Neuro-Diversity Matters
Pediatric Neuropsychological Services, LLC
Richard H. Grayson Ph.D.
THE ADVANTAGE
Welcome to Neuro Diversity Matters, where Dr. Grayson, a seasoned pediatric neuropsychologist with over 25 years of dedicated experience, is committed to unlocking the full potential of every child he meets. At our practice, we understand many factors that can pose significant challenges to learning, growth, and development. Dr. Grayson's personalized approach ensures that each child receives a tailored treatment plan to address their unique needs, from toddlers to young adults. Whether it's support at home, school, or beyond, our goal is to empower children to overcome obstacles and thrive. Let us guide your family through understanding and navigating these challenges, paving the way for a brighter, more successful future.
Comprehensive Neuropsychological Evaluation: A neuropsychological evaluation at Neuro-Diversity Matters typically involves an intake interview plus one or two half-days of testing. The testing is an interactive experience of paper-and-pencil, hands-on, and sometimes computer-based tasks. Many children report the testing process is challenging, but most also report it as “fun.” The purpose of a neuropsychological evaluation is to help figure out whether your child is having difficulty in any of the following areas: • Attention • Learning and Memory • Multi-tasking, Reasoning and Problem-solving skills (known as Executive Functions) • Visual Processing • Auditory Processing • Pragmatic Language • Social/Emotional • Academics (if applicable)
Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder [ADHD] Assessment Do you feel like your child has great potential but can’t seem to get organized? Maybe they are struggling to focus and waste time trying to get started on a task or aren’t sure how to begin to prioritize. Perhaps you are they are you are here because you are worried about your child who is struggling with school: not turning in assignments, struggling with focus, and never really knowing when homework assignments are due. You dread constantly hearing the teacher report: “not putting forth full effort.” If your child has never been formally diagnosed with ADHD by a psychologist or a psychiatrist, we will start there. We will take a medical, social, psychological, and educational history. This will help to pinpoint when symptoms first started and determine the areas of life in which symptoms are most disruptive (home, school/work, social life). Because we specialize in neurodevelopmental issues here at Neurodiversity Matters, we can determine if it is ADHD or other issues causing the problem. The next part involves questionnaires completed by key people (e.g. for a child, the parent and teacher complete behavioral questionnaires). This helps determine which behaviors are occurring in which environments and how severe the behaviors are. We help children and young adults reach their full potential despite living with ADHD.
Autism Assessment: Diagnosis of autism involves taking a careful developmental history as well as completing an assessment. At Neuro-Diversity Matters, we are well-versed in the primary tests used in autism diagnosis. We test both school-age children and young adults who are worried about their social-emotional functioning and think that they may be autistic. It is important to know that sometimes there are similar features that look like autism- for example, social anxiety, anxiety, or ADHD. Part of the evaluation is getting to the root cause of the behaviors.
Behavioral/Emotional Functioning Assessments: Are you a parent or guardian with a struggling child or teen who wants more for your child’s well-being but feels unsure of how to get there? Our evaluations include personalized consultations with you and your child and objective and subjective measures of their functioning across multiple settings. At Neurodiversity Matters, we offer recommendations and collaborations with all specialties to ensure that school staff and parents can target exactly the right type of behaviors and neurodevelopmental difficulties while considering that every child is to be valued and appreciated for their unique strengths (and weaknesses!).