NCS Alumnae Connection Sparks a Summer Internship

During the summer, NCS senior Alison Cenname '16 interned in the Child Development Clinic at Children's National Medical Center. NCS students frequently participate in internships, but what made this special was her work with NCS alumna Dr. Penny Glass '59. 

Earlier in the school year, Alison met with Director of Alumnae Relations Laura Legg to talk about alumnae in her chosen field of interest: psychology. Armed with contact names from Ms. Legg, Alison reached out to several alumnae, including Penny, a developmental psychologist who is the head of the Child Development Clinic, which evaluates children up to 4 years of age. Alison was delighted by Penny’s reply, inviting her to come to the hospital clinic and shadow the psychologists.

Developmental evaluations are prompted by a variety of reasons, such as babies who needed intensive care because they were born early or young children with complex heart problems needing open-heart surgery or a transplant. Some children may have a genetic or neurological condition, such as Down syndrome or seizure disorder. Other children develop milestones more slowly in areas such as attention, memory, communication, social engagement, motor skills, and adaptive behavior.

Alison spent a week in July at the Developmental Clinic. She observed clinic psychologists and their patients, whose ages range from nearly newborns to 3 years old. Sitting in on daily meetings, Alison observed the psychologists as they reviewed the profiles of their patients. Discussion points included medical and health records, information from the initial telephone intake capturing the family’s concerns, and other key details. Using the one-way mirror, Alison would watch along with trainees as the psychologists provided each child a series of tasks with different “toys” in order to try and figure out the child’s threshold of success and challenge in each area. 

 

An important part of the evaluation includes the parent’s report of the child’s play and routines at home. After the evaluation, the psychologists discuss with the parents the child’s strengths and challenges along with ways to further support the child’s development at home or daycare. If indicated, they may refer the child for home-based early intervention in their community. With more complex cases, they would discuss with the family’s pediatrician whether further medical evaluation is indicated.   

On her final day, Alison spoke with Penny about her time at NCS as well as her experience as a psychologist. Penny showed Alison the NICU, where she saw babies who weighed less than 2 pounds. Alison remarked, “It was a great way to see what some developmental/clinical psychologists actually do.”

Alison was grateful for this opportunity as she considers possible careers, and for the chance to engage in a work environment. While there, she encountered some difficult cases, but was thankful that the clinic staff trusted her with the experience of observing the evaluations, while maintaining confidentiality.

Alison shares, “Now that I have gotten my feet wet in clinical aspects of psychology, I hope to expose myself to the research aspect of psychology, which is a growing interest of mine. [The student internship] was a wonderful experience, and was even more special since Dr. Glass went to NCS.”