in planning for “life after high school”. Our veteran transition specialists work with adolescents and their parents to identify strengths, formulate realistic goals and a plan for reaching goals over their high school years.

Yoga-Based Therapy:

Individual or small group interventions in our yoga studio to build self-awareness and the ability to use breath and movement to address symptoms of anxiety and enhance attention.

Acupuncture/Acupressure:

These ancient treatments can be highly effective for treating anxiety,  ADHD, and other childhood conditions.

 

About the Author:

NESCA Founder/Director Ann Helmus, Ph.D. is a licensed clinical neuropsychologist who has been practicing for almost 20 years. In 1996, she jointly founded the  Children’s Evaluation Center (CEC) in Newton, Massachusetts, serving as co-director there for almost ten years. During that time, CEC emerged as a leading regional center for the diagnosis and remediation of both learning disabilities and Autism Spectrum Disorders.

In September of 2007, Dr. Helmus established NESCA (Neuropsychology & Education Services for Children & Adolescents), a client and family-centered group of seasoned neuropsychologists and allied staff, many of whom she trained, striving to create and refine innovative clinical protocols and dedicated to setting new standards of care in the field.

Dr. Helmus specializes in the evaluation of children with learning disabilities, attention and executive function deficits and primary neurological disorders. In addition to assessing children, she also provides consultation and training to both public and private school systems. She frequently makes presentations to groups of parents, particularly on the topics of non-verbal learning disability and executive functioning.

 

To book a consultation with Dr. Helmus 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.

 

4

A Tale of Two Social Styles: Classical and Jazz Socializers

By | NESCA Notes 2017

 

By:  Jason McCormick, Psy.D.
NESCA Pediatric Neuropsychologist

I work with a number of parents concerned about the quality of their child’s social life.  Lamenting that their child has no true friends, many parents I see note that that their child doesn’t “hang out” with peers.  However, when asked about how their child does spend time with peers, many parents report that their child is involved in several different structured after-school activities, such as a church youth group, scouting, or a gaming club.  In other words, while not getting together with peers in less structured settings, these students often do, despite parent misgivings, have satisfying social lives.

I find it useful to think about socializers as lying in one of two camps: Jazz and Classical.  Jazz socializers are all about improv.  They’ll head downtown with a friend and see where the afternoon takes them, invite a friend over with no particular plan or agenda, or wander the mall in a herd.  They care little about predictability and in fact relish spontaneity and surprise.  Classical socializers, by contrast, are most comfortable with structure.  They crave predictability, wanting to know the specific parameters of a social activity, including the start and end times, the purpose, and the rules of engagement.  Classical socializers, then, tend to do best with organized social activities.

It’s important to note that one type of socializing is not better than the other; it’s about match.  I say that as many parents of Classical socializing children worry that their children will grow up to be friendless and alone.  To those concerns, I observe that there are plenty of socially-satisfied Classical socializing adults: they have their book club the first Monday of every month, poker night every other Thursday, weekly chorus practice, and bar trivia on Wednesdays.

Thus, rather than trying cram to their Classical socializing child into a Jazz paradigm – which in fact runs the risk of leading to more social isolation due to anxiety stemming from the mismatch – I encourage parents to embrace the kind of socializer that their child is.  For parents of Classical socializers, that means supporting their child’s social satisfaction and growth through encouragement of their participation in a variety of structured after school activities (of course without over-scheduling).  In addition to giving their children a chance for a rich and rewarding social life now, participation in such activities serves as important practice and preparation for adult life, as in college and as adults in the working world, that is how Classical socializers will be most socially satisfied.

 

About the Author:

McCormick

Dr. Jason McCormick is a senior clinician at NESCA, sees children, adolescents and young adults with a variety of presenting issues, including Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD), dyslexia and non-verbal learning disability. He has expertise in Asperger’s Disorder and has volunteered at the Asperger’s Association of New England (AANE). Dr. McCormick mainly sees individuals ranging from age 10 through the college years, and he has a particular interest in the often difficult transition between high school and college. As part of his work with older students, Dr. McCormick is very familiar with the documentation requirements of standardized testing boards. He also holds an advisory and consultative role with a prestigious local university, assisting in the provision of appropriate academic accommodations to their students with learning disabilities and other issues complicating their education.

 

To book a consultation with Dr. McCormick 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.