Clinical Service: Neuropsychological diagnostic services are provided for children with neurodevelopmental disorders such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, dyslexia, learning disabilities, developmental aphasia, autism, and intellectual disability, and for neurological disorders such as epilepsy, Tourette Syndrome and other movement disorders, head trauma, sequelae of infectious diseases such as meningitis and encephalitis, neurotoxic conditions, congenital disorders such as agenesis of the corpus callosum and hydrocephalus, degenerative, metabolic, and genetic disorders, CNS effects of cancer and its treatment, and migraine and tension headaches. Opportunities exist for fellows to participate in specialty clinics, including: craniofacial clinic, neonatal follow-up clinic, oncology long-term follow-up clinic, and selected others. Psychiatric disorders such as depression, anxiety, and conduct disturbances especially in children with possible attentional and learning difficulties, and somatoform disorders are also commonly seen. For a diagnostic evaluation, cases are scheduled for two half day visits in the Pediatric Neuropsychology clinic. A staffing is done between the two visits to discuss initial data and to plan for the second visit. Many of the cases are also seen by one of the faculty pediatric neurologists.
Our neuropsychology service is an integral member of our multidisciplinary autism center. Interested fellows can develop skills in assessing autism spectrum disorders through training in the administration of the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule and participation in weekly case conferences with a developmental/behavioral pediatrician, neuropsychologist, and behavioral psychologist.
Goals of the Fellowship: Our mission is to train pediatric neuropsychologists both as practitioners and as scientists. Although the experience is clinically based, it is quite research and academically oriented. This is an expanding field with a rapidly growing knowledge base that is the direct result of advances in technology in imaging, measurement of behavior and cognition, neurophysiology, and genetics. However, the field of pediatric neuropsychology is especially difficult because children are dynamic developing organisms often with different disorders than adults, different effects of abnormal conditions, and with both an increased vulnerability and an increased capacity to recover from disease conditions. Training scientist-practitioners in this field is especially difficult for these reasons, but rewarding in the long term benefits accrued to children from the scientific information and clinical interventions provided. Clinical experience with a wide range of neurodevelopmental and neurologic disorders and establishment of a research direction for the Fellow can only be attained in an intensive two year program that will enable mastery of this large knowledge base.
Responsibilities of the Fellow: In our clinical setting, the Fellow in pediatric neuropsychology is expected to learn to integrate and organize information about the patient including medical and neurological data, neuropsychological assessment, educational information, and interview and history. The focus is not only on cognitive, but on behavioral and emotional aspects of the child's functioning. Both environmental and biological factors are considered in the evaluation of the child in this setting. Thus the Fellow is expected not only to learn the techniques of neuropsychological assessment, but also must be able to assess the emotional and social development of the child through interview and personality assessment techniques, both objective and projective. The Fellow is supervised on every case by a faculty neuropsychologist. The first visit which often consists of an intelligence test and a few other preliminary measures, is most often carried out by a psychometrist. However, the Fellow always carries out the detailed aspects of the evaluation at the second visit. The Fellow, together with the faculty, will, at the end of the second visit, interpret results to the parents, write chart notes, and prepare the report.
Requirements: Applicants are expected to have a Ph.D. or Psy.D. from
an APA-approved program, preferably in clinical or school psychology, and to
have completed an APA-approved internship. It is expected that the applicant
will have internship level training in child and neuropsychological assessment. Beginning in academic year 2012-2013, the
Fellow salary will be $38,000 for the first year and $40,000 for the second
year. Benefits include health
insurance (a family plan is available for a fee), some life insurance, 20
working days of vacation per year, and a $500.00 a year conference
stipend. Fellowship contracts are on a
yearly basis, with the expectation that Fellows will stay for two years. The
time period is from September l to August 31. To apply, send a letter of
professional goals, a current curriculum vitae, two neuropsychological report
samples, and three letters of reference (preferably two clinical supervisors
and one academic/research mentor).
Application
deadline is January 31, 2012.
Application materials should be sent to:
Richard Ziegler, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Neurology
Section Head for Pediatric Neuropsychology
MMC 486
Brochure [link]:
