NY PALS - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Director of Applied Behavior Analytic Services
Ashley is a NYS Certified Early Childhood General and Special Education teacher and Board Certified and Licensed Behavior Analyst (BCBA, LBA). She has over 15 years of experience in utilizing the principles of Applied Behavior Analysis in the treatment of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders, ranging from 18 months through 16 years old. After receiving a master's degree in Early Childhood special and General Education (MSEd) at Hunter College, she continued on to pursue certification and licensure as a behavior analyst. Ashley then served as a field supervisor and adjunct lecturer in both the Early Childhood Special Education and BCBA certification programs at Hunter College.
In her role at PALS, Ashley coordinates teams of seasoned behavior analysts who provide direct applied behavior analytic (ABA) services to children with Autism Spectrum Disorders and related disorders. With a focus on helping families in transition, she supervises school and home-based programs, coordinates school-based interventions, and provides families and staff with training and support.
Dr. Caitlin Parry earned her doctoral and master's degree in clinical psychology from Antioch University and her bachelor's degree from Emory University. She completed her pre-doctoral internship at the Institute of Living/Hartford Hospital where she provided individual, group, and family psychotherapy and assessment to children and adolescents on an inpatient and outpatient basis. She also provided consultation liaison services at Connecticut Children's Medical Center.
Prior to PALS, Dr. Parry has worked in several diverse settings, including inpatient psychiatric units, therapeutic schools, a children's hospital, a college counseling center, and independent practice. Dr. Parry has particular interest and expertise in therapeutic assessment, personality assessment, child-directed feedback, adolescent development, and cognitive interpersonal therapy. Dr. Parry is committed to serving children, adolescents, and their families and providing the highest level of evidence-based care and assessment. In addition to her clinical work, Dr. Parry is on the junior board of the Chick Mission, a non-profit organization that is focused on critical issues unique to young cancer patients, including fertility challenges that may follow after treatment
Dr. David Salsberg is a licensed clinical neuropsychologist in Manhattan, an Adjunct Clinical Assistant Professor of Neuropsychology at Weill Cornell Medical College in the Department of Neurological Surgery, and a Clinical Instructor at The NYU School of Medicine in the Departments of Pediatrics. Dr. Salsberg is the Director of Pediatric Assessment, Learning, and Support, a multidisciplinary group practice in Manhattan. He is the former Associate Director of Pediatric Psychology and Neuropsychology at NYU Langone Medical Center's Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation, and The Center for Children, as well as Coordinator of Psychosocial Services and Pediatric Psychology at The Stephen D. Hassenfeld Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders. In addition to therapy and treatment, his practice specializes in conducting neuropsychological and educational evaluations for children; as well as school consultation and advocacy. Over the past 20 plus years Dr. Salsberg has worked with children of all ages and their families with various physical, developmental, neurological, psychological and learning disabilities. In teaching and clinical work his primary focus is always on the proper assessment, diagnosis and appropriate educational and treatment recommendations for each child. Dr. Salsberg's experience with acquired brain injury and concussion has led to his collaboration with Weill Cornell Medical College, as well as working with the team physicians conducting the annual pre-season concussion screenings with the NY Giants.
Dr. Salsberg has published numerous articles and chapters, led research initiatives, and has presented at grand rounds and conferences at numerous hospitals, schools and institutions around the country. Dr. Salsberg has served as an expert reviewer for numerous professional journals, including The Journal of Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine. Dr. Salsberg has also served as an expert witness in civil, federal and criminal court cases, in addition to many educational law hearings. He has been interviewed on topics such as child development, neuropsychological evaluations, autism and trauma on radio and in various periodicals including The New York Times: Science Times, and New York Magazine; and has been featured on Keeping Kids Healthy on PBS channel thirteen.
In addition to clinical work, Dr. Salsberg helped develop and serves on the board of a number of not-for-profit organizations. Daniel's Music Foundation is a non-profit organization that provides free music programs for people with disabilities in the New York City area. Dr. Salsberg serves on numerous professional advisory boards, including two special education schools in Manhattan, namely The Gateway School and the Reece School; as well as The IDEAL School, which is a private school in Manhattan committed to an inclusion model of education. Dr. Salsberg also serves on the professional advisory board of The Meeting House, an after-school program for children with special needs; as well as on the Professional Advisory Boards of Ramapo for Children, The New York Center for Child Development (NYCCD) and The New York Center for Infants and Toddlers (NYCIT).
Jordan Zelinger, Psy.D., is a New York State Licensed Psychologist and Certified School Psychologist with experience working with individuals of a variety of ages from preschool through college and beyond. He has experience performing neuropsychological evaluations on children and young adults with diverse presentations and working as a school psychologist in a public school on Long Island serving grades 7-12. His specialty is the evaluation and treatment of adolescents with neurodevelopmental, academic, and/or social emotional needs.
Dr. Zelinger earned his Psy.D. and M.S.Ed. in School-Clinical Psychology from Pace University in New York City. He completed several year-long internships in Long Island school districts, and he completed his pre-doctoral internship at the Mount Sinai Adolescent Health Center- a free outpatient clinic that provides psychological services to individuals in and around New York City.
Dr. Michael Trush is a licensed clinical neuropsychologist in Manhattan and a full-time staff member at Pediatric Assessment, Learning & Support (PALS). Dr. Trush received his Doctorate and Master's degrees in Child Clinical and School Psychology from Pace University. He completed his pre-doctoral clinical internship at The New York Center for Child Development (NYCCD).
In addition to his work at PALS, Dr. Trush conducts pre-season and in-season baseline and post-concussion evaluations for players of the New York Giants. In addition to his clinical work, Dr. Trush is one of the co-founders of Daniel's Music Foundation, a non-profit organization that provides music programs for individuals with developmental and physical disabilities in the New York City area.
Dr. Perry Sandrock is currently a licensed Staff Psychologist at Pediatric Assessment, Learning & Support (PALS), where she conducts neuropsychological, psychoeducational, and developmental evaluations with children and adolescents. She also maintains a caseload of therapy patients with whom she provides highly specific treatment modalities and evidence-based interventions to meet their needs. Her treatment approaches include cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), psychodynamic psychotherapy, family therapy, and play therapy. She incorporates mindfulness-based strategies across all ages and presenting problems. Dr. Sandrock completed training workshops in Trauma Focused-Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) and Internal Family Systems (IFS). Dr. Sandrock specializes in youth struggling with anxiety, adjustment disorders, mood and behavioral problems, and social-emotional difficulties.
Dr. Sandrock received her Master's and Doctoral Degrees in Clinical Child and School Psychology from Pace University in New York City. She completed her pre-doctoral internship at NYU Langone Health Pediatric Rusk Rehabilitation, where she provided brief supportive psychotherapy to individuals and their families during their stay on an acute inpatient medical rehabilitation unit. At Rusk, Dr. Sandrock worked closely with her interdisciplinary team of medical doctors, nurses, child-life specialists, physical therapists, speech-language pathologists, and occupational therapists to ensure optimal treatment. During her doctoral training, she worked closely with students with disabilities in various school districts. She provided therapy and coordinated transition services for students with disabilities who were preparing for graduation. Her interest in evaluations began as an extern in child and adolescent psychiatric hospitals in New York State, and she completed her postdoctoral training here at PALS.
Outside of PALS, Dr. Sandrock is an adjunct instructor in the school-clinical child psychology program at Pace University. In addition, she teaches courses about happiness and psychological well-being at the New York School for Interior Design.
Job Titles:
- Consultant for Understood.Org
Laura J. Tagliareni, Ph.D. is a pediatric neuropsychologist with a specialty practice in Manhattan focusing on neuropsychological, psychoeducational, and developmental evaluations.
Dr. Tagliareni's patients range in age from 2 years old through young adulthood and present with a broad range of developmental delays, learning differences, complex medical conditions, and social-emotional challenges. She provides comprehensive individualized assessments and tailored treatment options to ensure accurate diagnoses and optimal outcomes. As an advocate for her patients, Dr. Tagliareni has over a decade of experience participating in IEP meetings, consulting with schools and educators, and serving as an expert witness at DOE impartial hearings. At her Manhattan practice, Dr. Tagliareni supervises a team of psychologists and postdoctoral fellows and maintains a small caseload of therapy patients.
Dr. Tagliareni's clinical background includes the evaluation and treatment of children, adolescents, and adults with developmental delays, learning disabilities, mood disorders (e.g., anxiety), ADHD, Autism as well as neurological (e.g., epilepsy), acquired (e.g., traumatic brain injury), and medical conditions (e.g., cancer, brain tumors). She has extensive multicultural training and has worked with at-risk populations in the tri-state area and abroad.
She completed her internship at the Rusk Institute for Rehabilitative Medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center where she provided evaluations, therapy, and cognitive remediation for patients with acquired and complex medical conditions. Her postdoctoral fellowship in pediatric neuropsychology at the Hassenfeld Children's Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders at NYU Langone Medical Center provided specialized training in evaluating and treating patients with oncological, neurooncological, and hematological conditions. She conducted neuropsychological evaluations and provided individual, group, and bereavement therapy. She ensured that her patients secured the services that they needed, helped patients reenter the school system following treatment, and consulted with and advised educators and related service providers. At Hassenfeld, Dr. Tagliareni held a faculty position and became the Coordinator of Psychosocial Services. Dr. Tagliareni was also involved in several research studies investigating the impacts of cancer and its treatments. She has several publications and has presented at national and international medical conferences on neuropsychological evaluations, navigating the special education system, and the late effects of cancer treatments. She was also an adjunct faculty member at Seton Hall University where she taught undergraduate and graduate courses in psychology, child development, and research methods.
In addition to her private practice, Dr. Tagliareni is a consultant for Understood.org, an online resource for parents of children with learning and attention challenges. She is also on the advisory board for The Meeting House Afterschool program, a recreational afterschool and weekend program that provides a community for children who need help with social-emotional growth and socialization skills and Rip Rap Friends which helps children cope with their cancer diagnosis.
Job Titles:
- Certified Special Education Teacher
- Director of Educational Support Services & Learning Specialist
Randall Klein is a certified special education teacher with a focus on executive functioning and literacy skills. She graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in Organizational Studies and received her master's in Special Education at Hunter College. Over the last decade, she has worked in both the public and private school sectors as a teacher, learning specialist, administrator, and curriculum consultant. In addition, she has worked with top executive functioning and coaching organizations and led multiple professional development workshops to support diverse learners. She is thrilled to join the PALS team and offer support to students, helping them gain an awareness of their strengths and opportunities for growth. Students who work with Randall will develop a tool kit of strategies and learn skills that are transferable to all subjects and beyond the classroom. With extensive knowledge of learning interventions, Randall enables students to improve their confidence and performance in the classroom.