Acorn Child Development and Evaluation

Acorn Child Development and Evaluation Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from Acorn Child Development and Evaluation, Psychologist, 14 Elliott Avenue, Bryn Mawr, PA.

Acorn is a strengths-based, innovative, affirming psychological evaluation center for all neurodevelopmental questions for kids aged 0-21 on the Main Line and in the Greater Philadelphia Area.

04/30/2026

🌟 Have you been told you have a 2e child? Or suspect that you might?

🧐 What is 2e anyway?

🌱 Twice‑exceptionality (2e) means a person is both gifted in one area and has a learning difference or disability in other, creating a mix of remarkable strengths and real challenges. It’s not “either/or”—it’s both at the same time, and that combination deserves to be understood, not overlooked.

🔍 An evaluation that looks closely at both sides, areas of advanced ability and areas of struggle, matters because it reveals the appropriate course of intervention to make sure this profile doesn’t fall through the cracks. It helps explain why someone can shine in one moment and feel stuck in the next, and they may need support that actually fits a pretty idiosyncratic presentation. When strengths and needs are identified together, we can build environments where 2e learners don’t just cope, they thrive.

✨ Strengths deserve nurturing. Challenges deserve support. Twice‑exceptional learners deserve both.

04/16/2026

✨ Good Inside meets Neurodivergent Kids ✨

It’s happening! For years we knew Good Inside was packed full of amazing support, but we also knew that neurodivergent kids needed their own tailored support strategies. These kids sometimes just need something different. So…we are making it!

✨ Where to start? Join and me LIVE: https://www.goodinside.com/adhd/ for a workshop on supporting the toughest moments with our kids with ADHD on April 21st at 12pm EST!

Cannot wait to see you there!
Sign up here: https://www.goodinside.com/adhd/

✨ We are incredibly proud to accept the 2026 Main Line Parent Award for Best Neurodevelopmental Evaluations ✨ 🌱 Acorn Ch...
03/24/2026

✨ We are incredibly proud to accept the 2026 Main Line Parent Award for Best Neurodevelopmental Evaluations ✨

🌱 Acorn Child Development and Evaluation may have been the new kid on the block this year, but we arrived with a clear mission and a whole lot of heart. From day one, we’ve been driven by a belief that psychological evaluations are a form of advocacy. They should feel human, strengths-based and deeply attuned to each child’s story: not rushed, not transactional, and never one‑size‑fits‑all.

What we bring to the community this year is always more than a service. We bring:

✔️Passion for helping families feel seen and understood
✔️Idealism about what this process can be when done with care
✔️ Advocacy that centers the child’s dignity and strengths
✔️ Inspiration to reimagine evaluation as a collaborative, empowering, advocacy-centered experience
✔️ A commitment to clarity, accessibility, and neurodiversity‑affirming practice

This award reflects the trust families placed in Acorn during our very first year.

⚡️ We’re humbled, energized, grounded, and excited for what comes next as we continue building a practice where children feel safe, parents feel supported, and every evaluation opens doors rather than ever narrowing possibilities.

02/18/2026

“The Re-do”-Why is this one of my favorite interventions? 🥇

1. It sets a boundary without a lecture
2. It de-escalates instead of fueling a tenuous situation
3. It preserves the relationship
4. It gives kids an opportunity to FIX what went wrong without judgment.

Sometimes I truly believe the simplest interventions can go the furthest.

🤔 What could this like look in real life?

1️⃣ Your child screams “I hate you!” and instead of screaming back or taking away dessert for a week, you can simply take a breath and say “re-do”. (You can also try a variation like, “those are big words! You can come back and try again when you’re ready”)

2️⃣Your child throws the wet towel on the floor instead of hanging it up. As they talk on and on about Minecraft and conveniently ignore the towel, you can put up a hand (to pause) and point to the towel and say “re-do”, and then allow them to continue on.

Anyone else like a lecture/yelling/nagging bypass?

Let me know below ⬇️ how this works for you! 💪

📣I had a meeting with a family today that reminded me of how much of an echo chamber I live in. One of the parents I wor...
12/15/2025

📣I had a meeting with a family today that reminded me of how much of an echo chamber I live in.

One of the parents I worked with asked “Okay, but as he gets older, we can’t just keep giving him headphones and sensory breaks; he’ll get used to it… like what about high school or college or even a job? Won’t it just be like a crutch?”

I stopped in my tracks. 🛑

I do not judge this comment. This was coming from a parent who was afraid they would not be setting their child up for success; that they would be enabling their child who would become “dependent” on support and not know how to stand on their own two feet. 👣

💭I realized that this is probably a very common thought.

This is what I said: Accommodations allow for equity. When you use a wheelchair and you have a ramp, what was inaccessible becomes accessible. Accommodations for neurodivergent children allow for this accessibility (e.g., of attention, regulation, cognitive resources, social awareness) that would otherwise simply be… well, inaccessible.

💡 Accommodations = Access.

They’re not crutches. They’re the infrastructure of inclusion.

🛑 Full stop. Your kid did not make you rage. 😤 💡 It might seem like that’s what happened, but what actually happened is ...
12/10/2025

🛑 Full stop. Your kid did not make you rage. 😤

💡 It might seem like that’s what happened, but what actually happened is that they tapped into something within you that you have not healed, explored or learned how to manage. That’s okay— it’s information for next time.

📊 But it’s important information! So often interventions focus on what we need to do to change our child, and of course, there will always be behavior to shape, tools to teach—but what we so often neglect is that our reaction is actually OUR OWN.

🤔 Next time this comes up for you- you fly off the handle, you shut down, you yell, you explode— take that information and consider what it is telling you.

🌱 What kind of work do you need to do to show up in a regulated and intentional way? The answer always starts with us.

❄️ The holidays are here and we are IN it. If you’re feeling the spiral, feeling like you’ve started to lose your footin...
11/27/2025

❄️ The holidays are here and we are IN it. If you’re feeling the spiral, feeling like you’ve started to lose your footing in the quicksand of everyone else’s expectations, traditions, and needs, I want to tell you something:

✨ You are not alone.

✨ You do not need to change your parenting to fit anyone else’s expectations this holiday season — or ever.

✨ Your child doesn’t need a different version of you- they just need you, as you are, and as you’ve always been.

🕯️ Whenever you start losing your light this season , come back here and leave a message. I’ll be sure to remind you 🤍

💪 ADHD and emotion regulation 😡 😟 This is a core oversight within the DSM-5 diagnostic categorization of ADHD as researc...
10/30/2025

💪 ADHD and emotion regulation 😡 😟

This is a core oversight within the DSM-5 diagnostic categorization of ADHD as research suggests that 70% (of adults) to 80% (of children) with ADHD struggle significantly with emotion regulation.

This can look like:
✅ affective “intensity”: feeling emotions more overwhelmingly than peers but with fewer skills to manage
✅ irritability: chronic or intermittent feelings of negativity
✅ challenge with affect recognition of others: limited awareness of the social world around them until pointed out
✅ significant dysregulation: rage, outbursts

“Ultimately, emotional dysregulation is one major reason that ADHD is subjectively difficult to manage, and why it also poses such a high risk for other problems like depression, anxiety, or negative self-medication. Scientific and clinical attention are now increasingly turning to correct the past neglect of this integral aspect of ADHD.”

This is also why when a child comes to me with suspected oppositional defiant disorder, my first diagnostic stop is always ADHD.

Do you know someone with ADHD who struggles with emotion regulation? Tell me more below ⬇️ ⬇️

(Link to article in bio)

10/16/2025

💡 The hardest thing no one tells you about parenting:

🍼 When you have your first baby, you take classes on infant CPR, changing diapers, maybe surviving labor. We have registries and showers filled with pacifiers and sleep sacks.

🧐 But when does anyone talk about the real **work**? I would trade all those new onesies for someone telling me that there is a lot of emotion regulation, intentionality, skill building, and reflection that needs to happen as a baseline for US (as parents/caregivers) before we even think about working on skills with our kids.

3️⃣ Are you familiar with this trifecta?
1. You are trying to regulate yourself
2. You are trying to problem solve a solution to whatever is making your kid spiral
3. Your kid is spiraling. And you are juggling all three of these things at once.

And NO ONE teaches you how to do this. And then you f*ck up. And then you shame spiral because you should know better, but here’s the thing:

⭐️ You can’t do better if you don’t do the work. We can pay thousands of dollars for therapy for our kids behavior modification, but nothing changes if *we* don’t change.

💪 The work is on us: it’s not our child’s problem that we don’t have these skills. It’s on us to take the initiative to reparent, to build our lagging skills, to seek the mental health support that we need and to commit to this day after day. It’s the hardest thing to face, but we also have the potential to make the biggest impact of all.

It’s time to do the work.

What does the work look like for you? ⬇️⬇️⬇️

💭 Co-parenting a neurodivergent child is a team effort - but what happens when you and your partner disagree?Whether it’...
10/08/2025

💭 Co-parenting a neurodivergent child is a team effort - but what happens when you and your partner disagree?

Whether it’s about routines, discipline, therapies, or even screen time - disagreements are normal. But constant conflict or mixed messages can leave everyone confused, anxious, or dysregulated. 💔

This post breaks down practical steps to help you:
✅ Handle disagreements without arguing in front of your child
✅ Align on what truly needs consistency
✅ Stay connected to your shared goal: your child’s well-being

You don’t have to parent exactly the same way to parent together.

👇 Drop a 💬 if this is something you’re working on — or tag a co-parent who needs to see this. ❤️ if you’re doing the best you can.

New podcast episode alert ‼️ 🚨 🙌Thank you, , for the opportunity to talk about these often misunderstood kids!Sometimes...
09/15/2025

New podcast episode alert ‼️ 🚨

🙌Thank you, , for the opportunity to talk about these often misunderstood kids!

Sometimes, the typical parenting approaches recommended by the well meaning pediatrician or teacher or [insert authority source] just do not land. They do not feel aligned and they simply are not effective. So what do you do?!

I hope this podcast episode can help clarify the “why” AND provide options for next steps for parents who feel so conflicted by the plethora of parenting programming out there.

This is not about quick fixes or “tricks” for behavior. It’s about raising kids who can handle their big feelings, and parents who can show up with confidence, calm, and connection—even in the hardest moments.

⬇️⬇️⬇️

“Want to learn more about this topic or stop questioning if you are doing enough for your child?

Become a reflective parent with Curious Neuron’s science-backed program designed to help parents build skills that lower stress, help them cope with emotions and build stronger relationships with their kids.” (Link in bio)

Address

14 Elliott Avenue
Bryn Mawr, PA
19010

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

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