Meet the Staff

Carole Samango-Sprouse, Ed.D.
Director, Neurodevelopmental Diagnostic Center for Young Children
APIB, BNABS, NDT-trained Neurodevelopmentalist

Dr. Carole Samango-Sprouse (pictured here with a young patient) has been working with young disabled children since 1982. She received her doctorate in 1987 from The George Washington University, where she specialized in the neurodevelopmental assessment of children with complex medical conditions.

Dr. Samango-Sprouse is trained in neuromotor and neurocognitive development, neurobehavioral skills and oral motor assessment for children with an emphasis on young children with genetic disorders. She is trained in neurodevelopmental treatment (NDT) and certified in the assessment of pre-term infant behavior (APIB) and the Brazelton Neonatal Assessment Scale (BNABS). Dr. Samango-Sprouse studied neurobehavioral assessment with Dr. Heidilaise Als, a Harvard University professor and acclaimed developmental psychologist, at Children’s Hospital of Boston.

The author of more than 60 articles on the neurocognitive capabilities of atypical children, Dr. Samango-Sprouse studies the relationship between the brain and behavior, and its impact on school performance in children with neurogenetic disorders. Dr. Samango-Sprouse is an associate clinical professor of pediatrics at The George Washington University in Washington D.C., where she also serves on the medical staff at Children’s National Medical Center.

As an educator Dr. Samango-Sprouse has trained pediatric residents at Children's National Medical Center since 1982. Her instruction focuses on the behavioral phenotypes and neurodevelopmental performance of children with various genetic disorders. Dr. Samango-Sprouse also conducts workshops nationwide for educational and ancillary health professionals about optimizing children's development by recognizing the relationship between behavior, the brain and performance.

Throughout her career Dr. Samango-Sprouse has served on numerous advocacy foundations and boards for health and professional organizations. She presently serves on the steering committee for the Autism Genetic Resource Exchange (AGRE), an organization that fosters neurobiological research about children with autism. AGRE is the world’s largest genetic repository of DNA material from families with children who have Autism.

As the director of the Neurodevelopmental Diagnostic Center for Young Children, Dr. Samango-Sprouse evaluates patients from all over the world in order to develop comprehensive and intensive intervention programs that are syndrome-specific. These programs recognize the complex interaction and intimate connection between brain, cognition, behavior, learning, and medical diagnosis. Dr. Samango-Sprouse trains and educates parents and professionals around the country and internationally to understand the complex interaction between neurodevelopmental disorders, learning and educational success. 

Dr. Samango-Sprouse believes that a family centered approach is necessary to optimize a child’s intellectual growth and develop appropriate intervention strategies in the home, school, and community. "Parents must be empowered with information about their child's medical condition, and how that condition will impact their child's learning and intellectual performance," says Dr. Samango-Sprouse. "When parents are armed with the right skills, they can advocate for a syndrome-specific educational program in order to optimize their child's educational program and development."

The uniqueness of the assessments performed by the Neurodevelopmental Center for Young Children is Dr. Samago-Sprouse’s expertise in the neurobehavioral and neurodevelopmental problems of children with neurogenetic and neurodevelopmental disorders. She is recognized internationally as an expert in X & Y Chromosomal Variations (often called Sex Chromosome Disorders or Sex Chromosome Variations), which involves a child having an extra X or Y chromosome in excess of the normal complement of 46XY for boys and 46XX for girls.

Through her practice, Dr. Samango-Sprouse serves one of the largest patient populations in the world of children who were prenatally diagnosed with an X & Y Chromosomal Variation. In addition, Dr. Samago-Sprouse is the founder, executive director and chief science officer of The Focus Foundation (www.thefocusfoundation.org), a not-for-profit organization created to help children overcome learning and chromosomal differences.

To learn more about The Focus Foundation, please visit www.thefocusfoundation.org.

Dr. Samango-Sprouse is compiling a book about her experience working with “atypical learners.”

The Atypical Learner — Identifying, treating and raising the child who has
Dyslexia * Developmental Dyspraxia * X & Y Chromosomal Variations

by Carole Samango-Sprouse, Ed.D, with Melissa Stanton, MPH

For more information about the book, or to share your family’s story, please contact Dr. Samango-Sprouse

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Teresa Sadeghin, MS Ed., Program Manager

Teresa Sadeghin is the main contact for families served by the Neurodevelopmental Diagnostic Center for Young Children. She arranges appointments, coordinates studies, administers informed consents, organizes specialty programs, contacts and follows up with patients and parents. Mrs. Sadeghin works closely with families to assist in implementing Dr. Samango-Sprouse's targeted treatment programs.

Mrs. Sadeghin has been working with young children since 1970, when she became an educator in Prince George's County, Maryland. After receiving her masters in curriculum development from Bowie State University, Mrs. Sadeghin served on the county's science curriculum committee for 17 years, wrote curriculum for the Science Math and Technology Integrated Matrix Package to implement and integrate performance-based science tasks, and wrote Internet and applied technology extensions for those tasks. Mrs. Sadeghin was a team writer for the Invention-Innovation-Inquiry Project, which was funded by the National Science Foundation through the International Technology Educators Association. She is certified in Facilitative Leadership Training and Event Planning. Following her retirement from education in 2000, Mrs. Sadeghin continued working with young people as the director of Sentinel Newspapers' "Newspapers in Education" program.