Pediatric Neuropsychology Fellowship Program

The postdoctoral fellowship in pediatric neuropsychology is a member of the Association of Postdoctoral Programs in Clinical Neuropsychology (APPCN). Please see the APPCN website for more information. Our program shares the mission of APPCN provided below:

The mission of the Association of Postdoctoral Programs in Clinical Neuropsychology (APPCN) is to offer the highest quality competency-based residency training in clinical neuropsychology with an emphasis on preparation for future specialty board certification though the American Board of Professional Psychology/American Board of Clinical Neuropsychology (ABPP/ABCN). APPCN specifies a unified competency-based curriculum for residency training programs in clinical neuropsychology. APPCN offers unique and specific resources to APPCN member programs and trainees that support professional development, as well as the competent and ethical practice of clinical neuropsychology. APPCN provides a national match process to facilitate the application and interviewing process for postdoctoral training in clinical neuropsychology.

APPCN is committed to maintaining both an awareness of and response to issues that impact residency training in clinical neuropsychology. APPCN embraces the Houston Guidelines as a model for training in clinical neuropsychology. APPCN views the American Board of Professional Psychology diploma in Clinical Neuropsychology (ABPP-CN) as the clearest demonstration of peer-reviewed competence to practice clinical neuropsychology. APPCN Member Programs commit to a curriculum, training resources, and training opportunities that support APPCN graduates in their pursuit of ABPP-CN.

Post-doctoral fellows will work and train at Seattle Children’s Hospital in Seattle, Washington. Ranked as one of the top children’s hospitals in the country by U.S. News & World Report, Seattle Children's is a large tertiary care center and accredited institution which sees patients and families from the WWAMI region (Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho) as well as patients from across the country and the world.

Seattle Children's serves a diverse patient population including a large proportion of patients from underserved communities, such as ethnic and racial minorities; non-English proficient patients and families; economically disadvantaged families; and rural populations from the WWAMI region. The hospital specializes in meeting the unique physical, emotional and developmental needs of children from infancy through young adulthood regardless of their family’s ability to pay. In fiscal year 2024, Seattle Children's provided uncompensated care to many patients at a total cost of $280,000,000. Over 50% of patients are on Medicaid. 

Seattle Children's includes nine pediatric neuropsychologists, five of which are currently board certified in clinical neuropsychology through ABPP/ABCN. The neuropsychology program is housed within Seattle Children's Neurosciences Center. Supervision will be provided by Seattle Children's staff pediatric neuropsychologists as well as University of Washington School of Medicine faculty pediatric neuropsychologists who are deployed full time to Seattle Children's. The supervising neuropsychologists include a diverse group of providers including differences in gender, race/ethnicity, sexual identity, languages spoken and socio-economic background. The neuropsychology service receives referrals from throughout the hospital including neurology, neurosurgery, rehabilitation, hematology/oncology, neurodevelopment, sports medicine and genetics. Patient care will include outpatient and inpatient opportunities.

Fellows will be provided with a shared office, work computer, Seattle Children's-issued laptop and full access to Seattle Children's libraries and facilities.

The postdoctoral fellowship consists of two years of full-time training in neuropsychology. The fellow’s time will include approximately 60-70% clinical work and supervision, 10-20% educational activities and 10-20% research. The program includes administrative and scheduling support. Fellows will work with the fellowship director, clinical supervisors and a research mentor.  

The training experiences during the fellowship are designed to provide a breadth and depth of experiences providing neuropsychological care to many pediatric populations representing diversity in terms of race/ethnicity, languages spoken, socio-economic background, geographic location, developmental level, behavioral needs and psychiatric complexity. Please see our website for additional information about populations we see.

These are not limited to but include:

• Autoimmune disorders
• Brain tumors
• Cancer
• Cerebral palsy
• Chronic neuromuscular illnesses
• Concussion
• Epilepsy/epilepsy surgery
• Genetic conditions
• Heart conditions
• Hypoxic/anoxic injuries
• Multiple sclerosis
• Neurological infections
• Sickle cell disease
• Stroke
• Traumatic brain injuries

The fellow will receive training in inpatient and outpatient neuropsychological assessment of a wide range of pediatric populations. In addition to completing outpatient evaluations with patients from a variety of referral sources, specialty training opportunities are available for epilepsy surgery (including functional MRI, cortical brain mapping, and awake surgeries), brain tumor, concussion, neurofibromatosis, spina bifida, sickle cell disease, stroke, multiple sclerosis, inpatient rehabilitation and neurocritical care (inpatient and outpatient follow-up). The fellow will participate in approximately three days of clinical work per week (60-70% of their total time to include face-to-face patient interaction and supervision). Outpatient rotations will typically include two comprehensive neuropsychological evaluations per week and a half day clinic that may include consultation, multi-disciplinary clinic or abbreviated assessments depending on clinical need and the fellow’s interests. The second year will include an inpatient rehabilitation and/or consultation rotation. Additional specialty experiences can be developed based on the fellow’s interests. 

Outpatient Neuropsychological Evaluations: The fellow will complete outpatient neuropsychological evaluations with pediatric populations presenting with complex medical histories. Referral populations include but are not limited to epilepsy/epilepsy surgery, concussion, moderate to severe traumatic brain injury (TBI), stroke, brain tumor, other cancers, cardiovascular diseases, genetic disorders, spina bifida, cerebral palsy and sickle cell disease. Evaluations will be tailored to the needs of the patient and the referral question and will include full-day comprehensive evaluations as well as targeted testing batteries (e.g., infant and preschool assessments, concussion, screening evaluations). Evaluations will include in-person testing and telehealth services for some intake and feedback sessions. 

Multidisciplinary Specialty Clinics Screening and Consultation: The fellow will have the opportunity to rotate through various multidisciplinary specialty clinics to provide brief neuropsychological consultations and screening. Options may include but are not limited to Brain Tumor Clinic, NF1 Clinic, NCC Follow-Up Clinic, Brain Language Cognition Clinic, Sickle Cell Clinic, Neurovascular Rehab Clinic, Multiple Sclerosis Clinic, Concussion Clinic, and 22q Clinic. 

Functional Mapping: Seattle Children's has a large epilepsy surgery program that serves patients throughout the WWAMI region. All patients who undergo epilepsy surgery are referred for functional MRI. The fellow will have the opportunity to select tasks; prepare patients and parents; coach patients; and assess quality of data during fMRIs. In addition, many patients undergo Phase 2 monitoring with grid mapping and/or sEEG, which can include motor and language mapping. Occasionally, patients require awake craniotomy with language mapping during surgery. In addition, fellows will have the opportunity to observe brain surgeries.  

Inpatient Rehabilitation: The Inpatient Rehabilitation (IPR) Unit at Seattle Children's Hospital is a 12-bed unit that serves children and teens with a wide range of conditions and complex traumatic injuries arising from congenital defects, illness or trauma. The Rehabilitation Unit is accredited for pediatrics by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF) and has been named a Level 1 Pediatric Trauma Rehabilitation Center by the Washington State Department of Health. The unit provides care to an ethnically diverse population. 

The Inpatient Rehabilitation neuropsychologist provides care to children and adolescents with traumatic or other acquired brain injuries. Interdisciplinary care is provided by a team of professionals, including rehabilitation medicine physicians, rehabilitation nurses, physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists, rehabilitation psychologists, social workers, therapeutic recreation specialists, nutritionists and education specialists. Training opportunities will be tailored to the goals of the fellow and may include serial monitoring of neurocognitive recovery; neuropsychological assessments; patient and family education; and consultation with team members, schools and community providers. Trainees can also participate in weekly treatment team meetings and family team meetings.  

Inpatient Consultation: Outside of the inpatient rehabilitation unit, the neuropsychology team provides inpatient consultations for a range of medical specialties, patient populations and referral reasons throughout the hospital. Examples include assessment of neurocognitive status for neurocritical care, disorders of consciousness and pre-transplant patients. The fellow will have the opportunity to be trained and conduct brief inpatient consultations. 

The fellow will participate in weekly neuropsychology seminar, monthly Pacific Northwest Pediatric Neuropsychology Seminar and monthly case conference group or fact finding. Fellows will also have the opportunity to participate in epilepsy surgery conference, neurology resident seminar, Provider Grand Rounds and Psychiatry Grand Rounds as well as many other didactic and seminar opportunities throughout the hospital. The fellow will be assigned readings regarding clinical neuropsychology. 

The fellow will be expected to lead and complete a research project in clinical neuropsychology under the guidance of a faculty mentor who will help identify project opportunities. The project should culminate in at least one scholarly product which may include a conference presentation and/or published manuscript. The fellow will also have opportunities to participate in research projects and activities with various supervisors.  

Download a sample schedule (PDF).

The fellowship has a degree of flexibility for the fellow to pursue areas of special interest which may include additional opportunities to work with clinical populations of interest, development of specialty clinics, and research projects aligned with the fellow’s interest.

The fellow will have the opportunity to work with staff and faculty pediatric neuropsychologists at Seattle Children's. The fellow will receive ongoing supervision with the fellowship director, as well as supervision with supervisors of their current clinical rotations. The fellow will receive a minimum of three hours per week of scheduled individual supervision with clinical supervisors from their current rotations. Individual supervision will include discussion of assessment cases, ethical considerations, professional development, and other fellow needs. Supervision will occur in-person and via teleconference. The fellow will have 2-3 primary clinical supervisors per 6-month rotation, though other supervisors may provide some coverage for cases that are more fitting with their expertise or when a primary supervisor is not available.  The fellow will also meet regularly with the fellowship director and their research mentor.  Supervision will also occur informally during clinic days and throughout the evaluation process.

Current supervisors include: 

• Gabrielle Alvarez, PsyD, ABPP (inpatient neuropsychology director)
• Sharon Ashman, PhD, ABPP
• Kate Bowen, PhD
• Jackson Gray, PhD
• Skyler Leonard, PhD, ABPP (fellowship director)
• Kristina Patrick, PhD, ABPP, BCBA (clinical director)
• Sandy Rodgin, PhD
• Ashley Roy, PhD, ABPP
• Allison Shields, PhD

The fellow will engage in ongoing supervision, clinical work and didactics to develop competence, skills and knowledge of ethical standards in the practices of psychology, diversity and cultural and individual differences. The program emphasizes incorporating considerations of ethics, diversity and identity into all aspects of the fellow’s work, rather than siloed didactic opportunities. 

Fellows will receive informal evaluation feedback with supervisors on an ongoing basis. All supervisors will complete a formal written review of the fellow every 6 months at minimum, or more frequently as needed. Supervisor evaluations will be compiled and shared with the fellow by the fellowship director. Written evaluations will include review of the fellow’s skills and competence in the following: 

• Skills and competencies in clinical neuropsychology as outlined by the Minnesota Conference on Specialty Education and Training in Clinical Neuropsychology 
• Competence in professional practice relevant to cultural and individual differences and diversity 
• Understanding of ethical standards in the practice of psychology 
• Professionalism and timely completion of work duties 

The 2026-2028 postdoctoral fellow received a salary of $80,172 during their first year with a projected cost of living increase in the second year, which is consistent with salaries for 2nd- and 3rd-year pediatric residents, respectively. Salaries for 2027-2029 are expected to be similar.

Other benefits include health insurance, 11 paid holidays and 20 additional days of paid time off for vacation, personal time, sick time and conference attendance. Requests for conference funding are typically granted. Please see our website for additional information.

Eligibility:

Preference is given to graduates of clinical psychology doctoral programs approved by the American Psychological Association (APA) and APA accredited pre-doctoral internship programs. Consistent with the Minnesota Conference Guidelines, fellows should have pre-doctoral training in clinical neuropsychology, including research, practicum placement and internship. 

Application Process:

The postdoctoral fellowship in pediatric neuropsychology is a member of the Association of Postdoctoral Programs in Clinical Neuropsychology (APPCN), participates in the Match and follows all procedures and rules set forth by the APPCN Match process. Please see the APPCN website for more information, 

Application materials must be submitted via email to [email protected] and must include: 

• A letter of interest 
• Curriculum vitae 
• Two de-identified sample reports 
• Three letters of recommendations from current or former supervisors 
• Graduate transcript 

Important dates for the application process include: 

• December 1, 2026 – Applications with all materials are due 
• Early January 2027 – Candidates will be invited to interview virtually 
• Mid-January to early February 2027 – Candidates will interview virtually 
• February 10, 2027 – Rank Order Lists are due for the Match 
• February 17, 2027 – Results of the Match are released 

Please email any questions and all application materials to [email protected] by December 1, 2026. 

Contact us.