Florida Neuropsych Assoc

Great video on managing the effects of a concussion both at school and at home 🤕🤕

Brain 101: What's A Concussion Studies have shown effective concussion management requires a school-wide approach. Brain 101: The Concussion Playbook is a web-based concussion management p...

Pro tip:

Jurors don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care🤗

Yes the letters at the end of my name, my experience, my credentials, my expertise and knowledge are all important 👩🏽🎓👩🏽🎓

But when testifying before a jury, if you come across as arrogant, stand-off-ish or just plain weird, none of those things matter 😳😳

Most importantly:
Connect with the Jury 😊

How:
Make Eye contact with each juror 👀

Don’t get defensive or argue 😱😱

Practice:
Ask someone how you come across when speaking 🗣️🗣️
(Not a spouse or someone you employ/manage)

Sincerity, empathy, and kindness matter even in a court of law 👩🏽⚖️👩🏽⚖️

I’m looking forward to teaming up with law students at the NSU Shepard Broad College of Law 👩🏽⚖️👩🏽⚖️

This grant is the perfect integration of my skills as a forensic neuropsychologist 🔀🔀

Know your Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI) Diagnostic Criteria 🤕

The American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine (ACRM) recently revised (2023) the Diagnostic Criteria for a Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI)

*The diagnostic label "concussion" may be used interchangeably with "Mild TBI" when neuroimaging is normal or is not clinically indicated 😷

1) One or more clinical signs attributable to a brain injury 🚗
- head being struck with an object
- head striking a hard object or surface
- brain undergoing acceleration/deceleration movement without direct contact
- forces generated from a blast or explosion

2) At least 2 acute symptoms and at least one clinical or laboratory finding attributable to the brain injury 🏥
- loss of consciousness immediately following the injury evidenced by reduced responsiveness, slowness, agitated behavior, difficulty following two-part commands or disorientation
- complete or partial amnesia for events immediately following the injury
- Altered mental status (e.g., feeling confused and/or dazed), physical symptoms (e.g., headache or balance problems), cognitive (difficulty concentrating or memory problems) or emotional symptoms (e.g., mood swings or irritability)

3) Neuroimaging evidence of TBI ⚕
- UNAMBIGUOUS trauma-related intracranial abnormalities on computed tomography or structural MRI

A Neuropsychologist can help identify those cognitive (thinking) and emotional problems a client is experiencing after a mild TBI or identify those confounding factors in the records such as a pre-existing or co-occurring medical condition (e.g., stroke, alcohol abuse or chronic kidney disease) that can better account for the symptoms 🧐

Source:
https://lnkd.in/e4_QkUGA

Deposition Do's and Don'ts 👩⚖️

1) The transcript may last the length of your career, always available for possible impeachment 😳
* I have had opposing counsel state, "I read a previous deposition..."
Usually it relates to the time I have spent conducting clinical evaluations versus forensic evaluations and/or plaintiff vs. defense work

2) Depositions require special forms of answers to questions, alertness, breaks, and focus on the court reporter rather than on the deposing attorney 💻
* A common tactic is wearing down the witness with an 8 hour deposition
*I verbalize at the onset that I have only been paid for (insert amount of time) and must end at (insert time) and give notice at 30 minutes before my time is up
*If the deposing attorney has more questions, then you have to pay and schedule for more of my time
*Direct answers to questions to the court reporter and always define/spell out an acronym, a test/measure, or a medication

3) If you do not feel tired and drained by the end of the deposition, you were not paying close enough attention 😪
*Always exhausting so I prefer to schedule the depo at the end of the day

4) Maintain your calm. If opposing attorneys go at it with each other, do nothing; just sit there until it is over 😆
* This is always a valuable learning experience

5) Don't interrupt or answer before the deposing attorney has finished speaking 🤐
* Opposing counsel may change the final words of the question mid-sentence

6) Getting you to guess or speculate is a favorite attorney tactic, which should be resisted. You should never fear to admit "I don't know." 🤷♀️
* It is also OK to say when asked a seemingly innocuous question, to respond with "That is outside of the scope of my evaluation" or "I cannot assume what they were thinking; however, the results of my evaluation suggest..." (always repeating what opposing counsel does not want to hear)

7) Do ask to "Read" the deposition when the transcript is ready 📑
* Re-read the depo before the trial

😎 Prepare. Prepare. Prepare. 📝
*Rehearse your testimony.
*Supply the attorney with potentially troublesome questions and review your CV

9) Wait to see if the retaining attorney wants to object to the new form before answering 🛑
*Pay close attention to the objection, which may provide indirect advice on a useful answer

10) Resist efforts to "teach" no matter how great you need your ego massaged 🤫
*Simple "Yes" and "No" answers are preferred to an extensive discourse
*Short answers are always best
* When in doubt, ask the deposing attorney to repeat the question

11) Do not assume the attorney's quote or reading is correct; ask to see the citation, the document, or transcript 🔍
*Do not be shy to take time to think, to review documents that are alluded to in a question, or to check medical records
*I have also stopped to say, "Let me look that up before responding"

Source: Deposition Dos and Don'ts: Strategies for the Expert Witness by Thomas G. Gutheil

A funny and educational video to teach selective attention 😂

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