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A good neuropsychological evaluation is worth its weight in gold.  A thorough assessment provides invaluable data about an individual’s cognitive, emotional, and psychological functioning,  the way s/he processes and organizes information, and perceives and interacts with the world. A trained neuropsychologist takes the thousands of puzzle pieces that go into an assessment to create a coherent, rich picture of the many processes that make […]

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The Welcome Back Kotter School of Limit Setting

In memory of Marcia Strassman, Gabe Kotter’s long suffering wife Julie on the 1970’s sitcom Welcome Back Kotter, I’m reposting an entry I wrote two years ago. Strassman passed away last Friday. R.I.P.

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Book Review: Parents Have the Power to Make Special Education Work

Recently, my family and I spent a week camping on the coast of Maine. We spent part of the week at a beautiful new campground in the town of Brooklin, right near Blue Hill and Deer Isle. As luck would have it, we wound up adjacent to another family with children close to my daughter’s age. As luck would also have it, one of the children […]

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Fudging the Autism Diagnosis

On April 2, The U.S. Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC) issued a statement regarding changes to the diagnostic criteria for autism spectrum disorders stemming from the publication last May of the DSM5. I found one section of the statement particularly curious. Here’s what it says: “…the Committee cautioned clinicians to pay special attention to individuals with obvious ASD symptoms who narrowly […]

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Sweet Oblivion Feels All Right – For a Time

“I said Lord please give me what I need. He said there’s pain and misery. Oh sweet oblivion feels all right.”  – Shadow of the Season – by Screaming Trees “Self knowledge is a dangerous thing. The freedom of who you are.” –There is No Time – by Lou Reed Helping children develop insight into their strengths and weaknesses is a […]

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Oreo! Oreo! Oreo! – A Tale of Natural Consequences

A few weeks ago, I was sitting in my office with a group of 3rd grade boys. We were finishing up our session with a snack and a quiet activity – to the extent that doing anything with a group of hyperactive 3rd grade boys can be quiet. As I asked the boys what they wanted for snack, one of them […]

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ADHD Anonymous

“ADHD?…they used to think I had that. Now they know I have Mad Cow Disease!”                -11 y.o. Academy MetroWest participant When new kids enroll in our program, the first step in the process is undergoing an initial interview. We run through some activities in our gym with them to help us get a […]

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Welcome!

Hello and welcome to Academy MetroWest’s Blog! Academy MetroWest is a children’s group therapy program located in Natick, MA. Our groups meet in a gymnasium setting and center on cooperative, non-competitive physical activity as a means of helping children and adolescents enhance social skills and self-image. Participants at Academy MetroWest range in age from 6 – 15 and present with […]

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