The client

Myriam is 21 years old. She has had learning difficulties since primary school. Today, her college studies are also affected by them.

The challenge

Myriam has been able to finally finish high school where she benefited from additional resources and special monitoring provided by her school. However, she still needed to work much harder than her peers to achieve satisfactory results. As she continued her studies at CEGEP, Myriam no longer had the help and accommodation provided by her high school teachers. Consequently, she was greatly hindered by her first failure. After many program changes, she came to the conclusion that school was not for her. However, before giving up, she consulted the academic counsellor who suggested a neuropsychological evaluation to determine if her weak performance could be caused by a situation she could not control.

One month later, Myriam found out she is dyslexic.

A neuropsychological evaluation revealed that her difficulties started when she was in elementary school. Her teachers had always given her a passing grade because she was working very hard and was motivated. At CEGEP, Myriam was reading very slowly, irregularly and had a limited understanding of the text. With the diagnosis and recommendations of the neuropsychologist, the academic counsellor at the CEGEP could propose concrete solutions. He granted her 30% more time to do her exams and work along with a designated person to do her note-taking during her courses and the use of a computer with a text corrector to do her exams. Myriam can now benefit from the use of programs and specialized tools to compensate for her difficulties and to continue studying successfully.

The Solution

One month later, Myriam found out she is dyslexic. A neuropsychological evaluation revealed that her difficulties started when she was in elementary school. Her teachers had always given her a passing grade because she was working very hard and was motivated. At CEGEP, Myriam was reading very slowly, irregularly and had a limited understanding of the text. With the diagnosis and recommendations of the neuropsychologist, the academic counsellor at the CEGEP could propose concrete solutions. He granted her 30% more time to do her exams and work along with a designated person to do her note-taking during her courses and the use of a computer with a text corrector to do her exams. Myriam can now benefit from the use of programs and specialized tools to compensate for her difficulties and to continue studying successfully.

The result

Myriam is now at university and she is succeeding. Myriam's story is not unique. We often see these difficulties in our Centre. Don't be lured by your fears: If you find yourself constantly struggling to reach full academic success even though you put in your maximum effort, it is obviously not caused by a lack of motivation. There is must be another cause. Consulting us will help you reach your academic goals.

The client

Mathis will soon be 2.5 years old. He still does not speak, his mother is preoccupied by this situation and nothing seems to sooth her concerns: the waiting list at the CSSS is 9 months and 12 months at the hospital!

The challenge

His mother is anxious. His physical development is not affected. On the contrary, she would have preferred her son to be less active. Mathis does not speak and has no interest in his family, except for such needs as eating, drinking or for his favorite toy. The pediatrician suggested an audiology examination and an evaluation in a development clinic. His mother did some research and spoke with other parents through online forums, but she still has the same question: Is it too soon to investigate?

The Solution

During a short interview with the neuropsychologist, Mathis’ profile became clear to the parents. In addition to their preoccupations regarding their son’s language development, they also revealed that Mathis is a difficult child. This is even more obvious when they are out of the house. After several evaluation sessions, with Mathis alone, with his parents and also in his child care environment, we noticed that Mathis still has not learned the basics of verbal communication. ADOS and ADI tests confirmed the fact that Mathis has an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Our cognitive tests have also allowed us to understand Mathis’ great strengths. More specifically, that his reasoning and his non-verbal understanding are intact; he has average intelligence for his age. In cooperation with the pediatrician and the audiologist, our ASD diagnosis was recognized by all Quebec public health institutions. This made it possible for Mathis to have access to support services and specialized interventions at the CSSS and the rehabilitation centre in his area. A waiting list for a simple diagnosis, without any services, went from 12 months at the hospital, to 60 days and full services with the help of Neuropsy Centre.

The result

Mathis is now going to preschool and is progressing as expected. He speaks well, plays and participates in all school activities. Even though his social skills are not exactly like those of his peers, he has been well integrated into school. With our evaluation and recommendations report, school knew how to intervene with Mathis even before having met him. This made them very confident that he will be fully integrated by next year. With the support of an academic shadow, the beginning of his schooling at primary school will certainly be a success. Shortly after the end of our consultations, his parents finally knew what to expect. With the help of our collaborators, they were able to get the support they needed to understand Mathis, his condition, and also to address the situation at home and to stimulate his development for his future success.

The client

Léa is about to finish her second grade of primary school but her teacher and parents are very concerned. School is not easy for Léa. Her parents want to help her, but nothing seems to be appropriate. The School is suggesting a neuropsychological evaluation to understand why Léa is not able to reach her full potential.

The challenge

School has always been difficult for Léa. Even though she is motivated and she wants to learn, the basics of reading and writing are still an important obstacle for her. Despite being followed by a resource teacher since first grade, an additional tutoring in private, as well as the long study periods after school and on weekends, Léa does not seem to be able to recover her academic delay. On the contrary, her work is becoming even more difficult. Her parents and her teachers are very apprehensive about third grade. They know that Léa will not be able to reach her academic goals and they are wondering if she should repeat the second grade or if they should consider medication.

The Solution

After only two evaluation sessions, the parents finally got answers to all their questions. Léa is an intelligent young child. She does not have any intellectual, memory nor attention disabilities. In fact, we could then exclude any ADD hypothesis and any medication, because Léa is simply dyslexic. The diagnosis was a relief to the parents. It allowed them to bring context to the weakness and obstacles she had to face. Her mother understood why Léa always seemed unable to memorize word spelling and why she did not seem to understand texts she just read.

The result

We have set up support sessions with a resource teacher that will help Lea learn the basics of grapho-phonemic correspondence, and strategies for specialized reading. In combination with a reduction of her work load, to improve the quality of her learning, and some specialized tools for children in late primary school, Léa has finally started to make significant progress. Stressed and complicated homework periods have been replaced with pleasant and productive study sessions. By coming to Centres Neuropsy, Lea’s parents were able to understand the causes of her academic difficulties and take action to effectively improve her school experience, ensuring her future success.

The client

Karim is a beautiful and happy child, but his parents are totally exhausted. Karim is completely impulsive, turbulent and seems uncontrollable. His parents have no idea how to deal with his temperament and behaviors.

The challenge

Since he began day care, Karim can only be described with one word: ENERGY. He is now at preschool and his teacher has asked to meet with his parents. He explained that Karim is not particularly popular with other kids. In fact, he is always restless and turbulent. He does not stop long enough to listen to instructions and requires close supervision to complete a task. All this has had a significant impact on the class environment and other students complain about his behaviour. His parents are not surprised, because Karim is going through the same situation at soccer, at swimming and at home. His parents are exhausted and have no idea how to slow him down. They feel that they have tried everything, including long exercise periods and natural products.

The Solution

After two evaluation periods, the parents finally have the answers they have been looking for. Even though the evaluation was completed in a quiet environment, free of distractions, under close supervision by the examiner, Karim still was inattentive and turbulent. He was unable to concentrate or organize his own work like other children his age. The results of the evaluation were obvious; Karim has all the symptoms indicating an Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

The result

Thanks to his parents' early intervention, Karim’s first year at primary school was a success. Working hand in hand with our specialists made it possible to develop an individual education plan (IEP) for Karim. A pharmaceutical intervention was introduced to Karim before the start of school. His parents and doctor were able to find an adapted medication for Karim, without any major side effects to ensure the best results. In fact, with the medication, Karim's path seemed to change significantly. No more unreasonable behavior, endless crisis, anger and fights with his peers. Karim seems happy and more popular at school. By consulting with our specialists at the Neuorpsy Centre, Karim’s parents now understand the causes of their child's behaviour difficulties and are able to intervene efficiently, giving their son a healthy and successful future.

The client

Thérèse will soon be 80 years old. She has been living all by herself for several years now. Recently, she changed and her kids are worried for her. According to them, she is confused, talks about things out of context and often, with unrelated links to the discussion. They do not know what to do or say.

The challenge

Thérèse is a proud woman. She rarely asks for help and when she does, it's only for physical help like moving a couch or bringing the groceries home. Over the last few years, Thérèse’s children have noticed that her comments are strange and illogical. According to them, their mother is constantly losing her train of thought, jumping between topics, and often, with no connection. Her kids have revealed something inconsistent with her new behaviour in that she does not get lost, she does not forget her appointments and she is still doing her daily activities without any problems. This inconsistency in her day-to-day life has left her family very puzzled as well as concerned, making it very difficult to proceed towards a solution for their mother.

The Solution

The evaluation demonstrated that Thérèse is in good health. Other than normal qualitative weaknesses, at the memory and independence level, normal for her age, Thérèse diagnosis seems to exclude any indications of dementia or neurological damage. The answer was even simpler than expected and very easy to solve: Thérèse is suffering from hearing loss. She was not able to follow the discussion and she was talking about things out of context because she did not understand what was said. An audiogram completed in 15 minutes solved her problem.

The result

Thérèse’s kids are relieved: their mother did not suffer from dementia. A hearing aid gave her a new lease on life. She is now happier than ever and her kids are no longer worried about her health. In fact, she seems to be more independent and self-confident. She stopped remaining quiet during family gatherings. By consulting with our specialist at Centres Neuropsy, Thérèse and her children were able to understand the causes of her difficulties and intervene effectively helping her maintain her independence and her family’s peace of mind.

The client

Kim will be starting high school soon, but her parents are concerned. She seems different from other children. She does not have many friends and she seems more preoccupied with her games than with her social life the way other girls her age would be.

The challenge

Since the beginning of day care, Kim has always been a special child. She played near other children without playing with them. As time went on, her particularities became more evident. She would have liked to play with other kids and regularly complained of not having a “confidant”. Her parents explained to us that she often used the word “confidant” instead of “friend”. In fact, they realized that her vocabulary was rather extraordinary for her age, expressing herself with a vast vocabulary and a pseudo-French accent that they could not explain. In spite of her language capacities that are well developed for her age, Kim does not seem able to understand texts she is reading or jokes made on her. In fact, her parents have the impression that Kim does not have a good sense of humour and that she is taking everything literally or at face value.

The Solution

Kim's evaluation allowed us to understand that she has an atypical profile. She has an excellent vocabulary that is particularly rigid and concrete. In fact, Kim does not seem to understand the subtleties of language such as sarcasms and rules of social life exchange. In addition to her pseudo-French accent, Kim is fascinated with bus schedules, butterflies and small rocks found at school. Our test results, combined with a questionnaire filled by her parents and teachers, concluded that Kim has a profile of a child with an autism spectrum disorder, more specifically Asperger’s Syndrome. Following our diagnostic, her parents explained to us that they always suspected that their daughter had difficulties and that Kim was not a typical young lady. Yet they could not pinpoint the differences between her and other children until they had her assessed.

The result

A late diagnosis is typical for children with Asperger’s Syndrome because the symptoms are not apparent at a young age. Effectively, a fast development of a complex vocabulary gives the impression of an intelligent and precautious child. It is for these reasons that social and academic particularities are very surprising to parents of children with Asperger’s Syndrome. Integration of these children is relatively easy with an adapted individual education plan (IEP) and specialized activities to promote social skills training. In fact, their prognosis is excellent because of their intellectual potential. By consulting with our specialists at Centres Neuropsy, Kim’s parents were able to understand the causes of her social and academic difficulties and have been able to intervene effectively to ensure a successful future for their daughter.