Darlene Sousa, BHP

Darlene de Sousa, Educational Specialist, Licensed Educational Psychologist, Board Certified Cognitive Specialist has over twenty years of professional experience (both domestic and international) in the clinical and educational application of the behavioral sciences including academia, research, mental health therapy, school psychology, private practice testing, special education administration, and educational therapy. She holds several graduate degrees and has completed graduate studies in human behavior, school psychology, human development, and counseling. Furthermore, she has completed post-graduate certification and training in the neuropsychological basis of reading, writing, and math disorders and is board certified in cognitive rehabilitation.With additional training as an educational therapist, having completed certification and coursework in Orton Gillingham, Structured Word Inquiry, Multisensory Math, Dyscalculia Therapy, and Executive Function rehabilitation, Darlene’s …evaluations offer not only the findings from the assessment, but the evidence-based recommended approach to remediating the underlying skill deficits to include local resources, program names, and additional information for future planning. As a former director of special education and school psychologist, she is able to advocate through an understanding of the law and changes taking place within the educational legal scene, as well as offer guidance to parents and schools that she knows, are reasonable and accessible for any public or private school to implement.Darlene is a regional expert for legal counsel, speaker, and presenter in the areas of MTSS (Multi-Tiered System of Supports), assessing for giftedness, learning disability therapies, and has published on culturally responsive school-home communication. During this period of the pandemic and its aftermath, Darlene has focused on acquiring additional training in the evaluation of children impacted by Long Covid, Acquired Brain Injury, and the latest approaches to screening and assessing Autism with the Vanderbilt University Medical Center.As a parent to a now adult autistic daughter and as a 2e (twice exceptional) individual herself, Darlene recognizes the commitment one embarks upon when deciding it’s time to schedule an evaluation for their child or teen. This is a tremendous commitment of time, resources, and hope. Rather than a series of prescriptive hoops to jump through in order to obtain a diagnosis and report, Darlene views testing as a therapeutic process in and of itself, regardless if you are 5 or 55. The evaluation can be a journey of self-discovery through which the child, adolescent, or adult construes a new, more informed, and forward-looking narrative about themselves. The process is compassionate and guided, leading to potentially life-changing growth for clients. The process culminates with an hour-and-a-half-long discussion, followed by a report two weeks later, and then another discussion to support the internal processes experienced by the individual and family, and to guide the subsequent steps moving forward.The Comprehensive Psychoeducational Evaluation goes beyond in-school testing to formally diagnose any potential learning or neurodevelopmental disorders and includes cognitive, academic, processing, social-emotional, and preliminary neuropsychological testing. It will cover all learning disabilities in reading, writing, math, cognitive processing, language, and visual motor integration. The report will provide recommendations for home, school, employment, and the community. The assessments selected are standardized, culturally responsive, and neuroaffirming with the client, not a diagnosis, at the center of the process.