What is a Neuropsychologist?
A Neuropsychologist has highly specialized training and the depth of understanding of brain anatomy and neuroscience to provide you the most comprehensive and detailed assessments to evaluate all types of children.
While the full Neuropsychological Assessment is the most valuable and popular option chosen by parents, we are also happy to customize an assessment to ensure it meets your families needs. Which option is the best for you? Read details below to help you decide:
Neuropsychological Evaluation
Research shows us what skills and factors lead to success. Dr. Duis has highly specialized training in neuroscience to be able to provide you the most comprehensive assessment available.
Research clearly shows us what factors lead to success and happiness. We will work together as "detectives" to gather the information we need in order to understand your child: in all of their complexity. Then, we have the information we need to create you child's individualized Road Map to Success!
We each have a unique profile of cognitive strengths and struggles. Some things naturally just seem to “click” for us while other skills seem to be more difficult. The full evaluation includes:
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Intellectual Testing
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Academic Skill Assessment
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Math Skills
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Attention
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Visual Spatial Skills
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Learning Style and Memory
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Processing Speed
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Language
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Executive Functioining
Cognitive/
Academic
We are all genetically wired with traits that impact how we perceive the world. Understanding your child’s innate traits such as their level of emotional sensitivity, how intensely they experience feelings, and what behavior and coping skills they use when relating to the world is key so that we can work with them in designing strategies for success.
Temperament/
Personality
Emotional Intelligence is a key factor in facilitating a child's competence, confidence and sense of belongingness. Our measures look at your child’s mood, resilience and coping skills so we can foster personal growth now and into the future.
Mood/
Behavior
Social Intelligences involves our ability to communicate, build and maintain relationships, and relate to our friends and family in a meaningful way. But we don’t exist alone in a vacuum.. Gaining information in this area is the last piece of the puzzle we need to understand your child.
Social/
Friends
Our puzzle is now complete!
We now have the knowledge we need to
FULLY UNDERSTAND YOUR CHILD.
We are indeed on the Trails To Success!
Focused Learning + Attention Testing
The second option we offer parents is to do a more limited and tailored assessment to address specific needs or concerns. Parents often have gathered some information already but still lack a full understanding of their child. Here are some ways we can be helpful instead of the full Neuropsychlogical Asessment option:
1) To augment a school assessment and to fill in the gaps in information a school asessment has provided. The testing done by the district is designed only for them to decide whether or not they feel your child “qualifies” for services according to their specific educational criteria. It does little to really educate you in a broader manner or provide you with information how to help your child outside of school.
2) We can also provide parents with an Independent Educational Assessment which can be used by parents to advocate on their behalf during IEP and 504 Meetings. Dr. Duis is also available to attend the meeting as well to explain the findings and brainstorm solutions with the school team.
3) More focused assessments can sometimes provide a much needed clinical diagnosis, or guid parents toward appropriate and targeted psychological interventions.
4) Our testing provides written documentation of a disability in order to qualify your teenager for SAT/ACT accommodations such as extra time on tests, or to provide written documentation for college based services.
Coaching/Consultation
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Emotional struggles and coping skills
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Impulse control/self-regulation
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Social skills coaching
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Anxiety management
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Executive functioning
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Frustration/anger management
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Behavioral modification
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Parent Education and support
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School Advocacy
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Vocational planning and placement
Telehealth/Mobile
Although the assessment procedures need to be administered in person there is the option for clients to access my services via HIPPAA-compliance venders (Zoom).
I also provide the option for remote assessments given the shortage of child neuropsychologists and the fact that I can bring my assessment tools with me. In today’s world. parents and families are often already stretched too thin. If you find it inconvenient to travel to Santa Ynez to my office, then feel free to inquire about the option for me to come to you. Parents have said it was more than worth their investment in time and energy!
My 16-year-old daughter has been misunderstood her entire life. Nobody really got her true challenges. Until we met Dr. Duis. She took as much time as she needed to really understand Allie and got to the root of her issues and problems. The report was detailed and impressive. We had her misdiagnosed and therefore we were not focusing before now on getting her the services and interventions she needed.
Allie's Mom