DFW Diagnostics and Consulting is a full service Psychological Evaluation Center offering testing for learning disabilities, autism spectrum disorders, and attention deficit challenges My goal was to teach full time at the undergrad and graduate level and have a small private practice on the side. During my second year of grad school, my then 8yr old daughter was diagnosed with several learning disabilities, autism spectrum disorder, and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. I was pretty shocked to say the least as she had always been socially popular with her peers and earned good grades. However, I was noticing subtle changes in her social interactions with her classmates during her second grade year and I was spending a lot more time helping her with her homework...she just did not seem to grasp new ideas as quickly as she used to. Her teacher was also making the same observations so she recommended testing. During my feedback session with the psychologist who tested her, I quickly realized I did not fully understand the big picture of her challenges and I wanted to learn more in order to support/help her socially and academically. I also decided at the end of the feedback session that I HAD to change my academic focus from teaching at the college level to diagnostics. You see, the psychologist who tested my daughter jokingly said to me as I was leaving his office, "In the end you're going to save a lot of money on college. I was floored! She was 8 at the time and I'll be damned if someone ever limits the future potential of my daughter, or any child for that matter. Immediately I began taking ALL the assessment classes offered (not just the ones required for my degree) and even requested professors to create special assessment courses my university did not offer. My practicums and post-doc internships were all centered around assessments and I sought out supervisors with different testing specialties. By the time I became a licensed psychologist, I already had 8 years of testing in a variety of settings and for equally varied reasons. This truly is my passion! I created a diagnostic center at a school for children with learning disabilities, autism spectrum disorders, and attention deficits and ran that for 9 yrs. I also started my own company, DFW Diagnostics and Consulting in 2016. Over the last 8 years I have had the opportunity to train new therapists and conduct neurocognitive evaluations for persons living in nursing homes. I have enjoyed the change in my career; however, I am ready to get back to my true love... assessing children, teens, and adults with learning disabilities, autism spectrum disorders, and attention deficits. Doors are open and I'm ready!! Quick side note: my daughter just turned 27. She graduated high school, drives, works full-time, lives independently, pays her bills, and attended college in Colorado. While she did not graduate college and is not currently enrolled in college, she stated she may go back if she needs to, but is perfectly content with her current situation. That's success if you ask me!!
