by Katie Lillard
It can be challenging for parents with neurodiverse students to know where to look for specialized services like neuropsychological and educational testing, therapy, and more. Navigating specialty services for ADHD, dyslexia, HFA (high-functioning autism) can feel daunting; this list serves as a guide for resources on the Eastern Shore of Maryland that have come recommended by families with children who attend Wye River Upper School.
Providers of Neuropsychological and Educational Testing
Where can I take my child for testing?
Dr. Lauren Littlefield
Dr. Lauren Littlefield is a Psychology faculty member at Washington College in Chestertown. She offers neuro-psych testing. Dr. Lauren Littlefield conducts neuropsychological and psych-education evaluations locally. She serves as a professor of psychology at Washington College, and is a licensed Clinical Psychologist (Maryland #03647) with expertise in cognitive evaluations. Her most common evaluations are for youth with known or suspected learning disabilities/disorders and ADHD. However, she has experience working with students who have acquired a traumatic brain injury, young adults with history of strokes or brain tumors, and older populations with possible dementia. While she has a testing office in Chestertown, she commonly test students in their schools. At WRUS, Dr. Littlefield has borrowed the conference room many times so that students could have a familiar location for testing. She has evaluated prospective WRUS students as part of the admissions process and has also tested some WRUS students during their senior year so that they could seek accommodations the following year at a 2-or 4-year college.
Interested parties can contact Dr. Lauren Littlefield at her college email address: llittlefield2@washcoll.edu.
Dr. Lauren Littlefield typically plans a follow-up call to discuss what is needed and provide a fee estimate. Then, once someone decides to work with me, all future correspondence is conducted over the phone or through her private Gmail account.
Shore Psychology
Dr. Lewis possesses specialized training and expertise in conducting psychoeducational, neuropsychological, and psychological assessments on children and adolescents. Psychoeducational assessments are designed to evaluate a child’s intellectual abilities and level of academic achievement, and are often the first step in identifying the existence of a learning disability or need for classroom accommodations. A neuropsychological evaluation is comprehensive in that it measures brain functions such as attention, concentration, executive functioning, language, memory, visuospatial processing, sensorimotor functioning, and social perception as well as intellectual and academic functioning. Since neuropsychological conditions such as learning disabilities often co-occur with socioemotional, behavioral, and psychological challenges, Dr. Lewis routinely screens for issues in these areas as well as part of her neuropsychological evaluations. Psychological evaluations examine how variables related to personality development as well as social, emotional, and behavioral functioning impact a child.
Through the assessment process, Dr. Lewis ultimately seeks to help answer questions about what a child’s needs are, and how to address them most appropriately so that they achieve success in their personal, academic, and social lives. As a result, Dr. Lewis’s assessments are individualized, comprehensive, and focused on enhancing understanding abof a child’s unique profile so that targeted recommendations that best support a child’s intellectual, academic, behavioral, social, and emotional growth can be formulated.
Psychologist who Specialize in Treatment for Adolescents with Learning Differences
Chesapeake Bay Psychological Services
Established in 2006 by Dr. Catherine Smithmyer on Maryland’s Kent Island, CBPS is a multidisciplinary outpatient mental health practice currently composed of psychologists, licensed professional counselors, and licensed clinical social workers.Our mission is to provide excellent, culturally responsive mental healthcare services to our community, while aiming to make those services affordable by accepting Medicare and most insurance.
Services and Specialties:
Teletherapy, individual therapy, and family therapy for children, adolescents, and adults
Treatment for:
Autism spectrum
ADHD/ADD
Adoption Issues
Emotional Difficulties (Depression, Anxiety, Anger Management)
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
PTSD
Severe behavioral problems
Therapy approaches including behavioral therapy, family/parenting, play therapies, and applied behavior analysis
Chester River Behavioral Health & Wellness
Chester River Behavioral Health & Wellness is a multi-disciplinary group practice comprised of highly trained and experienced mental health and substance abuse providers. These professional affiliates include psychologists and masters prepared professional counselors, clinical social workers, and psychology associates. For more information regarding our affiliates' training and areas of expertise please view our clinical provider's page. We offer a wide range of evaluation and therapy services for children, adolescents, adults, couples, and families. Educational programs and group services are also available. For more specific information please view our services page. We participate in many private health insurance plans, as well as Medicare. Our administrative staff can assist you with information about your health coverage benefits, cost of services, and payment options. Please browse our website for more information.
For All Seasons
For All Seasons is the only non-profit Behavioral Health and Rape Crisis Center serving the five counties of Maryland’s Mid Shore.
For All Seasons behavioral health team includes trauma-certified therapists and psychiatrists who collaborate with other community partners and health professionals in order to provide the highest quality care.
Services include individual and group therapy, general, child and adolescent therapy, marriage and couples’ counseling, grief counseling, school-based mental health therapy, urgent care services, rape crisis response, rape crisis counseling and support, 24-Hour English and Spanish Hotlines, and education and outreach programming. Therapists use interpreters to provide services to Spanish speaking individuals and families.
Therapeutic Recreation for Adolescents with Learning Differences on the Eastern
Talisman Therapeutic Riding
Talisman Therapeutic Riding is a non-profit organization offering a variety of programs to create therapeutic opportunities while providing exposure to an environment of well-being and learning.
At Talisman, we believe in the transformative, healing power of horses and our natural environment. We serve, empower all, and lead by example with compassion, dignity, and inclusivity.
Speech and Language
Chesapeake Speech Language Associates
Chesapeake Speech Language Associates provides pediatric speech and language therapy services in Annapolis and Stevensville, Maryland and surrounding areas. Providing a family-friendly environment since 1998, our private practice specializes in the evaluation and treatment of a variety of communication and developmental disorders, auditory processing disorders, Autism Spectrum Disorders, fluency disorders, and feeding disorders.
Decoding Dyslexia Maryland
Decoding Dyslexia Maryland is a parent-led, grassroots movement driven by families concerned about reading instruction and interventions for all students, including those with dyslexia, in Maryland Public Schools. The Eastern Shore Chapter is also committed to sharing resources to all learners including those in homeschooling and private school environments. The mission of Decoding Dyslexia is to raise awareness about reading and dyslexia; to empower parents, educators and students to support struggling readers and students with dyslexia; to advocate for best practices to support struggling readers and students with dyslexia.
Decoding Dyslexia of Maryland Website:
Local Chapter (Eastern Shore led by Lindsey Parte) Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/ddmdeasternshore/
* Lindsey Parte also offers individual tutoring.
Other Disability Resources
Where can I find grants and other forms of assistance for my child with learning differences?
Kinera Foundation
Kinera helps individuals with disabilities and special health care needs and their families by providing resources to support, inform, and connect them with services and opportunities that will enhance their quality of life.
Kinera also offers:
Occupational Therapy
Physical Therapy
Speech Therapy
Parent Groups
Are you looking for resources on the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay? Families who live in the greater Annapolis area may find help in our resource guide for students with learning differences in the Annapolis area.
Do you have a resouce to share? Email admissions@wyeriverupperschool.org if you'd like to suggest additions to this list.