Los Angeles Center for Integrated Assessment - LACIA

Los Angeles Center for Integrated Assessment - LACIA We are a boutique psychological assessment practice specializing in whole-person evaluations.

Dr. Allison Kawa is a licensed clinical psychologist and the Clinical Director at the Los Angeles Center for Integrated Assessment (LACIA). She specializes in conducting comprehensive assessments of children, adolescents, and emerging adults. Dr. Kawa's approach to evaluations is informed by decades of work with individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders, formal training in object relations the

ory, and cutting-edge research in the field of interpersonal neurobiology. Her areas of expertise include child and adolescent development, diagnosis and treatment planning for neurodevelopmental disorders (e.g., ADHD, learning disorders, processing disorders, etc.) as well as psychiatric issues (e.g., anxiety, depression, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder), and assessment of individuals with trauma. Dr. Kawa also has clinical interests and expertise in autism spectrum disorders, the impact of technology on developing brains, issues specific to adoption, and pre-verbal trauma. She is the mother of two children, an amateur baker, and the reigning Mario Kart champion in the Kawa home.

Small struggles can quietly add up over time. 📚🧠When attention, working memory, and reading fluency all compete at once,...
05/13/2026

Small struggles can quietly add up over time. 📚🧠
When attention, working memory, and reading fluency all compete at once, the impact on learning can become much bigger than any one challenge alone.

A student may understand the material conceptually, yet still miss nuance, lose the thread while reading, or struggle to retain information long enough to fully process deeper meaning. Over time, reading can become effortful and emotionally draining, leading to avoidance, reduced practice, and widening academic gaps.

This is why comprehensive assessment matters. Identifying specific processing bottlenecks allows for targeted intervention, individualized supports, and more meaningful growth. 🌱

Neurodiversity affirming care means understanding how a student learns, not just measuring outcomes. When we reduce friction points and build on strengths, confidence and engagement often improve alongside skills. ✨

The ADHD mind is not “random.” 🧠✨It is often highly associative, deeply connected, and constantly noticing patterns othe...
05/08/2026

The ADHD mind is not “random.” 🧠✨
It is often highly associative, deeply connected, and constantly noticing patterns others may miss.

Associative thinking in ADHD reflects a rapid, non-linear style of cognition where ideas, memories, emotions, and observations become linked together quickly and fluidly. A single thought, sound, feeling, or environmental cue can activate a wide network of connected ideas.

This style of thinking can support:
💡 Creativity
🔍 Intuitive problem solving
😂 Humor and quick wit
🧩 Innovation and pattern recognition
🌱 Flexible, big-picture thinking

At the same time, fast associative processing can make conversations appear tangential, contribute to distractibility, or create difficulty organizing thoughts in a highly linear format under structured demands.

What may look “off topic” is often a brain rapidly moving through meaningful networks of salience and connection.

Understanding these thinking patterns can help providers better differentiate executive functioning differences from disengagement, oppositionality, or lack of effort. 🤍

Messy space but high need for order? 🤔ADHD + OCD can look very different than expected.When ADHD and OCD co-occur, envir...
04/30/2026

Messy space but high need for order? 🤔
ADHD + OCD can look very different than expected.

When ADHD and OCD co-occur, environmental disorganization can increase rather than decrease. ADHD impacts executive functioning, including task initiation, sequencing, and sustained attention, making it difficult to start and complete organizing tasks.

OCD can raise the threshold for action. Perfectionism, rigidity, and a need for things to feel “just right” may lead to delay or avoidance if organizing cannot be done in a very specific way. For some individuals, touching or moving items can also trigger intrusive thoughts or discomfort.

This creates a compounding cycle where ADHD limits follow-through while OCD increases the conditions required to begin. The result can be growing clutter alongside significant internal distress.

This presentation is often misunderstood and may be misattributed to motivation or behavior. Careful differential diagnosis helps clarify overlapping features and supports more targeted, integrated treatment planning.

Helpful to consider when evaluating complex presentations involving attention, anxiety, and executive functioning 🧠

Why do some individuals with ADHD seem to “miss” mess that is right in front of them?👀It’s not about vision. It’s about ...
04/27/2026

Why do some individuals with ADHD seem to “miss” mess that is right in front of them?
👀It’s not about vision. It’s about how attention is prioritized.

In ADHD, attention is interest-based and salience-driven. Low stimulation, familiar inputs like clutter are less likely to capture attention, especially over time as the brain habituates and begins to filter them into the background 🧠

Even when mess is noticed, it may not reliably trigger task initiation. Cleaning requires planning, sequencing, sustained effort, and energy availability. These are executive functions that can be taxed in ADHD, making follow-through inconsistent ⚙️

This pattern reflects differences in attention regulation, salience tagging, and initiation. It is not laziness, oppositionality, or lack of motivation.

Understanding this distinction is essential for accurate differential diagnosis and effective, targeted support. When we align expectations with how the brain actually works, we create more meaningful intervention pathways ✨

Hyperfixation can be an important clue, not just a challenge 🧠✨Hyperfixation refers to periods of deep, sustained focus ...
04/24/2026

Hyperfixation can be an important clue, not just a challenge 🧠✨

Hyperfixation refers to periods of deep, sustained focus on highly engaging or rewarding activities, often with difficulty shifting attention. In ADHD, this reflects an interest-based attention system rather than a lack of attention.

Children may struggle to initiate or persist with routine or low-interest tasks, yet sustain attention for long periods when something feels meaningful or stimulating. This pattern can point to differences in executive functioning, including cognitive flexibility, task initiation, and regulation of attention.

Hyperfixation becomes clinically meaningful when it interferes with transitions, sleep, or daily responsibilities. At the same time, the capacity for deep focus can support learning, creativity, and skill development when properly supported.

Effective support focuses on building flexible attention, not reducing engagement. Strategies may include scaffolding transitions, connecting tasks to areas of interest, and supporting gradual shifts in attention across contexts.

Assessment helps clarify these patterns and differentiate ADHD from other overlapping presentations, allowing for more targeted, individualized recommendations.





Understanding how a student learns changes everything. 🧠It is not just about the diagnosis.Diagnostic clarity matters, b...
04/23/2026

Understanding how a student learns changes everything. 🧠
It is not just about the diagnosis.

Diagnostic clarity matters, but it is only one piece of the picture. A comprehensive evaluation should also explain how a student processes information, organizes their thinking, retrieves knowledge, and makes meaning of what they learn.

When we understand a student’s cognitive profile, we can move beyond labels and toward targeted, individualized supports that actually work.

This leads to:
✨ Strength-based intervention planning
✨ More precise support for underlying learning needs
✨ Improved academic outcomes
✨ Increased confidence and motivation
✨ More sustainable, meaningful growth over time

For providers, this kind of clarity is what supports better differential diagnosis and more effective treatment planning.

Assessment is not just about identifying differences. It is about understanding them.

#

Sometimes students struggle with how their brain shows what they know. This can contribute to avoidance, anxiety, or a l...
04/20/2026

Sometimes students struggle with how their brain shows what they know. This can contribute to avoidance, anxiety, or a lackadaisical attitude toward schoolwork despite motivation and eagerness to please deep down.

When a student can explain concepts out loud but struggles on tests, runs out of time, or says, “I know it but can’t get it out,” it may point to differences in their processing profile.

These patterns can reflect:
🧠 Retrieval differences
⏱️ Processing speed differences
✏️ Efficient output demands

This is not simply test anxiety. It is about how information is accessed, processed, and expressed under academic demands.

Understanding a student’s cognitive profile helps us:
✔️ Differentiate overlapping presentations
✔️ Design targeted, effective interventions
✔️ Support access to the curriculum in a more aligned way

Accurate assessment creates clarity and reduces misinterpretation of a student’s abilities.

⏱️Timing matters more than you think.Clearer patterns often emerge with time.Waiting until age 6 and 1st grade can suppo...
04/17/2026

⏱️Timing matters more than you think.
Clearer patterns often emerge with time.

Waiting until age 6 and 1st grade can support greater diagnostic clarity, especially when understanding learning and processing differences. As developmental expectations become more consistent across children, it becomes easier to distinguish between typical variability and meaningful differences in attention, language, and learning.📊

At this stage, testing often provides more reliable and predictive data. The structured academic demands of 1st grade also offer valuable real-world insight into how a child is functioning in the classroom.📚✏️

This can support more precise, individualized recommendations that align with school expectations, guide appropriate services and accommodations, and help keep parent and provider understanding realistic and grounded.🤍

How early is too early for assessment? There are many benefits to evaluating in early childhood, where the emphasis is o...
04/15/2026

How early is too early for assessment? There are many benefits to evaluating in early childhood, where the emphasis is on cross-domain understanding for holistic treatment planning.

Early evaluation in preschool and kindergarten can clarify how a child is developing across language, attention, social communication, learning readiness, and sensorimotor skills 🧠🌱

These areas overlap and influence each other. Thoughtful assessment helps differentiate between ADHD, autism, anxiety, language differences, and early learning risks so support can be more precise and individualized 🔍

When we identify needs early, we can:
🌿 Leverage neuroplasticity for more effective intervention
🏫 Guide appropriate school placement and supports
🤝 Align caregivers, educators, and providers
💛 Protect self-esteem by reducing misunderstanding

This is not about finding what is “wrong.” It is about understanding how a child learns, communicates, and experiences the world so we can support them in ways that truly fit.

Address

2566 Overland Avenue Ste. 645
Los Angeles, CA
90064

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

Telephone

+14243176878

Website

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