Neuropsychology is the subset of psychology concerned with the study of brain-behavior relationships. Clinical neuropsychologists use their understanding of brain functioning to identify and explain abilities and disabilities that might affect a person’s learning. A developmentally oriented neuropsychologist thinks about children in a holistic way, considering the impact of thinking skills, memory, motor skills, social skills, and emotional functioning on the child’s development.

I call myself a developmental neuropsychologist because I work only with children and young people, and because I believe that children are not just smaller, less skillful, adults, but are inherently different because they are constantly changing. Each time I evaluate a child, we are getting just a “snapshot” of that child as she or he is developing. An important part of my service to parents is to help them expect and prepare for the bumps along the road, as well as the unexpected joys of raising children.

I believe that all children deserve to be understood by their parents and teachers. Children who don’t ‘fit the mold’ often lose pace at school because teachers don’t have a good sense of how these children learn best. A good evaluation can help adults understand a child and provide strategies to help maximize his/her learning potential.