Pediatric & College Age Neuropsychological Assessments
Assessments focus on highlighting a child's strengths while also outlining specific areas of vulnerability that may be affecting the child's emotional and school life. Our goal is to help children and their families better understand themselves in order to best advocate for their needs. We also strive to help adults understand the child’s experience in a new way, in essence helping the child’s needs be more effectively communicated. Our work is informed by Dr. Kassissieh’s years as a teacher as well as her practice in both therapy and testing. Further, being a parent has informed Dr. Kassissieh in a multitude of ways.
The testing involves an intake session with the parents (and sometimes with the older children). The evaluation typically takes place over two days. Each day typically includes 1.5 hours in the morning, a 30-minute lunch break, and another 1.5 to 2 hours in the afternoon. We strongly encourage families to pursue a comprehensive evaluation which includes Psychological (personality and projective tests), Developmental (functional level of life skills that unfold over time), Executive Functioning (management of information, including memory), Cognitive (intellectual potential), and Academic (academic achievement) testing. We are available for extensive follow-up if needed.
Contact with other professionals (teachers, therapists, or doctors) is also essential aspect of these evaluations. Occasionally, a school observation can be included.
A feedback session is typically scheduled with parents two weeks after the testing. Specific feedback for the child (with or without parents or therapist present) is strongly recommended and can follow the parent feedback.
The final report is produced shortly after the feedback meeting. Reports are easy to read and written for a range of readers including parents, teachers, therapists, and psychiatrists. Reports are formatted for use in IEP meetings. We send reports to the parents (or guardians) and Pediatrician. Reports produced belong to the family who can share the report with whomever they would like.
Dr. Kassissieh is always available for follow-up conversations with families or collateral contacts after testing. For example, a child may need a WISC-V administration for admission into a school or a follow-up with a reading evaluation to determine if effective progress is made.
COMING SOON:
Adult Neuropsychology
Individual Therapy for All Ages
Family Therapy
PRESENTATIONS
-
Appreciating The Multiple Intelligence
This talk is geared toward students. The goal is to help broaden one's definition of what it means to be smart and, by extension, successful. The presentation includes personal experiences, research from Howard Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences, examples of learning and teaching strategies and reflections on how assessing skills can highlight hidden strengths. I use my experiences as a student, teacher, therapist and tester to try to provide young minds with the opportunity to see themselves and their learning process differently.
-
ADHD Differential Diagnosis
Initially given to post-doctoral students, this presentation can be altered for parents, teachers and other professionals. The goal is to better understand ADHD and how it may be misunderstood in the context of various other presentations.
-
What is a Neuropsychological Evaluation?
When do I need a Neuropsychological Evaluation for my child? What does a Neuropsychological Evaluation entail? How does such an evaluation differ from school testing, a visit to a psychiatrist, therapy, etc? This talk is appropriate for parents, teachers and professionals seeking to learn more about how Neuropsychological Evaluations can help them personally or professionally.
-
The Neuropsychologist's Perspective: Q&A for Professionals
Do you or your colleagues have questions about what you see in the classroom or the therapy office? This talk is a free-form Q&A session in which Dr. Kassissieh will provide the Neuropsychologist's perspective on everyday challenges you face. The conversation can be tailored to the professional group's needs and adapted for those working with Preschoolers to College Students. The format can include both questions submitted ahead of time and questions that come up now.