Anna Weber Byars, PhD, ABPP-Cn

As a pediatric neuropsychologist, I provide neuropsychological evaluations for children who have epilepsy or stroke. These assessments test memory, language, motor skills, problem-solving and other functions before and after surgery or to assist in evaluating the effects of treatment.

When I was in college, I took a physiological psychology course. The connection between changes in brain and changes in behavior was – and still is – fascinating to me. I love explaining to parents, who generally already know this to be true, that what they see their children doing results from their seizures, their stroke or their treatments, and that there are solutions to work around these problems.

In my practice, I try to keep the “whole child” in mind. A child with epilepsy, for example, has the same gifts and challenges, along with additional trials, as a child without epilepsy.

Neuropsychological assessment is a great tool for informing treatment, understanding the course of the condition and helping to identify targets for intervention. It will answer questions for your child's neurologist or neurosurgeon, and it will also tell you a lot about your child and his or her behavior.

A number of years ago, I was honored to be included in the Charlotte R. Schmidlapp Women’s Scholar Program. This program continues to benefit me through networking opportunities and ongoing connections to other winners of this award, before and since.

In addition to helping patients, I’m involved in research. I collaborate with my physician colleagues on studies aimed at understanding the best ways to predict and improve disease outcomes.

In my free time, I'm usually following my three children around to soccer games, regattas or music performances. I've become a big soccer fan over the last 10 years!