The Thinking Center of Sarasota is excited to have three psychologists on staff. Dr. Shawn J. Mandel is a Licensed School Psychologist with over ten years of experience working professionally in Florida. Dr. Noelle Delacruz joined the staff in 2019 and Michele Messina joined the center in 2020.

If you have concerns regarding your child’s learning and/or mental health and school interventions haven’t closed the gap, we can help identify why this occurring. A comprehensive psychological evaluation may be warranted to help inform intervention. We aim to help students feel comfortable about the testing process and break up the sessions if necessary.

Our comprehensive psychological evaluations can include procedures to address any of the following:

Dyslexia Screening
Gifted Testing
Academic Achievement Testing
Cognitive Processing (i.e., Determining strengths & weaknesses in one’s cognitive profile)
Learning Disability
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
Emotional/Behavioral Functioning

What is Dyslexia?

“Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is neurobiological in origin. It is characterized by difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities. These difficulties typically result from a deficit in the phonological component of language that is often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities and the provision of effective classroom instruction. Secondary consequences may include problems in reading comprehension and reduced reading experience that can impede growth of vocabulary and background knowledge.”

Defined by the International Dyslexia Association.

Facts About Dyslexia (From the International Dyslexia Association)

As many as 15–20% of the population may be dyslexic
Dyslexia occurs in people of all backgrounds and intellectual levels
Boys & girls are equally affected
Dyslexia is hereditary (parents with dyslexia are likely to have children with dyslexia and may often recognize the signs before educators notice a problem in the classroom)
People with dyslexia can be very bright (often gifted in areas such as art, computer science, design, drama, electronics, math, mechanics, music, physics, sales, and sports)
A Structured Literacy curriculum (multi-sensory, systematic, explicit instruction) will benefit dyslexic learners