Posts Tagged ‘visual memory’

Brooklyn & Manhattan Neuropsychological & Psychoeducational Evaluation- Dr. Whitman Child and Adult Neuropsychologist

Sunday, October 23rd, 2011

The beginning of the school year is an ideal time to consider a neuropsychological evaluation for your child if he/she is struggling. Please contact her directly for further information. Dr. Whitman offers a free 30 min. consultation by phone or by e-mail: lindsay@brooklynletters.com & 347-560-1399

Dr. Lindsay Whitman conducts neuropsychological assessments with children and adolescents. A neuropsychological evaluation is most helpful to parents who suspect their child or teen may have a learning disability, developmental delay, attentional problem, or who is displaying behavioral or psychological difficulties (anxiety, depression) that may be interfering with their cognitive or academic functioning. This type of evaluation is best for parents who desire to truly understand why a child or teenager may be struggling to meet developmental, academic, or social milestones. A neuropsychological evaluation identifies which kinds of interventional or supportive services would best support a child or teen through these challenges.

Dr. Whitman has evaluated children and adults with a variety of developmental and learning risk factors including developmental delay, autism spectrum disorder, learning disabilities, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), traumatic brain injury, and psychiatric/mood difficulties. At New York University, she obtained specialized expertise in the cognitive assessment of individuals with seizures/epilepsy. Dr. Whitman has presented empirical research at national and international neuropsychology conferences and has published peer-reviewed articles on issues related to cognitive functioning in individuals with epilepsy and aspects of adolescent personality development. She is a certified coach for Cogmed, evidence-based, computerized, non-pharmacological intervention designed to strengthen attention and working memory skills in children, adolescents, and adults. This fun and engaging program was developed by Swedish neuroscientists, is easily completed in your home, and is an excellent alternative to medication for individuals struggling with attentional difficulties.

Dr. Whitman is a licensed clinical psychologist in the state of New York. She completed a PhD in clinical psychology/neuropsychology at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science/The Chicago Medical School. She completed clinical internship at West Virginia University School of Medicine and a two-year postdoctoral fellowship in neuropsychology at New York University Comprehensive Epilepsy Center. She also holds a masters degree in early childhood risk and development from Harvard Graduate School of Education and a bachelor’s degree from Cornell University. Dr. Whitman has met the education and training requirements of the American Board of Clinical Neuropsychology to become board certified in clinical neuropsychology. She is currently in the process of obtaining board certification.

What would I learn about my child from a neuropsychological evaluation?

*General intellectual functioning (IQ)
*Academic achievement skills (word reading and phonetic decoding skills, mathematics, spelling, reading comprehension, writing skills; ability to apply academic knowledge or perform in a timely manner)
*Attention (auditory, visual, ability to sustain skills over time)
*Executive functioning (working memory, planning, problem solving, and organizational skills; ability to reason, inhibit responses when needed, and/or be behaviorally “flexible”)
*Learning and memory (verbal and visual)
*Language (expressive/receptive, naming, verbal fluency)
*Visuospatial/visuoconstructional skills
*Fine motor dexterity and coordination (handwriting, pencil grip, ability to complete written tasks in a timely and efficient manner)
*Psychological and Emotional Functioning (parent, teacher, self-report)
*Personality

Contact: lindsay@brooklynletters.com, 347-560-1399 www.lindsaywhitmanphd.com
PAYMENT: Private pay only. Dr. Whitman does not accept insurance but is happy to provide a receipt for out-of-network reimbursement. Cash or check accepted.
HOURS: Wednesday & Friday 9AM-5PM
LOCATION: One Grand Central Place, 60 E. 42nd Street New York, NY.
TYPE OF SERVICES: Neuropsychological evaluations for children and adolescents. Dr. Whitman is also able to conduct neuropsychological evaluations with adults.
EXPERTISE: Dr. Whitman is trained in the evaluation of children and adults with learning disabilities, developmental delay, intellectual disabilities, and all other clinical conditions associated with cognitive difficulties (e.g., AD/HD, autism spectrum disorder). She is trained to evaluate children and adolescents with medical conditions such as epilepsy/seizures, traumatic brain injury/concussion, and perinatal toxic exposure (e.g., alcohol, lead).

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Part I: India comes to Brooklyn!! By Sarah Stuntebeck, M.S. CCC-SLP, Speech Language Pathologist

Saturday, October 23rd, 2010


We are pleased to introduce our newest friend, Jai, to the Brooklyn Letters community! Jai and his mother, Varuna, reside in Delhi, India where Jai attended an English speaking school. For the next two months, they temporarily relocated to New York City and Jai will receive intensive speech-language therapy with a focus on literacy development: Craig provides services 1 day per week in his home-based office and Sarah provides services 4 days per week (sessions last 3 hours) in the family’s Manhattan apartment. Jai is a happy, bright, curious, and creative young boy who enjoys reading books, building with legos, playing computer games, and playing with Craig’s very cool pirate ship.
Jai recently participated in an evaluation in Delhi and it was recommended that he receive individualized speech-language and literacy intervention. Jai’s parents were unable to find adequate therapy services in India; they sought out therapy services in the U.S. and Varuna’s friend, in New Jersey, recommendeded Brooklyn Letters. Varuna spoke with Craig and Sarah and they felt that they were an excellent match for Jai. At the beginning of therapy, Jai’s interests, learning style, and strengths and deficits were assessed and baseline skill levels were established. Jai’s individualized treatment plan was developed and the overall goals of therapy are as follows:
• Facilitate Jai’s overall language and literacy skills.
• Work with Jai’s mother to teach strategies to support Jai’s learning, provide activities and materials for work at home, and increase her knowledge of language, literacy, and learning. Click here to see a video of Varuna explaining Jai’s homework.
• Provide suggestions for Jai’s teachers in India to implement in the classroom setting.
• HAVE FUN!

Specific intervention targets include:
1. Increase pre-literacy and literacy skills. To include sound/symbol awareness, auditory discrimination, and rhyming.
2. Increase expressive language skills by using 3-4 word utterances to request, protest, comment, and ask for help.
3. Increase accuracy of comprehension and use of spatial concepts and prepositions (in, out, on, under, next to, behind, in front)
4. Increase memory skills and use of strategies to increase visual and auditory memory.
5. Increase accuracy and speed of word retrieval and recall of information.
6. Increase accuracy of following 2 and 3-step directions.
7. Increase accuracy of response to WH question forms and open-ended questions.
8. Increase accuracy of use of age-appropriate syntactic/grammatical forms (plurals, regular and irregular past tense verbs).
9. Increase categorical and descriptive vocabulary skills.
10. Increase sustained attention to focused tasks.

Within the first week of therapy, Jai made significant progress with his language, literacy skills, and focus. He is producing utterances of increased length, using more complex language forms, and is more confident in his overall abilities. He increased his phonemic awareness skills and is able to identify words that begin with a specific sound. He is demonstrating improved learning readiness by increasing attention to structured tasks, self-monitoring his own level of engagement during activities, and learning spatial concepts, e.g. “under.”

We are excited to have the opportunity to work with Jai and look forward to joining him on his continuing journey of learning, growth, and development of skills! Great job, Jai!

Sarah is a Speech-Language Pathologist who provides home-based assessment and therapy services in the Park Slope and Carroll Gardens neighborhoods of Brooklyn, NY. She specializes in working with children and adolescents who have difficulty with articulation, phonology, language, fluency/stuttering, literacy skill development, pragmatics, and social language. Sarah develops individualized and evidence-based therapy plans that include frequent and ongoing collaboration with parents, caregivers, teachers, and educators in order to maximize the potential of each child. She can be reached at sarah@brooklynletters.com or www.brooklynletters.com

To learn more about Jai’s progress, please read the following blog- http://brooklynletters.com/2010/11/blog/part-ii-india-comes-to-brooklyn-by-sarah-stuntebeck-m-s-ccc-slp-speech-language-pathologist/
www.brooklynletters.com

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