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AERC is Here to Help During the Coronavirus Pandemic

The ACCESS Evaluation and Resource Center (AERC) is here for our community during these unprecedented times. In fact, our team of experts at the AERC are busy providing a variety of essential services. From comprehensive evaluations and academic therapy to behavioral and mental health counseling, the AERC team is finding innovative ways to continue helping families throughout Central Arkansas and beyond.

COMPREHENSIVE EVALUATIONS

Teaching school from home can be challenging! However, there are some difficulties that may appear to be more prominent with some children than others. As parents trying to assist your children in accomplishing their schoolwork from home, you may have noticed that your child is:

  • Struggling with reading and comprehension
  • Not understanding math concepts previously learned
  • Unable to attend to their tasks for extended periods of time
  • Having difficulty organizing their schedule and keeping up with assignments
  • Experiencing increased anxiety and symptoms of depression

If you are consistently seeing any of the above in your child, you may want to consider scheduling a comprehensive psychological evaluation to help identify these issues and assist with support services available to meet your child’s needs.

“A comprehensive evaluation is so important when trying to understand the source of a child’s learning or behavioral struggles,” explains Kimberly Newton, AERC Director and Licensed Psychological Examiner. “If we only look for one potential learning disability, we may miss other underlying or existing struggles. A holistic approach allows us to best identify and develop a plan to help every individual in unlocking their potential.”

ACCESS has immediate openings available for comprehensive evaluations, both in person and via telemedicine where appropriate. Call an ACCESS admissions specialist today to schedule. 501-217-8600

BEHAVIORAL AND MENTAL HEALTH COUNSELING

During difficult times and major changes to daily routines, behavioral and mental health counseling is more important than ever for children and adolescents. “Uncertainty and changes in routine create anxiety for all of us, but it can have compounded effects on children and those with a developmental disability,” says Erin Weber, Licensed Clinical Social Worker at ACCESS. “We are working hard in our counseling sessions to help these clients and their families try to understand and cope with the disruption in their routines.” Erin continues to counsel clients both at ACCESS (following safe social distancing practices and CDC guidelines), as well as through telemedicine.

These sources offer great tips for parents and caregivers on helping children cope with COVID-19 crisis:

https://www.apa.org/research/action/children-disabilities-covid-19

https://www.nasponline.org/resources-and-publications/resources-and-podcasts/school-climate-safety-and-crisis/health-crisis-resources/helping-children-cope-with-changes-resulting-from-covid-19

https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/mental-health-considerations.pdf?sfvrsn=6d3578af_10

ACADEMIC THERAPY

Academic therapy is specialized tutoring that helps children with learning disabilities succeed in their academic studies. At a time when most children are already realizing disruptions in their school routines, children with learning disabilities need more support now more than ever. ACCESS’ team of academic therapists are utilizing technology to continue to help students achieve their personal best in learning. If your child struggles with learning, academic therapy might be a great tool for your family.

ACCESS is committed to continuing to deliver its mission and provide its essential services to clients during these unprecedented times. Whether through the practice safe social distancing and other CDC guidelines or through virtual services such as telehealth and online tutoring, the team of experts at the ACCESS Evaluation and Resource Center is here to help families in our community identify, plan for, and ease the learning and mental health struggles that children and adolescents may be facing. Contact us today for more information on any of our services. 501-217-8600