Hello!

This time of year the clinic is a buzz of activity: young students are busy in our Playschool classes, tweens/teens and young adults are working hard on skill building with our Executive Function and Life Skills Coaches, and families are consulting with our Educational Psychologists to help pinpoint any areas in their child's learning profile that could use support. If your child is struggling or could use a boost in some area, reach out to our developmental and behavioral experts for help.

Please keep scrolling for more information about upcoming programs at the clinic and Dr. Korb's note regarding his time at the national AAP conference.

Join us at the clinic for a helpful discussion on October 20 at 7:00 pm about how to encourage and build the social skills of a child with special needs. 

Our Child Development Chats are always free of charge. Register using the form on our website.

Please also mark your calendars for our November 17th Chat, which will highlight the SCRIPT for Parenting Teens, with CDM's Cassie Korbfort, M.S.Ed., and Damon Korb, M.D.

New Staff Update!

For more information about all of our clinicians and staff, please click here to see our website: CDM Staff

Parent Coaching Classes Next Month

The Center for Developing Minds has a team of very experienced, licensed educational psychologists that provide students with complete evaluations for learning differences, including comprehensive reports and recommendations that can help students achieve at a higher level.

Psychoeducational evaluations at the CDM typically consist of an IQ test, academic/achievement testing and additional neuropsychological and processing assessments. Family background and developmental information is gathered, in addition to information and possible observations from the school about the student’s performance.

The CDM uses the most current and reliable versions of numerous psycho-educational evaluation instruments to assess a variety of areas and suspected disabilities, including:

• Specific learning disorders in reading (dyslexia), writing (dysgraphia) and math (dyscalculia),
• Processing disorders (e.g., auditory, language, visual-spatial, fine motor, speed/fluency, memory),
• Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and executive functioning impairments,
• Mental health disorders/emotional disturbances (ED) such as anxiety disorders and depression,
• Autism spectrum disorders (ASD),
• Intellectual disability (ID),
• High IQ, gifted,
• Studying and test-taking skills,
• Adaptive behaviors, social skills and problem behaviors.

If you have any questions about our assessment or testing options for your student, you can find details on our website or please contact the clinic for more information.

Note from Dr. Damon Korb, Clinic Director:

I spent the beginning of October in San Diego at the national convention for the American Academy of Pediatrics with 15,000 pediatricians from around the world. Ongoing education is an important part of a physician’s career. There is always more to learn. This year I attended talks on autism, child behavior, constipation, how AI will affect the office, nicotine and marijuana abuse, functional neurological conditions, media use, nutrition and sleep. I picked up pearls from each presentation, but the most inspiring talk was by Tiffani Johnson, MD, who used the movie, The Wiz, as a framework to examine structural health care.

She noted that pediatricians can fill the roles of the Scarecrow, who is brilliant but has internalized (imposter syndrome) structural doubt, the Tin Man. who armored himself and has become emotionally numb in order to survive, rusted by external forces, and the Lion, a child advocate who is afraid to speak up due to concerns about professional retaliation. In the Wiz, they battled witches only to return to a wizard who really had no abilities to help them and was just blowing smoke. The Good Witch (a mentor) empowers Dorothy to reclaim her power, pointing out that she could have always “gone home”. The Wiz ends with the great Diana Ross singing the lyrics:

When I think of Home, I think of place, where there's love overflowing.

After getting a room full of pediatricians singing along, Dr. Johnson added the somber message, “I think of home as a place where a black child does not need to fear being lynched, where a girl can go to college without worrying about being drugged and raped, where children are not separated from their parents, and all have the opportunity to grow up safe and healthy.”

While the current structural barriers in front of us are a problem, I know we can make change. We need to prioritize children and their future. If you're an American, please vote in the upcoming election to protect children: choose policies and leaders that will work to improve child health and safety, expand educational opportunities, and create options for future prosperity and well-being.

Pictured: Damon Korb, M.D., with mentor and friend, Paul Stricker, M.D.

Established more than twenty-one years ago, the CDM clinical team includes experts in child and adolescent behavior and development, psychology, education, and therapy. We provide the highest level of care to young children and students with autism, ADHD, behavioral struggles, learning disabilities, anxiety, depression, speech and language delays, social skills deficits, and executive function challenges.

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