Overview: Children with attention and learning challenges are at increased risk for mental health difficulties, such as anxiety, depression, and behavioral concerns. As the COVID-19 pandemic has brought about increasing stressors, there has been a greater mental health burden among children, particularly those already facing the daily stressors that come with attention and learning challenges. This workshop reviews the signs and symptoms of some of the most common mental health comorbidities of children with ADHD and learning disorders and provides caregivers with strategies that can be applied in supporting children in today’s world.
Who’s the presenter?
Daryaneh Badaly, PhD
Dr. Badaly has expertise in providing neuropsychological evaluations to individuals across a broad age range, from preschool-age children to young adults. She has worked with individuals who have a wide variety of developmental, learning, and psychiatric concerns. She has served in specialty clinics for children with autism spectrum disorder and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Dr. Badaly strives to conduct comprehensive evaluations to best understand each child’s strengths and weaknesses; she relies on up-to-date research findings to identify appropriate interventions to optimize academic, social, and emotional functioning; and, she endeavors to work collaboratively with educators and service providers to ensure that children have access to needed support.
Fluent in French, Dr. Badaly is experienced in conducting evaluations with monolingual French speakers learning English to fully bilingual French-English speakers. Raised in a multilingual and multicultural environment, she carefully considers the impact of different languages and cultures on children’s profiles. An alumnus of the French-American School of New York and the Lycée Français de New York, she also has a deep understanding of the needs of bilingual learners. In addition, Dr. Badaly is experienced in providing evaluations to children with complex medical issues including concussions and other brain injuries, cerebral palsy, congenital heart defects, and genetic disorders.
Dr. Badaly also provides executive functioning skills coaching to preadolescents and adolescents. Trained in cognitive-behavioral and family therapy models, she integrates relevant strategies into treatment to help mitigate the impact of emotional distress, family discord, and other factors on children’s day-to-day use of executive functions.
In addition to her clinical services, Dr. Badaly is involved with collaborative research efforts. Her work has focused on cognitive and social development among children and adolescents who are either typically developing or have complex medical problems. She has published several papers in peer-reviewed journals and presented at national conferences. Dr. Badaly is also dedicated to the training of future and junior clinicians. She has been involved in the supervision and training of pre-doctoral students in clinical psychology and post-doctoral fellows in neuropsychology, as well as collaborative education efforts for medical students, residents and fellows. She mentors students through programs with the American Academy of Clinical Neuropsychology and the Society of Clinical Neuropsychology, and she serves on a task force developing training for early career professionals through the National Academy of Neuropsychology.