The Beljan Blog
How Do I Request a School Evaluation?
It is recommended that your request be sent via email, which provides an automatic date and time stamp. Given the challenges in school staffing and outdated websites, I’d recommend sending your emailed request to a few different individuals to ensure that the request is received and forwarded to the designated person. This includes the school […]
ADHD in High School
Literature includes references to ADHD dating back to 1775. In 1845, a German physician wrote a children’s book, Fidgety Phil. The descriptions of the main character match almost exactly the criteria included in The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, first published in 1952. Now in its fifth edition, the DSM-5 diagnostic criteria state: […]
Unearthing the Missed Diagnosis
Paul Beljan, PsyD, ABPdN, ABN March 17, 2020 Lecture Abstract Characteristics of gifted and talented children can result in incorrect diagnoses, such as overlooking learning disabilities. Learning disabilities can take the form of academics (reading, math and writing) or innate abilities in general learning that may relate to social learning. In 2011 at Learning […]
Executive Functioning in Children Who Are Gifted
Paul Beljan, PsyD, ABPdN, ABN March 12, 2020 Gifted children represent a disproportionate amount of children identified with ADHD, which is as widely misdiagnosed as it is misunderstood and mistreated. The high rate of over-diagnosing this condition places gifted children at risk for being further misunderstood and mistreated as they fail to respond to […]
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Understanding Math Learning Disorder
A burgeoning body of literature in pediatric neuropsychological assessment suggests executive functioning is the foundation of many procedural learning skills as mediated by cerebellar processing. Given the neuropsychological necessity of intact procedural learning ability for efficient academic learning, the accurate identification of what we have termed “procedural consolidation deficit” (PCD) may be an underpinning of mathematical learning disorder (MLD). Results suggest performance on procedural learning tasks significantly predict a classification of MLD.
Published in the Journal of Pediatric Neuropsychology
Processing Speed in Gifted Children
Children with gifted intellects often earn lower scores on measures of processing speed than their nongifted counterparts. However, neuropsychological research indicates such a profile of scores is likely not due to a true innate neurocognitive processing speed deficit but is rather a statistical artifact resulting from the interference of common cognitive and behavioral idiosyncrasies inherent to giftedness, such as perfectionism and an aversion to completing paper and pencil tasks. The first aim of this study is to identify and explain the relative underperformance of children with gifted intellects on measures of processing speed. The second aim is to develop a neuropsychologically informed framework for clinically assessing processing speed in children with gifted intellects using alternative measures from the WISC–V. Clinical implications are discussed as they relate to the relative disabling effects of common gifted-related idiosyncrasies on the expression of their otherwise intact neuropsychological capabilities.
Published in the Roeper Review
The Beljan Library
Good read!
Misdiagnosis and Dual Diagnoses of Gifted Children and Adults: ADHD, Bipolar, OCD, Asperger’s, Depression, and Other Disorders
James t. webb, edward r. amend, paul beljan, et al.
Gifted children and adults are frequently misdiagnosed, particularly those who are twice-exceptional (2e). This much-anticipated second edition of a best-selling book is your guide to help prevent that. Some of our brightest, most creative children and adults are misdiagnosed as having behavioral or emotional disorders such as ADD/ADHD, Oppositional Defiant Disorder, Bipolar Disorder, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, or Asperger’s Disorder. Many receive unneeded medications and/or inappropriate counseling. How can this happen? Physicians, psychologists, and counselors often are unaware of characteristics of gifted children and adults that mimic pathological diagnoses.
4.7 stars on Amazon!
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Large-Scale Brain Systems and Neuropsychological Testing: An Effort to Move Forward
Leonard f. koziol, Paul Beljan, Kate bree, John mather
This leading-edge volume offers a new framework for neuropsychological testing rooted in the current evidence base on large-scale brain system interactions. Expert coverage brings traditional discrete areas of cognitive functioning (e.g., attention, memory) in line with highly nuanced relationships between cortical and subcortical processing. The new findings point to more accurate and targeted testing, as authors expand on the judicious addition of non-standardized methods to core diagnostic tools and the underused capacity of neuropsychological testing to assess social behavior and personality. The book’s emphasis on cognition in context gives practitioners better understanding of assessment and evaluation, leading to improved diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes for individuals as well as significant improvements in the field.
4.7 stars on Amazon!