Wishing you and your family a happy, healthy holiday season and a wonderful start to the new year.

The Yellin Center will be closed from December 25 through January 2, reopening on Monday, January 5, 2026. We will be checking messages intermittently during this time.

Below in this newsletter, Liva Chang, our Clinic Coordinator, shares her perspective on the strength-based approach that guides our work at The Yellin Center.

A common misunderstanding about strength-based assessment is that it ignores deficits and disorders. Nothing could be further from the truth. While traditional assessments have often emphasized deficits and disorders, strength-based assessments place those findings in the broader context of cognitive, academic, emotional, and personal strengths. We continue to use established neuropsychological assessment methodologies, but we reframe our findings through a balanced process that highlights strengths alongside areas of challenge.

Deficit-focused models can undermine self-esteem by defining individuals in terms of what they cannot do. Our strength-based approach aligns with current understanding of neuroplasticity, resilience, and growth mindsets. It empowers children by helping them recognize the strengths they can draw upon while addressing specific challenges they need to work on.

As a Clinic Coordinator for The Yellin Center, I am often the first point of contact for parents seeking evaluations for their children. Often, parents come to us having been told that their child needs to be assessed for something specific. This may be a learning disorder, Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), or a social-emotional disorder. Many parents are surprised to hear that we perform comprehensive neuropsychological evaluations, refraining from assessing from a single angle. The short answer is yes, we do evaluate learning disorders, ADHD, and social-emotional disorders, but the long answer is that we do much more than that.

At The Yellin Center for Mind, Brain, and Education, Dr. Yellin and Dr. Block use a strength-based approach. This means that during both the evaluation and the presentation of findings, there is an emphasis placed on the discovery of strengths and how those strengths can be utilized as a mode of support to overcome challenges.

By evaluating a student on multiple fronts, we can discover not only their challenges, but their strengths, and the unique way that each student learns best. Through this understanding, The Yellin Center can provide a uniquely tailored learning plan with strategies that play to each student’s strengths, rather than simply an explanation of a student’s challenges.

We call the initial presentation of evaluation findings, often the week of or the week following the evaluation dates, a demystification. This name comes from the “demystifying” of the evaluation, putting the results into terms the student will be able to comprehend. The demystification meeting gives the students a chance to hear the findings of the assessments from their long days of hard work and presents to them a full profile of their learning. At that time, the students go through their strengths and challenges with Dr. Yellin and Dr. Block. Frequently, students are already aware of many of their challenges. Presenting to them their strengths, backed by evaluation results, can lead to a boost in self-confidence and a stronger belief in their own capabilities.

Dr. Jessica Block, a pediatric neuropsychologist, joined the Yellin Center team in 2024. Her path to neuropsychology began with her own experiences growing up with dyslexia and ADHD. Navigating school with these challenges was difficult, but it sparked a deep curiosity about how the brain works and how learning can be supported in meaningful ways. Over time, that curiosity turned into a passion for helping children have more positive, empowering educational experiences than she did. Because she has lived through remediation herself, she brings a unique perspective to her work. Her professional expertise and personal understanding allow her to connect with patients and their families on a deeper level and appreciate the many unique ways their brains thrive.

Dr. Block grew up in Seattle, Washington, where she became a Seahawks fan, and her love for football followed her to Penn State, where she proudly became a Nittany Lion. Outside of her work, she finds joy in listening to live music, traveling, and hiking, especially in national parks where she can slow down, recharge, and take in the world’s natural beauty.

Dr. Block is active on TikTok as @docblock_nyc. Follow her here: https://www.tiktok.com/@docblock_nyc

The Yellin Center hosts a Support Book Club for parents, led by Dr. Jessica Block. The next Support Book Club session will take place on Monday, January 26 at 7:30 p.m. EST and will feature The Explosive Child by Ross Greene, Ph.D.

Participation is free, and you do not have to be a Yellin Center patient or parent to attend, but you must sign up to receive the session link.

You can also join the Support Book Club Facebook page to learn about books that have been discussed previously.

Dr. Yellin holds a telephone call-in hour for new callers each Thursday morning from 8:00 to 9:00 a.m. ET. Anyone may call, without an appointment, to briefly discuss questions pertaining to our work or a student’s learning.

There is no fee. Calls are taken in the order they are received. We regret that we may not be able to accommodate all callers each week. Contact us.