Our learning specialists will help your child increase academic skills, build confidence, and be successful at school. We offer individualized academic tutoring support, across a wide range of traditional subject areas, including math, reading, writing, history, science, and social studies. Based on an initial consultation, we will customize a learning program which will empower your child with the tools needed for success.

 

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At times, all children have difficulty with keeping organized, paying attention, or controlling impulsive behavior. When these symptoms become pervasive and interfere with academic performance, relationships, and overall functioning, an evaluation for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity disorder may be warranted.

While AD/HD is one of the most common disorders of childhood, it is also one of the most frequently misdiagnosed. We offer comprehensive psycho-educational evaluations that will help pinpoint not only a diagnosis of AD/HD but other conditions that often exist alongside AD/HD, including learning disabilities and anxiety disorders.

The scientific research suggests that the optimal outcomes for children with AD/HD occur when medical treatment is combined with other outcome-based interventions. With a comprehensive picture of your child, our team will work with you to develop an individualized treatment plan that may include: counseling, behavior modification, executive function coaching, school-based supports and medication.

Medication for this disorder is often the first challenging question that parents must consider. The Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics office of the Center for Pediatric Therapy is located at 85 Old Kings Highway North. Their Nurse Practitioner and Developmental Pediatrician are available for medication consultation, medical evaluations for AD/HD, and behavioral modification/counseling.

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All children develop at different rates, and there is a wide range of what is considered typical development when reaching developmental milestones. However, some infants and children have significant delays in one or more of the following areas: cognitive skills, receptive/expressive communication, social skills, emotional/behavioral control, and fine/gross motor skills. Early intervention is critical for these children.

Our Child Development Team specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders in children, from the ages of 2 through 7. The team regularly consists of the following clinicians:

Pediatric Neuropsychologist / Child-Clinical Psychologist (Tim Heitzman, PhD & Maryellen Page, PhD): Provide neurodevelopmental assessments that tap neurocognitive functions and social/emotional/behaviors.

Speech-Language Pathologist (MaryBeth Buckwald): Evaluate receptive and expressive language disorders and problems associated with fluency. Provide oral-motor/swallowing studies if necessary.

Occupational Therapist (Heather Edwards): Assess fine and gross motor coordination, motor planning and visual-motor integration. Evaluate sensory integration.

The team also works with a developmental-behavioral pediatrician for cases that involve genetic syndromes and medical consultation.

Children are typically evaluated over two mornings,
meeting with each clinician over that span. An intake is scheduled and an observation at home and/or school is completed prior to testing.

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If your child has a developmental, learning, or behavioral problem, a Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrician has training and expertise in the assessment and treatment of the medical and psychosocial aspects of children's and adolescent's development. Dr. Laura Katz consults with The Southfield Center as part of her full-time practice at the Westchester Medical Center/Maria Fareri Children's Hospital in Valhalla, New York. Dr. Katz can evaluate, counsel and provide treatment for your children with regulatory disorders such as sleep problems, discipline challenges, complicated toilet training issues, enuresis (bedwetting) and encopresis (soiling), and developmental disabilities. Dr. Katz has expertise in diagnosis and treatment for autism spectrum disorders, delayed development of speech, intellectual disability, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, anxiety, and other medical concerns.

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Is your child having academic or social difficulties and you don't know the best way to communicate with his school? Is your child eligible for special education services and you don't know if her needs are being met?

There are concrete steps you can take to ensure that your child is getting the help he or she may need. Our education advocacy team will empower you with the information and strategies you need to have productive and positive conversations with your child's school, help you understand what your child's educational rights are, and teach you how to work with the school.

Our services may include:

• Complete educational record review
• Preparation for Eligibility Meetings, Annual Reviews, and other school meetings
• Advocacy Services at IEP and 504 meetings
• Review of IEP and strategies to track implementation
• Parent Coaching in preparation for meetings
• Assistance with requesting evaluations from
  your child's school
• Letter Writing
• Referrals for legal representation
• Referrals to private evaluators, therapists,
  and community resources

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There are many different reasons parents choose to have their child tested, including but not limited to:

• to determine if the child is behind grade level
• to confirm a suspicion of a learning disability
• to verify that a child has the same learning disability as his/her sibling or parent
• to determine what kind of help a child might need
• to measure progress toward a goal
• to ascertain what social, emotional, or behavioral difficulties a child is experiencing.

Psychoeducational assessment is used to determine the underlying mental processes that impact a person's educational and functional performance. Led by Dr. Christopher Bogart and Dr. Timothy Heitzman, our practitioners are certified to select, administer, and interpret a variety of neuropsychological, psychological, educational, and vocational assessment instruments. The information provided by our assessments can be used make decisions about your child's educational and therapeutic needs.

In addition to formal psychological evaluations, the Southfield Center provides other specialized assessments. For clients who are evidencing neurological concerns or possible effects from brain injury, Dr. Heitzman will develop a testing battery to examine a person's neurodevelopmental functioning and provide recommendations to target areas of concern. For clients who are evidencing learning issues, the Center's psychologists can provide focused learning disability evaluations with recommendations that emphasize evidence-based interventions for these learning disorders. Focused learning disability evaluations can be provided to more closely examine the areas of mathematics, reading and writing.

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Executive functioning is a set of mental operations which enable an individual to disengage from the immediate context and control behavior, emotions and cognition in line with task demands and future goals. Executive functions include: inhibition, shifting attention, task initiation, working memory, planning, organization and self-monitoring.

Our executive functions coaches work individually with students who have a marked discrepancy between fundamental skills and higher-level functioning. This may manifest as becoming easily distracted, forgetting to write down assignments, having difficulty getting started on tasks, and ultimately, feeling overwhelmed and performing inconsistently. Executive functions coaches evaluate a student's level of functioning and implement interventions designed to improve emotional, behavioral and cognitive control by shaping behaviors and helping students develop compensatory skills and strategies. The ultimate goal of executive functions coaching is to provide support that will foster independent learning.

In recent years, there has been a greater awareness of nutrition, how it impacts our children, and the myriad of connections between nutritional heath and mind / body balance. One out of every 3 children is considered to be overweight or obese. As a result, there are a greater number of children who are developing risk factors for adult disease such as diabetes, stroke and heart attack. Improving your child's nutrition can have a positive impact on his/her health, self-esteem and the ability to participate in school and in sports.

Through nutritional counseling, we offer individual nutrition advice—considering your child's and your family's needs—to establish reasonable goals and arrive at realistic solutions. You and your child will receive a personalized meal plan, shopping lists, school lunch/camp/snacking strategies, education on reading labels, guidance in making healthy food choices, ongoing support to meet goals and suggestions for increasing physical activity.

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The clinical team of Upwards Therapy provides pediatric occupational and physical therapy to our clients with fine motor, gross motor, handwriting, oral motor/feeding, self-care, self-regulation, and sensory processing needs. They have extensive experience providing evaluation and intervention services for infants, children, and teenagers with a wide range of diagnoses, including Multiple Sclerosis, Traumatic Brain Injury, Williams Syndrome, Down Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, Autism Spectrum Disorders, Rett Syndrome, seizure disorders and a variety of genetic syndromes.

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Psychotherapy can help children and families learn about their feelings, thoughts, and behaviors. Many people find it useful as a tool to cope with challenging situations (such as the loss of a job, moving to a new home, a divorce), or the daily stressors that we all encounter in our lives. Psychotherapy is also an effective way to treat a wide range of mental health conditions, including: depression and other mood disorders, anxiety, and personality disorders.

We offer individual, group, and family therapy, utilizing a wide range of research-based methodologies, such as:

• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
• Dialectic Behavioral Therapy
• Pet-Centered Therapy
• Psychodynamic Therapy
• Client-Centered Therapy
• Behavior Modification
• Hypnotherapy
• Play Therapy
• Multigenerational Family Systems Therapy
• Couples Schema Therapy

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Our speech and language therapists have extensive experience in diagnosing and treating children with speech and language delays and disorders, with expertise in autism and related spectrum disorders, apraxia, language delays/disorders, learning disabilities and social and executive function difficulties. We provide a creative and motivating therapy environment in order to maximize therapeutic effectiveness, integrating a variety of techniques and strategies when working with clients of any age. In addition, our clinicians enjoy working with school teams, as well as parents and families, to teach strategies which enhance effective communication outside of the therapy setting.

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