CENTER FOR ONE
Education & Wellness Services
for School-Aged Children
Center for One, PLLC understands the impact on both families and schools when a child's needs are not yet fully understood.
Our specialists do not evaluate your child’s strengths and challenges in a silo; rather, we harness the vast, yet specific, experiences of a transdisciplinary team within a collaboration model. This framework allows our team to fully understand which supports and strategies your child may need in order to thrive in the educational setting.
ABOUT
Our team is comprised of clinical and school psychologists, special educators, speech and language pathologists, and educational/wellness coaches. Because a majority of our staff still actively work in educational settings, they are fully aware of the most up-to-date practices, programming, and supports available to students in grades K-12+. This makes working with your child’s school-based teachers and providers second nature, allowing for productive and data-based conversations to occur.
Through frequent team meetings, clinical supervision, parent/guardian interviews, and a shared analysis of student data, Center for One staff has demonstrated a fine-tuned ability to produce academic, social-emotional, and clinical recommendations for our clients and the teams supporting them.
Our team has an innate ability to clearly describe psychometric results to families, advocates, school teams, and when appropriate - the student. This is a helpful skill when translating quantitative data into a realistic and comprehensive educational plan. Our goal is for each student (or guardian) to walk away from the evaluation experience with a fresh understanding of how their brain processes information, how to enhance performance by embracing their learning style, and how to create accommodations for themselves when needed - the gift of information!
Meet the Team
School Psychologist & Founder
Krystina Dawson, M.S.Ed.
Krystina enjoys the detective work of getting to know how a student problem solves, perseveres through challenges, and sees the world around them. She's had the opportunity to use this passion through psychoeducational assessments for the last decade, sharing her findings with families and school teams for appropriate educational programming. Krystina is a certified school psychologist and holds an additional certification in school administration.
In the evenings, she serves as a adjunct professor at Iona University and has the opportunity to teach a variety of topics to graduate-level psychology students and mental health professionals in areas such as school consultation and collaboration, social psychology, the impact of stress on the body, and advanced developmental lifespan. She is passionate about trauma-informed care and seeking out any opportunity to further her own learning and practice!
In her free time, you can find Krystina in a yoga class or chasing sunsets with her three elementary-aged children.
Clinical & School Psychologist
James J. D’Alessandro, Psy.D.
Dr. D’Alessandro brings a clinical lens and 20 years of experience to the Center for One team. He is a licensed clinical psychologist as well as a certified school psychologist, earning a doctoral degree from the University of Hartford and master’s degrees from both University of Hartford and Marist College.
“Dr. Jim”, as his younger clients call him, specializes in psychological assessments across cognitive, behavioral, and emotional domains - with psycho-educational, forensic and neuropsychological assessments training through his coursework and clinical practice. He has served as both an evaluator as well as an advisor. He enjoys supporting teams through a diagnostic lens and creating rigorous, yet realistic, goals for his clients.
Dr. D’Alessandro lives in CT with his wife and two children; in his free time he enjoys getting fresh air with his German Shepherd and practicing martial arts as a 2nd degree black belt in Hapkido.
Educational Evaluator & Special Education Teacher
Loren Aldworth, M.A., P-MAC
Loren brings 25 years of special education experience to the Center for One team. Her lighthearted demeanor allows for easy rapport building with young children; and since some children would rather avoid the difficult reading, writing, and math assessments put in front of them, this has proven to be an assessment superpower.
Loren typically completes over 80 achievement assessments per year for elementary age students alone. She has quickly become familiar with the new CT state SLD/Dyslexia eligibility process and enjoys consulting with school teams to guide them through the criteria with specific student profiles in mind.
Loren lives in Greenwich, CT with her family of four and enjoys every moment of the weekend with them.
Nationally Certified School Psychologist
Taylor Bonano, M.S., Sixth Year Certificate
Taylor has enjoyed working with children and families within the school setting for nearly ten years. Her experience ranges from preschool age through high school, as she enjoys exploring the various developmental stages across school-aged children. Taylor believes that the assessment process provides insight into a child's strengths and difficulties, leading us to better understand how a child's mind receives and filters information - directly impacting learning outcomes.
In her spare time, you can find her at Target or running after her two-year-old with a newborn in tow and an active dog behind her!
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School Psychologist, BCBA + Neuropsych Diplomate
Alison Philips, M.A., BCBA, ABSNP
As a certified school psychologist, Alison has worked with children Pre-K through 12th grade in the CT public schools for over 20 years. A forever learner, Alison has dedicated additional years to her postgraduate programming, becoming a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) and earning a diplomate in school neuropsychology.
Through her assessments, Alison creates a mosaic of strengths and challenges to determine how a student may learn best. A large component of this diagnostic endeavor is closely collaborating with teachers and parents - sharing her findings with them in a holistic way. With a strong belief that the social-emotional and behavioral well being of a child is crucial to their success, Alison provides direct services counseling, and behavioral consultation to students in addition to the adults who support them.
When Alison is not working, she enjoys going to the beach, reading and spending time with her friends and family.
2 hr
set after intake
2 hr
set after intake
Beyond the assessment, our experts are available to provide ongoing 1:1 support
45 min
set after intake
45 min
175 US dollars
Course specific instruction or support with IEP goals delivered by a highly qualified SPED teacher
45 min
$150
1 hr
set after intake
1 hr
custom