Dr. Ronald Steven Federici
Developmental Neuropsychologist

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Licensure and Board Certifications:

Virginia Board of Medicine License 0810-001534
Fellow and Diplomate, American Board of Professional Neuropsychology (ABPN)
Fellow, American College of Professional Neuropsychology
Fellow and Diplomate, American Board of Medical Psychotherapists (ABMP)
Fellow and Diplomate, Clinical Psychopharmacology (International College of Clinical Psychopharmacology

Education, Professorships and Hospital Affiliations:

Bachelors Degree: Purdue University
Graduate Degrees: (2) Master's Degrees and Dual Doctorate Degree's, University of Chicago and University of Illinois
Assistant Professor of Child Development, Virginia Polytechnical Institute and State University
Staff Neuropsychologist, Mt. Vernon Hospital and Dominion Psychiatric Hospital

Language Skills: Italian, German, Russian and Romanian

Professional Experience:

Dr. Federici has 20 years of experience completing complex neuropsychiatric evaluations with children having significant neurodevelopmental and emotional difficulties.  He is a professional consultant to numerous schools, mental health clinics, pediatric and adolescent medicine clinics, court service units and adoption groups, and is frequently called upon to perform “second opinions” for the most difficult to diagnose cases.  Dr. Federici also works extensively in forensic neuropsychology and has served as an expert witness in cases involving the assessment and rehabilitation of traumatic brain injury or other neurological disorders. 

Dr. Federici lectures nationally and internationally on matters pertaining to developmental neuropsychology and severe neuropsychiatric disorders of children, particularly children from post-institutionalized settings.  He is regarded as the country’s expert in neuropsychiatric evaluations of internationally adopted children, particularly children from Eastern Europe.  He has a special interest in Romanian and Russian orphans, and has evaluated well over a thousand Eastern European adoptees and those still residing in their respective countries.  Dr. Federici has appeared on numerous national television and radio shows such as 20/20, Turning Point, Night Line, Good Morning America, British Broadcasting Corporation, as well as publishing in magazines and newspapers around the world regarding the institutional crises in various countries, particularly Eastern Europe. 

Dr. Federici has published various articles in addition to his book entitled “Help for the Hopeless Child: A Guide for Families (With Special Discussion for Assessing and Treating the Post-Institutionalized Child)”.  He has developed the concepts of “Institutional Autism: An Acquired Syndrome” in addition to researching extensively the “Neuropsychology of Bonding and Attachment Disorders”.  His second book entitled “Escape From Despair: Through the Eyes of the Child” is in press.

Dr. Federici serves as President of the Care for Children International, Inc. which is a Humanitarian Aid Organization providing medical care, supplies, training and education to the Romanian Department of Child Protective Services.  Dr. Federici holds an honorary position as Chief Medical Consultant regarding institutionalized children in Romania.  He is held in the highest regard with the Romanian government and the Romanian Ambassador to the U.S.  Dr. Federici’s humanitarian organization has worked for many years throughout Romanian institutions and has provided comprehensive medical and neuropsychiatric care in addition to being one of the leading groups in de-institutionalizing children.  He is personally responsible for building multiple group homes, independent living situations and leading multiple medical missions and providing millions of dollars of urgently needed medical care, medication, supplies, food and training to address the child welfare/institutional crisis which has plagued Romania for a decade.  Currently, Dr. Federici is working with several international humanitarian groups in providing a proposal for comprehensive-country wide change of the Romanian institutional system.  Dr. Federici and his group of well over 30 committed medical specialists from all disciplines are frequently called upon by numerous institutions and governmental offices throughout Romania to consult and assist counties and governmental departments with the ultimate goal being the development of new programs aimed at de-institutionalization and stabilization of the Romanian social system, family and regional/county economic distribution of funds for institutionalized children.

Dr. Federici has been involved in extensive lobbying efforts on Capital Hill to improve the policies and procedures for international adoptions, and also offered expert professional testimony on October 5, 1999 to Senator Jesse Helms and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee regarding the problems in international adoptions and issues with the Hague Treaty.  Additionally, Dr. Federici has lobbied extensively to preserve the integrity and responsibility of USAID spending in Romania, and has provided multiple reports to USAID, Washington regarding Romanian child welfare reform, programs, funding and opinions regarding distribution of foreign aid.  Dr. Federici continues to work aggressively to secure private funding and USAID funding for Romanian-specific child welfare reform programs and has completed an extensive “proposal” which is aimed at country-wide institutional reform. 

PROFESSIONAL TRAINING

INTERNSHIP    Cook County Hospital, Criminal Division, Department of Corrections, Chicago, Illinois    January 1985 - December 1985.  Internship in Clinical Psychology, with emphasis on Neuropsychology, Forensic Evaluations and Severe Pathology.                               

RESIDENCY      Clinical Neuropsychology - National Hospital for Orthopedics and Rehabilitation, Arlington, Virginia and Private Practice Group

FELLOWSHIP  Clinical Neuropsychology - National Hospital for Orthopedics and Rehabilitation, and, Psychiatric Institute of Washington, D.C.

CLINICAL EXPERIENCE 

Private Practice (January 1986 to Present)   Specialty in Psychological,
Neuropsychological and Forensic Evaluations;  Clinical Psychotherapy and Consultation with Children Adolescents/Families.  Complex diagnostic problems/neurodevelopmental disorders, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorders, Learning Disabilities, Behavioral Disorders, differential diagnosis of fabricated vs. bona fide cases of abuse/neglect.  Comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation and treatment of the post-institutionalized child. 

TEACHING AFFILIATION     

Associate Professor, Department of Family and Child Development, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (1988 - Present)  Graduate Division  

Courses Taught:  Introduction to DSM IV-Diagnostic Assessment and therapy of severe disorders of childhood and adolescence.  Case conference/supervision

HOSPITAL AFFILIATION      

Mount Vernon Hospital, Department of Psychiatry Medical Staff privileges approved as Clinical Psychologist/Neuropsychologist
Fairfax INOVA Hospital, Assistant Director, International Adoption Clinic (May 2001)
Dominion Hospital, Falls Church, Virginia.  Consulting Neuropsychologist
National Hospital for Orthopaedics and Rehabilitations, Arlington, Virginia (Staff Neuropsychologist) January 1986 through June 1990.                               

BOARD CERTIFICATION

Fellow and Diplomate - American Board of Professional Neuropsychology (ABPN)
Fellow-American College of Professional Neuropsychology
Fellow and Diplomate - American Board of Medical Psychotherapists (#1002-1987) (ABMP)
Fellow and Diplomate - International College of Clinical Psychopharmacology (FPPR)
Diplomate-Senior Disability Analyst, American Board of Disability Analysts  
Diplomate-Cognitive-Behavioral Therapist 

CONSULTING POSITIONS 

Care for Children International, Inc. (501-3C, Non-Profit), President/CEO
Romanian Department of State, Division of Child Protective Services (Honorary Member of Romanian Department of Child Welfare)
British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
ABC News: Dateline; expert in bonding and attachment disorders for internationally adopted children. 
ABC News: Nightline; expert in internationally adopted children from Eastern-Bloc countries (July 1997)
ABC News: Turning Point; expert consultant for children from Eastern-Bloc institutions/international adoptions (January 1997)
HBO - Consultant in Developmental Psychology
Washington Post Newspaper, Expert in Child Psychology
New York Times consultant in Child Neuropsychology (multiple articles)
Parent Network for the Post-Institutionalized Child (PNPIC)
Friends of Russian and Ukrainian Adoptions (FRUA)
C.H.A.D.D. (Children with Attention Deficit Disorders)
Ft Belvoir, VA - DeWitt Army Hospital, Departments of Psychiatry, Neurology and Pediatrics
Walter Reed Army Medical Hospital - Department of Child Psychiatry
Andrews Air Force Base - Malcolm Grow Medical Center
Prince William County Attention Deficit Disorder Groups (CHADD)
Court Ordered Special Advocate Program for Abused Children (CASA) (Fairfax and Alexandria)
Virginia State CASA Board, Professional Member
County of Fairfax - Departments of Social and Child Protective Services
Fairfax County Public Schools
Alexandria Juvenile Delinquency Task Force
City of Alexandria - Youth Services Commission (City Council)
City of Alexandria - Division of Mental Retardation
Northern Virginia Youth Services Coalition
Prince William County Youth Services
Loudoun County Public Schools

PUBLICATIONS  

Published Book:  Help for the Hopeless Child: A Guide for Families (with Special Discussion for Assessment and Treatment of the Post-Instititionalized Child), October 1998

Institutional Autism: An Acquired Syndrome, The POST, May 1997

Mason, P.; Johnson, D.; Federici, R.; Bledsoe, J.; Albers, L.; Neuroendocrinological Stress Factors in the Post-Institutionalized Child (Article in Press-Pediatric Research)

Johnson, Aaronson, Federici, Pearl, Sbordone, Zeana, et.al. Growth Parameters Help Predict Neurologic Competence in Profoundly Deprived Institutionalized Children in Romania (Article in Press), Society for Pediatric Research, December 1998

Johnson, Aaronson, Federici, Faber, Tartaglia, Georgieff, Windsor and Daunauer, et.al.  Profound, Global Growth Failure Afflicts Residents of Pediatric Neuropsychiatric Institutes in Romania, (Article in Press), Society for Pediatric Research, December 1998

Pearl, Johnson, Federici, Tartaglia, Gaillard, Lavenstein, McClintock, Conry and Weinstein, et.al.  Neurological and Medical Evaluation of Institutionalized Children in Romanian Orphanages, (Article in Press), Journal of Pediatric Neurology, February 1999

Pending Publication: Neuroimaging and Neuropsychological Deficit Patterns in Children from Post-Institutionalized Settings

Pending Publication:  Neuropsychological Evaluation of the Post-Institutionalized Child: Assessment and Innovative Treatment (Paper presented at the Stockholm conference on children in institutions, May 1999)

Published Article: Atypical Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorders - Neuropsychological Assessment and Comprehensive Medication and Therapy Management, CHAAD Newsletter, June 1994

Publication Pending: Bipolar Disorders in Children: Comparison to Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Multiple articles written for national newspapers, Newsweek and Woman’s Day magazines

Articles written for Washington Post newspaper on Child and Adolescent disorders - several in 1995.

Assisted in publication: "Body Image Fantasies of Epileptics" with Richard Kaufman, M.D., Child Psychiatry Division, University of Chicago.  Journal of Psychiatry and Neurology.

Research Assistant in studies measuring competitiveness, hostility and impatience in patients with metabolic and/ or cardia disorders.  Jack Arbit, Ph.D., Director of Neuropsychological Testing, Northwestern University Medical Center.

Submitted article entitled "Hysterical Conversion Disorder in a Correctional Setting: A Case of Functional Paraplegia.

Doctoral Dissertation on Neuropsychological Correlates of Anorexia Nervosa, Requested for publication.

 

for more information on any of these topics please refer to:

drfederici.com