“Nichole - I wanted to take a moment to say thank you not only for turning this around quickly for us but for your support. We want you to know how much your thoughtfulness, encouragement, and passion have inspired us in advocating for for our son. In the past couple of years, we have become more connected to other parents who are looking to find their way fighting the system. Many of which we have seen “go along” and sometimes give up. Your personal story and success with your son as well as the teaching you have provided has been instrumental in fortifying us in what can feel like an uphill battle at times. The great news is that our son is doing extremely well. His confidence is high and his results are very strong in school. This coupled with insight into his learning differences has made all the difference in the world to how he feels about himself. You have been the foundation to making this happen. I know this is your passion, but you also should hear what a difference you have made to our family. Thank you.”

“Dr. Dawson has been my lifesaver and my son’s. Every time I do something involved with special ed, it brings back memories of the eight years my son was in elementary/Jr. High where I listened to every teacher/pediatrician tell me there was nothing wrong with my son. Until I found Dr. Dawson. I knew from day one she would figure it out and she did. She made me feel so comfortable the first time we met, and at a time when I felt like I was going to have a nervous breakdown. All of the extra times I have emailed her, Dr. Dawson has been there for us. And I know she will be there for us thru college. I would never want to work with anyone else, and I feel comfortable that every decision she makes for my son is the right one. I remember Dr. Dawson getting me through my first IEP meeting when I had no idea what I was doing, and now she is directing me (in another IEP meeting) two years later. I’m sure I will be contacting her again, and I know she will be there for us. Our son’s entire life until he was diagnosed felt like a job for me to figure out what was wrong with him, and since his diagnosis, it has been so fun to work with him and help him along the way knowing everything will turn out okay. Thank-you!”

“Dr. Dawson has been instrumental in our ability to procure the most appropriate services for our children. Her evaluations and reports are incredibly thorough and really captured each of our children’s strengths as well as their difficulties. Although our children have such diverse personalities, Dr. Dawson has a lovely, compassionate manner and has been able to develop a great repoire with each one of them.”

“The diagnosis is only the starting point. What do we do now? As my daughter opened college acceptance after college acceptance, I thought back to when we first realized at age six months, her developmental path was different. She wasn’t able to put weight on her legs like the other babies could. With low muscle tone, she was late to walk and talk, and at age 4, diagnosed with complex language processing and learning disabilities.

Nichole has been an invaluable resource to our family from the time our daughter first saw her at age 4 through helping with her IEP transition to college. Her evaluations were thorough, she really listened to our observation, and most importantly gave us specific practical suggestions on therapies, approaches, school accommodations, and the best clinicians in the field.

Nichole’s strength is that she provides not only the diagnosis, but the proven, practical, tangible actions and resources to remediate and accommodate learning differences. Learning disabilities can be extremely difficult to diagnose and treat, and require a skilled and experienced practitioner to understand the nuances of your child and recommend the best approaches. She is also very collaborative and really listens to and values your input, knowing that you know your own child the best. You don’t want to waste your money, or your child’s time, with approaches that are incorrect or ineffective. Nichole has the ability to provide you with a thorough plan. She has been a source of strength, encouragement, and direction on the journey that is raising an LD child. She is in class of her own in this arena.

A sidenote—Nichole was the first person I turned to when our daughter had a serious mental health issue related to a medication change. She spent hours on the phone and computer researching options for us and was a rock for us during the most difficult period of our lives. ”

“We had Nichole evaluate our daughter after we had some concerns about her development when she was four. Now 6 years later, her diagnosis, evaluation of her strengths and needs stands strong. We were able to advocate for her and give her the tools she needed to be successful thanks to Nichole’s guidance and recommendations. She was spot on on her developmental difficulties but most importantly helped us pinpoint her strengths and work on developing those as well. I would highly recommend her as she has a great gift for really tapping into what is going on with young children. Although we have moved away we will return to the Chicago area to have her do an evaluation on our son who has some developmental differences. ”

“For the past 14 years Dr. Dawson has provided our family with pediatric neuropsychology services for each of our three children. Dr. Dawson’s evaluations have guided and followed our children through grade school, high school and into some of the finest universities this country has to offer.

Dr. Dawson’s has always done excellent work – her in depth knowledge, expertise in dyslexia and insights have taught us as parents a tremendous amount about each child and about our role as their advocate. Their individual evaluations have opened the door to our understanding of their strengths and areas of struggle (ADHD, Anxiety, Dyslexia). Dr. Dawson’s differential diagnosis suggested educational plans which have provided us a road map for effective remediation, supplemental instruction and educational tools.

Dr. Dawson has always been compassionate and thorough in her meetings to discuss evaluation results. In addition she has always been available and supportive to us during any IEP or 504-review process period. She has been and continues to be a tremendous resource.

In Summary our 14-year relationship with Dr. Dawson has been instrumental in the maturation of three healthy, confident and successful students who are able to advocate and overcome or mitigate their learning challenges.”

“Nichole has been instrumental in helping me identify my children’s learning disabilities as well how to help them. Her reports are so comprehensive that it allowed me to ask for support, as needed, in the school. She takes the time to explain everything and make sure we understand. She has a wealth of resources and is always there to help with any questions we may have. She goes above and beyond at all times. She has tested each of my children many times throughout the years and there is no one else I would have do this. She is wonderful with my children and has been there for us every step of the way. ”

“Dr. Dawson has helped our family on numerous times over the years. I can’t say enough wonderful things about her. She is smart, well organized and empathetic. She took the time to get to know my son (who is on the Autism spectrum), in order to make him comfortable and make the testing more accurate and therefore, more meaningful. My son actually looked forward to his testing sessions and he considers Dr. Dawson a friend. She is very helpful to families and is an advocate for student’s rights. She made a huge difference in our experience with the school district and government agencies, because she gave us everything we needed to support our requests. She is a valuable asset and I am so grateful that she was part of our team. ”

“I highly recommend Dr. Nichole Dawson. She has evaluated my nine year old daughter, and I plan to continue to use her services throughout my daughter’s entire educational journey. After many years of struggling to figure out exactly what was challenging our daughter, I finally have a very clear picture of her strengths and weaknesses, along with excellent recommendations on ways to help her. I wish I would had been able to have this evaluation sooner. I now have useful tools in my toolbox to assist my daughter. Dr. Dawson is bright, thoughtful, and very sensitive to children and parents equally. She has a great understanding of children, development, and how they are affected by learning environments. Dr. Dawson is extremely thorough and personable. She wants to empower you with knowledge of the law and educational rights as well as provide advocacy support to help you in your efforts to secure services within the educational setting if your child needs help, and should qualify for special services. She also knows best practices to be used with your child. I have been told by my pediatrician and my daughter’s developmental pediatrician that Dr. Dawson is ‘The Best.’ My daughter’s teacher and school speech pathologist commented that Dr. Dawson’s evaluation report is the most useful report they have ever read. The report created a picture of my daughter and included the strategies and curriculum that would allow my daughter to have a successful educational plan. After the evaluation, everyone involved with my daughter had a much better sense of her strengths, struggles, and the strategies she uses to cope, as well as some ideas for helping her manage in school and at home. This was the best money I ever spent. Dr. Dawson came highly recommended to us from a number of sources and we weren’t disappointed. She made a difference in my child’s life that I appreciate more than she will ever know.”

“After looking for a neuropsychologist who could diagnose Dyslexia, we were referred to the office of Dr. Nichole Dawson by Leslie Murphy, owner of Resourceful Academics and Literacy Specialist, for ‘being the best in the area when it comes to Dyslexia.’ Our referral proved to be true.

Nichole completed an elaborate 8-hour evaluation on our 2nd grade son. She quickly established a good rapport with our entire family, which made the process straightforward and comfortable for all. She confirmed our suspicions that our son is in fact Dyslexic, as well as having Dysgraphia and Dyscalculia (both new terms for us at the time). Dr. Dawson’s connection with our son was impeccable. After our first day in her office my son said, ‘Nichole is a very nice woman!’

Once the evaluation was complete, she spent hours with my husband and I reviewing the diagnosis in her office. Nichole’s knowledge of Dyslexia is extensive. It is very evident that this is an area of expertise and passion. Couple that with her personal experience, being the mom of a Dyslexic child, her professional opinion combined with her unique perspective are truly invaluable.

My husband and I left Nichole’s office feeling knowledgeable and empowered about our future journey with our son. Dr. Dawson’s support continued, thanks to her very detailed, professional report and ongoing communication. Dr. Dawson’s report included all of her background research, our experiences at home and at school, the evaluation findings and her recommendations on what to include in our son’s IEP (current and in the future). Not only did she provide us with a roadmap for the future, Nichole also took the time to speak with different professionals at our son’s school, while suggesting best practices to motivate and help children with Dyslexia.

Nichole’s support and capabilities in helping our son thankfully did not conclude with the evaluation. She is willing to keep an open dialogue, which has been instrumental as we navigate the best plan for our son. I would highly recommend Dr. Dawson to any and all families, especially those parents of Dyslexic children. ”

“As a Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist, I know how vital it is to choose the right professional to do an an assessment on a child. When I realized that my youngest son had problems with his language development, I sought out the expertise of the best pediatric neuropsychologist that I knew; Dr Dawson. Her insights and exhaustive list of recommended interventions, including specialized education, put him on a path of success that he would never have achieved without her wise counsel. Diagnostic clarification at the youngest age possible by a skilled clinician is essential in mapping out a child’s educational plan. My son has a complex set of disabilities and challenges but with Dr Dawson’s guidance over the past five years, it feels straightforward and manageable. ”

“I first came to know Dr. Nichole Dawson as the author of several valued reports of patients I was seeing. The first impression I had of her was of a very well informed, well-researched writer who was an authority on ‘grey area kids’ that formerly had been mis-represented by standard assessments. I found her conclusions from data to be insightful, and not just numbers on a page. Her recommendations were also spot-on, and contained a wealth of resources intended for the readers of the final report (be it teachers or medical support staff or mental health providers). When I eventually met Nichole several years after accumulating her carefully thought out reports, I realized that in person she was all of the intellect plus the warmth and genuine caring that her reports may not have captured. If I were to send my own child for a complete neuropsychological evaluation, Nichole would be my go-to pediatric psychologist. Once you spend time with her discussing your child you will feel as if she understands what you have been trying to relay to others for oh-so-long. She will work tirelessly on behalf of your child and stay with your family for the duration, be that a several month window or a several years later follow-up. We now share many of the same students pre-therapy or post-evaluation and we take great pride in discussing successful outcomes as a result of finally depicting and treating a child within a framework of research-based approaches. I highly recommend you work with Nichole for your child’s betterment in the domains of educational, social, and emotional goals. ”

“As tutors who specialize in evidence-based remediation, we are always pleased when one of our students has an evaluation from Dr. Dawson. Evaluations are comprehensive and contain both the quantitative and the qualitative information parents are seeking. She educates and empowers parents and their children. Her expertise and referral base are unmatched. Nichole knows her patients.​ Specific recommendations helps us provide targeted intervention.”

“Whenever possible, I recommend Dr Dawson to my patients who need a neurocognitive evaluation. She is highly skilled with children and adolescents with complex medical, emotional and educational issues and provides thorough and detailed evaluations and recommendations. Dr Dawson is truly a neuropsychologist - an expert in the administration and interpretation of the tests designed to help you understand how your child’s brain works. Many general psychologists claim to offer this testing; however, unless you are with a provider whose sole practice is neuropsychology, patients often receive an inadequate evaluation. I have complete confidence in the reports I receive from Dr Dawson.”