My work with gifted children and adults did not start as a crusade to heal the unidentified gifted child in me, but the work is meaningful to me for many reasons. Too often, gifted children, like me, go unidentified. The unusual behaviors that are normal for gifted children are often misattributed as willfully poor behavior or having one diagnosis or another. My … [Read more...] about Dumb Kid
Paul Beljan, PsyD, ABPdN, ABN
Dr. Paul Beljan is a pediatric neuropsychologist in private practice at Beljan Psychological Services in Scottsdale, AZ. The Arizona Psychological Association selected Dr. Beljan in 2016 for the Distinguished Contribution to the Practice of Psychology Award, and he served at the Governor’s pleasure on the Arizona Board of Psychological Examiners. He holds child and adult diplomate certifications with the American Board of Pediatric Neuropsychology (ABPdN) and the American Board of Professional Neuropsychology (ABN). Dr. Beljan is a past president of and has held nearly every executive office for ABPdN. In 2016, he completed a postdoctoral master’s degree in psychopharmacology from New Mexico State University. His professional focus is on Gifted Intelligence, Alcohol/Drug Related Neurodevelopmental Deficit (A/DRND), Learning Disorders, Traumatic Brain Injury, Physical and Emotional Trauma, and Attention and Executive Functioning Deficit and associated interventions. His hospital-based work in pediatric psychology and pediatric neuropsychology has included traumatic brain injury assessment, pain management and trauma recovery with children suffering from burns, various forms of cancer, sickle cell anemia, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, cerebral palsy, cleft palate, Alcohol/Drug Related Neurodevelopmental Deficit (A/DRND), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and learning disorders. He also evaluated thousands of infants in neonatology clinics.
Dr. Beljan is an expert in evaluating and understanding gifted children and their common misdiagnoses and dual diagnoses. Along with Dr. James Webb, Dr. Beljan coauthored Misdiagnosis and Dual Diagnosis of Gifted Children and Adults: ADHD, Bipolar, OCD, Depression, and Other Disorders. He also coauthored Large Scale Brain Systems and Neuropsychological Assessment: An Effort to Move Forward and has published numerous chapters and articles in various publications about gifted children, learning disorders, and executive functioning. Dr. Beljan is a past president of the American Board of Pediatric Neuropsychology and serves on the 2e Newsletter editorial board.
www.beljanpsych.com