91香蕉视频成人在线

Recognizing a need for more Autism Spectrum Disorder diagnostic services for young children, alumna Dr. 搁别苍茅别 Marchant founded a new clinic within her group practice.

In this series, the 91香蕉视频成人在线 Office of Alumni Relations connects with Alumni to learn about where their career path is going -- or has taken them -- beyond their time at the College. Today, meet 搁别苍茅别 Marchant, PsyD, a graduate of the Doctor of Clinical Psychology (PsyD) program, who recognized a need for more Autism Spectrum Disorder diagnostic services for young children and recently launched a diagnostic clinic within her group practice.

With the onset of the pandemic, alumna saw that hospitals in Greater Boston, and nationwide, with expertise in diagnosing Autism Spectrum Disorder (鈥淎SD鈥�) were experiencing a surge in referrals, and subsequently longer waitlists, for young children. A delay in receiving an assessment can have consequences, Marchant noted.

鈥淩eceiving an evaluation at 2 rather than 3 years of age can make a large difference for some children鈥檚 development and the degree of family stress on caregivers,鈥� Marchant said. 鈥淓arly detection of, and support for, ASD in young children is crucial as it has been shown that early detection results in immediate and long-term positive outcomes.鈥�

Recognizing an unmet, and growing, need for early assessment of ASD in toddlers and preschoolers, she recently launched the within her group practice, the Neuropsychology & Education Services for Children and Adolescents (NESCA), in Newton, Mass.

鈥淔or some clients, things may have been different if they had received a diagnosis at a younger age and more importantly, if systemic, relationship-based interventions and social support had started early on in development,鈥� Marchant said. 鈥淔or example, we know that parenting support and access to a social network of other parents with children who have diagnoses of ASD can be instrumental in positive outcomes鈥�.

Since joining NESCA three years ago, Marchant has focused on providing neuropsychological and projective performance-based evaluations to youth from toddlerhood to young adulthood, along with family therapy.

鈥淢y foundation is family therapy 鈥� I think relationally and with systems in mind, immediate systems such as the family and broader, impactful systems such as culture and school climate. This is the foundation for how I determine what a child and their system, whether that be the family, school, or treatment providers, need,鈥� she said.

As a family therapist who also conducts neuropsychological evaluations, Marchant specializes in evaluating and supporting children (and families) with inter-related, complex needs that results from stress (including trauma and early adversity) as well as the intersection between a child鈥檚 emotional needs and neurodevelopmental differences.

鈥淓arly diagnosis is also an opportunity to support a family in seeing a child鈥檚 strengths early on, which buffers a child and their system, building resiliency early on in development,鈥� she said.

Marchant credits the Clinical Psychology PsyD program鈥檚 commitment to teaching systemic thinking and interventions with helping to lay important foundations for her career.

鈥淎t WJC, I learned to think relationally and about the 鈥榳hole picture鈥� surrounding a child,鈥� she said. 鈥淚n my work as an evaluator, I began to see many adolescents and young adults receiving 鈥榣ate鈥� diagnosis for ASD who now, as teenagers or young adults, were experiencing high levels of personal, intergenerational/family, and school stress, which then contributed to poorer health and functioning in everyday life, including additional challenges such as depression or high risk-behaviors.鈥�

The ASD Diagnostic Clinic is dedicated to not only early diagnosis for service access but also psychoeducation about neurodiversity and a child鈥檚 strengths.

If you're a 91香蕉视频成人在线 alumnus and you're interested in sharing your story, please email alumni@williamjames.edu.

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