Overcoming Obstacles To Learning

Dr. Mark Posey conducts a patient evaluation.

Comprised of a team of developmental pediatricians, psychologists and speech-language pathologists, the clinic provides evaluations for children from infants to age 21. Assembling a comprehensive summary obtained from hours of evaluation, medical records and school reports, the staff develops an appropriate treatment plan for each child.

“We are able to take all the information that we gather here and give it back to the school personnel and parents in school clothes,” said Mark Posey, Ph.D., assistant professor of clinical pediatrics and a psychologist with the Developmental Pediatric Clinic. Because Posey and the other psychologists on staff are all school psychologists, they understand the classroom and administrative environments that factor into a child’s educational experience. “We try to make very practical step-by-step recommendations for teachers to use,” he said.

Recommendations are mapped out for both school personnel and parents. A child who is found to be a slow learner, for example, may need extra assistance from his teacher in reviewing previous lessons. “The teacher has to build a bridge for that child to show how the work they did yesterday relates to what they are doing today,” Dr. Posey said. Sometimes an assistive technology device is needed (see Assistive Technology article on pages six and seven) to address a problem, such as when a child has limited manual dexterity. “A lot of kids are pretty bright, but their hands will not do what they need them to do. The assistive technology lets them get out what their brain is trying to say,” he said.

While some children’s problems are identified reasonably quickly, other children may flounder in school for months or years before they are referred to the Developmental Pediatric Clinic. It’s not unusual for anxious, frustrated parents to show up at the clinic. “They come in saying, ‘The school isn’t sure and the pediatrician isn’t sure. Can you please help us find out what’s wrong? We want to help our child and just don’t know what to do,’” said Dr. Posey. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is one condition that often baffles families and school personnel until formally diagnosed at the clinic. “There are numerous ADHD look-alikes that have medical components of it,” Dr. Posey explained. “There are also medication side effects that can look like ADHD.”

Noting that schools can be hampered by a limited amount of information available on children, Dr. Posey stresses how the clinic’s thorough evaluation is based on extensive observations of several professionals. “With the team approach we are looking at as much of the whole child as we can. There are instances when we get together and get a little different picture than each of us thought individually,” he said.

While some children are advised to come back for a follow-up, the goal is to turn the children back to their primary care doctor. Children are also referred out for various types of therapy (occupational, speech, etc.), as well as to state agencies and groups that serve families with disabilities and special needs. Sometimes families need help balancing the demands of a special needs child with those of the child’s siblings. “The other children are in just as much need of their parent’s attention and support. I try to give them tips on helping their other kids feel loved and included, like scheduling a date night or special time together,” said Dr. Posey.

By making a diagnosis and mapping out how to address specific issues, the Developmental Pediatric Clinic sets a new direction for the rest of the child’s education. “Intervention totally changes a child’s outlook. Whereas they were getting a lot of unnecessary negative feedback and may have started hating school and teachers, the children find that they can sit and pay attention now or are able to understand assignments,” said Dr. Posey. “We can help give them a better sense of who they are and minimize the feelings of failure they had. Our hope is that they can come to grips with whatever needs they have and be able to achieve their full potential and be happy,” he said

Reprinted from Connections newsletter, August 2004

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