Child Psychologist Charlotte

Author Paul Gilbert of ADDitude: Living Well With Attention Deficit magazine recently featured Cogmed in an article titled, Brain-Training Tools for More Attention, Less Deficit:  These ADHD therapies offer fun and games with a serious purpose: increasing your child's focus. 

Here is the link to the article: http://www.additudemag.com/adhd/article/10076.html

Here at Child and Family Development, Joy Granetz, Ph.D. offers this program.  She is one of a few trained Practitioners in our area. Dr. Granetz is a North Carolina licensed psychologist and has over thirteen years of extensive experience.   Dr. Granetz is based at our South Charlotte clinic where she provides neuropsychological assessment and psychoeducational evaluations of children and adolescents with special focus in working with children and adolescents with learning disabilities, attention disorders, head injury, tic disorders, and epilepsy. Dr. Granetz also provides therapy for children and adolescents with emotional and/or behavioral difficulties. To find out if Cogmed Working Memory Training is right for you, call our South Charlotte office to schedule an initial appointment.    

Visit their website, http://www.cogmed.com/, for more information about this state-of-the-art intervention.  A free parent webinar is available.

The Fletcher School in Charlotte will host a free workshop on Apraxia on Thursday, April 25, 6 p.m. in the Rankin Room. The featured speaker is Sharon Gretz, M.Ed, Founder and Executive Director of the Childhood Apraxia of Speech Association of North America (CASANA) and Apraxia-KIDS.

Apraxia 101 is a free workshop for parents only and will share information about childhood apraxia of speech in “parent-friendly” language. Some of the topics will include:

• How can we understand childhood apraxia of speech?
• What goes wrong in the speech process for our kids?
• What do we know about effective speech therapy and what it “looks like”?
• What progress can or should be expected?
• What is the long range prognosis for children with CAS?
• Key strategies for parents as advocates for children with CAS
• Open question and discussion period will follow to discuss a range of topics

The Fletcher school is at 8500 Sardis Road North, Charlotte NC 28270. Click here for map and directions.

Check in is from 6 to 6:30 p.m. Light refreshments and snacks will be available. The workshop will last until 9 p.m.

To Register

The cost for the workshop is free, but everyone must register in advance and space is limited. Click here to register now!

Have a question?

Please contact Sharon Gretz at sharong@apraxia-kids.org or at 412-343-7102.

Special Note

This seminar is brought to Charlotte thanks to the efforts of the volunteers, walkers, and supporters of the 2012 Charlotte Walk for Children with Apraxia of Speech. Their efforts produced over $30,000 raised during last year’s walk and one local benefit of this amazing achievement is this free seminar. 

More about the Featured Speaker

Sharon Gretz, M.Ed., is the founder and Executive Director of CASANA and Apraxia-KIDS. She has her Master’s degree in Counseling and has completed all course work toward a Ph.D. in Communication Sciences and Disorders.  She has worked in the disability field for over 25 years, with expertise in organizational and program development.  In 2002, Ms. Gretz was honored by the National Council on Communicative Disorders/ASHA at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC when she was awarded the National Distinguished Service Award for her dedication to elevating national awareness and advocacy on behalf of children with CAS and their families.  In 2008 she was selected as a Community Champion by the Pittsburgh Post Gazette for her work related to children with apraxia.  Sharon is the parent of a 21-year-old son, who was diagnosed at the age of 3 years with severe apraxia of speech.

Child and Family Development has an office in South Charlotte that is under 20 miles from there and easily accessible from the 485 loop.

Our multi-disciplinary practice has been helping children and families since 1980. The team of experienced therapists can assess and treat a wide range of childhood concerns, including autism, ADHD, dyslexia, and other learning disabilities or special needs. Our core services include Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, Speech Therapy, Child Psychology and Education. In addition, we offer specialty services, including aquatic therapy, feeding groups and social skills groups.

The Contact Us tab on our website will link you to our address and Mapquest. 

We are just a hop, skip and jump away!

If you are a parent of a teenager, I highly recommend becoming familiar with social media, including Tumblr and Instagram.  Tumblr is a popular online blog platform. Instagram is an online photo sharing platform. As an adolescent psychologist in Charlotte, I have heard much about these sites. If your teen or tween has a smart phone, I’m guessing they have their own Tumblr or Instagram accounts.

Programs like these were created as a way to celebrate creativity and allow for self-expression. An account on these sites is similar to a public journal or blog. Other users can follow you, like your posts and re-blog them. Often teens upload photos and watch to see how many people re-blog, like, and comment on them. It’s a whole online world of self-expression.

Here’s the catch: posts are often popular when they are controversial. Unfortunately, some popular photos and posts glorify risky behaviors, including self-harm and eating disorders. Here’s my advice: if your teen is struggling with unhealthy behavior, limit their use of social media. Blogs can be wonderful ways for teens to express themselves, so encourage them to use another site for self-expression. Here are some healthy, safe online groups:

• Love is Louder
• To Write Love on Her Arms
• Half of Us
• Butterfly Project

Adults all over the country are struggling with how to explain the recent events at Sandy Hook Elementary School to our young children.

How do you explain the unexplainable? While there are never simple answers to complex questions, here are a few suggestions that may guide your responses to your young children as they ask some very difficult questions.

Our priority at this time must be to make our children feel as safe and secure as possible and to help them to manage their distress. It is important to talk to your children about their feelings. The depth of the conversation will be dependent on your child's age or developmental level and their unique personalities. It is important that they feel comfortable talking about their feelings and fears.  Encourage them to express their ideas and thoughts and validate their feelings, even if there are no answers (e.g., You feel sad for the families affected; You feel scared; Senseless violence is hard for everyone to understand).  Encourage your children to put their feelings into words by talking about them or writing them down. If your child is inclined, encourage them to express their feelings through art. Try to keep your answers to their questions developmentally appropriate. As a general guideline, keep it brief and simple and be sure to include reassurances of their safety.

In our 24 hour news culture, it is hard to keep kids shielded from the news, but try to limit exposure to media to the best of your ability. Turn off the TV, do not leave the scary headlines of the newspaper for all to see, monitor computer usage. These healthy limits may benefit not only the children in the household, but the adults, as well.

We have all heard flight attendants tell us that in the event of an emergency, put on our oxygen masks first.  In a similar vein, it will be important for parents to take care of their own emotional health and well being in light of the recent tragedy. Children are seeking a sense of safety and parents can serve as models for how to cope under times of stress and adversity and be resilient. Be sure to regulate your own emotions and behavior in front of your children. Try to maintain your regular schedules and family routines, as they will provide a sense of comfort and consistency for your child. Keep home a peaceful place and enjoy precious family time during the holiday season.

If your child seems to be emotionally overwhelmed, consider consulting with a professional who may be able to help you and your child to develop coping resources and self soothing strategies to manage anxiety and emotional distress.

Here are some helpful and reputable resources:

• The National Association of School Psychologists -- Talking to Children About Violence: Tips for Parents and Teachers 
•  
• American Psychological Association – Helping Your Children Manage Distress in the Aftermath of a Shooting
•  
• American Academy of Pediatrics – Resources to Help Parents, Children and Others Cope in the Aftermath of School Shootings
•  
• The National Association of School Psychologists -- A National Tragedy: Helping Children Cope
•  
• American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry – Children and Grief
•  
• Massachusetts General Hospital for Children -- Talking to Children About a Shooting
•  
• Child Mind Institute – Caring For Kids After A School Shooting 

SOS is a feeding approach for children who are problem eaters.  This approach was founded by a child psychologist, Kay Tommey, PhD and a speech therapist, Erin Ross, PhD, CCC-SLP.  It stands for Sequential Oral Sensory Approach for Feeding.  Additional information is avaialble on www.spdfoundation.net.

I have been using the SOS approach in my occupational therapy practice for the past 2 years.  I have observed the following changes among my clients:

• Families who previously dreaded mealtimes with their children are reporting that meals have become much less stressful and sometimes even enjoyable.
• Anxiety related to food has decreased significantly among the children ages 2-12.
• Children have learned that food can be fun.
• Parents are no longer cooking separate meals for their super picky eaters.
• Children are eating more fruits, vegetables, and meats.
• Picky eaters are now willing to sit through family meals and participate in the social aspect of eating.
• Children are attending birthday parties and celebrations without worrying about whether there will be food they are willing to eat.
• Best of all, picky eaters are looking at food and saying, "Can I try that?"

This practice, Child and Family Development in Charlotte, NC, has 7 therapists trained in the SOS approach.   

At Child and Family Development, our psychology team offers AD/HD evaluations for college students.

Sometimes bright students make their way through high school without being diagnosed. Other times, a college requests an updated evaluation. Either way, a comprehensive psycho-educational evaluation can provide a college student with a wealth of information about their learning style, strengths, and weaknesses. Our evaluations include a cognitive assessment, an educational assessment, standardized AD/HD rating forms, a performance-based measure of attention, a detailed history interview, and other psycho-social data.  A report can be taken to the student’s college office of disabilities in order to establish accommodations. Accommodations in college are fairly easy to acquire and can be essential to academic success. An evaluation can take several weeks to complete. 

Holiday breaks or Summer can be optimal times to schedule an evaluation before returning to college for a new semester. 

DHHS and Stopbullying.gov are hosting a free webinar on Wednesday, December 5 as part of the Federal Partners in Bullying Prevention Webinar Series:

Moving from Awareness to Action in Bullying Prevention: Training Resources for the Field
When: December 5, 2012
Time: 3:00-4:00pm EST

Register at: http://www.learning.mchb.hrsa.gov/LiveWebcast.asp?id=317

Participants will learn:

• Community strategies that can be used to prevent and respond to bullying, including tips to mobilize
  all stakeholders
• How to use three new federal resources to educate community leaders about bullying prevention
  best practices, misdirections and action planning
• How to organize a community event to address bullying and develop local solutions

If your child is experiencing bullying, the Child and Family Development Psychology Team in Charlotte is available to help. 

August 31 is the deadline to register for Cogmed and receive $200 off the regular package price! 

Cogmed is a non-medical intervention that has passed rigorous clinical studies that showed significant improvement in working memory, concentration, sustained attention, impulse control and complex reasoning skills in children with attention deficits.

Joy Granetz, Ph.D., is one of a few Cogmed Qualified Practitioners in the Charlotte area.   Dr. Granetz is a North Carolina licensed psychologist and has over twelve years of extensive experience.   Dr. Granetz is based at our South Charlotte clinic where she provides neuropsychological assessment and psycho-educational evaluations of children and adolescents with special focus in working with children and adolescents with learning disabilities, attention disorders, head injury, tic disorders, and epilepsy. Dr. Granetz also provides therapy for children and adolescents with emotional and/or behavioral difficulties.

To learn more about Cogmed Working Memory Training:

• click the Psychology tab on the Child and Family Development website
• read about Cogmed on our blog 
• visit http://www.cogmed.com/ for a free webinar

Potty training awareness month is almost over! 

This can be a daunting task, especially if your child has Autism or another developmental delay. 

We can support your efforts and provide you with valuable feedback for how to help your child be successful with potty training.

It is important to remember that there are 3 things that you cannot make another person do: eat, sleep, and poop.  Every child has experimented with controlling his/her own body and using the bathroom is one of the few things that they can control. 

There may be many reasons why potty training can be extremely challenging for a child with Autism or other developmental delay such as:

• Flushing toilets and running water faucets may overload the child's sensitive auditory system
• Dyspraxia, a sensory-based motor disorder, may interfere with a child being able to grasp and figure out the sequence of using the toilet including clothing management
• The child may not feel secure when sitting on the toilet and fear falling in
• The weight and pressure of a diaper may be tactilely soothing and provide the child with deep pressure for calming
• The child may lack the body awareness to know that they need to use the bathroom

What can you do?

1. Develop a toileting routine such as timed toileting or a visual schedule for sequencing toileting tasks

2. Pair positive reinforcers or comforting sensations with the sound or sight of flushing to support desensitization of the noise or sight of swirling water

3. Change the final sequence of the toileting routine to: wash hands, open bathroom door as an escape route, then flush toilet and quickly exit the bathroom

4. Provide a step stool so that the child's feet can be on a stable surface instead of dangling while sitting on the toilet.  You can also use this step stool at the sink for independent hand washing

5. Consider having child wear pants with elastic waistbands, skirts and shorter shirts while potting training to help with clothing management

6. Experiment with different kinds of soap and towels if the texture is an issue

7. Provide positive reinforcement for achieving steps of potty training.

For more information, check out Toilet Training for Individuals with Autism or other Developmental Issues by Maria Wheeler, M.ED. 

For more specific concerns and questions, consult with an occupational therapist or child psychologist at Child and Family Development.

The Woodcock Johnson Tests of Achievement- Third Edition (WJ-III) is a widely used individualized academic achievement measurement. It includes assessments of basic reading, reading comprehension, written expression, math calculation and math reasoning. The WJ-III is often administered by public schools to determine eligibility for special education. It is also used in clinical settings to determine the presence of a learning disability such as dyslexia. The measurement is helpful in clinical settings when a clincian is trying to determine the presence of ADHD. Moreover, the WJ-III is often used to document annual progress for home-schooled students.

In addition to several other instruments, this standardized testing tool is a regular part of the comprehensive assessments offered by our team of child psychologists and educators at Child and Family Development in Charlotte. 

A psychologist at Child and Family Development can help kids and adolescents live life to the fullest.

Evaluations

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) We provide comprehensive assessments to determine if a child has an attention disorder.  The evaluation may include a cognitive assessment, standardized behavior rating scales and questionnaires completed by parents and teachers, a computerized test of attention and an assessment of executive functioning skills.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Two psychologists, Carol Capehart and Dr. Chris Vrabel, specialize in these assessments and can diagnose ASD. The evaluation may include a cognitive assessment, standardized behavior rating scales and questionnaires completed by parents and teachers as well as a battery of ASD-specific testing tools.

Social/Emotional/Behavioral Adjustment An evaluation to assess overall emotional/ behavioral adjustment may include standardized behavior rating scales, an in-depth interview with parents to collect relevant history, as well as a comprehensive interview with the child, when appropriate.

Neuropsychology Kids are typically referred for a neuropsychological evaluation if they are experiencing difficulty in learning, attention, behavior, socialization, or emotional control, a disease or developmental problem that affects the brain in some way, a brain injury from an accident, birth trauma or some other physical stress. Testing can help determine the effects of developmental, neurological and medical problems, such as ASD, ADHD, dyslexia, epilepsy or a genetic disorder. Dr. Joy Granetz and Dr. Gretchen Hunter have this expertise.

Early Kindergarten Entry/IQ Testing We offer cognitive and academic readiness assessments required by public schools to enter kindergarten as a 4-year-old. We also provide cognitive evaluations that are a required part of the application process to many private schools in the area.

Therapy

Individual Counseling We provide individual therapy for a wide range of difficulties, including ASD, attention and executive functioning difficulties, mood issues, emotional regulation, anger management, family problems and overall adjustment issues.

Family Therapy Many times, we recommend that the whole family to be involved in counseling in order to learn different ways of interacting and resolving problems. 

Groups We provide several group therapy options, including Social Skills training for children and adolescents with ASD, ADHD, or other social interaction difficulties. Also, we offer parent support groups.

CogMed Cogmed Working Memory Training is an innovative home-based computer program that helps people with attention problems by training and increasing their working memory capacity. This program is managed by a Certified Practitioner, Dr. Joy Granetz. Proven results demonstrate that after training, people improve their ability to concentrate, control impulsive behavior and better utilize complex reasoning skills.

With diverse expertise, interests and experiences, we are ready to provide a wide range of evaluation and treatment services to the Charlotte community.