Faculty

Deborah A. Pearson, Ph.D.

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Biography:

Download Dr. Pearson's Biography

Education:

Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT. B.A., Biology/Psychology, 1979     

Rice University, Houston, TX. M.A., Psychology, 1982

Rice University, Houston, TX. Ph.D., Psychology, 1986

Clinical and Research Interests:

1. Developmental and psychological assessments of infants Children, and adolescents with attentional/learning problems (e.g., Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) Developmental disabilities (e.g., autistic spectrum disorders. intellectual disabilities)
2. Cognitive and behavioral issues in children with Autism ADHD
   Pharmacological treatment of children with behavioral and developmental disabilities
   Brain-behavior relationships in children and adolescents

Publications (selected):

• Pearson, D. A., Lachar, D., Loveland, K. A., Santos, C. W., Faria, L. P., Hentges, B. A., and Cleveland, L. A.  (2000).  Patterns of behavioral adjustment and maladjustment in mental retardation: A comparison of children with and without ADHD.   Amer. Journal on Mental Retardation, 105, 236-251.
• Pearson, D. A., McGrath, N. M., Nozyce, M., Nichols, S. L., Raskino, C., Brouwers, P., Lifschitz, M. et al. (2000).  Predicting HIV disease progression in children using measures of neuropsychological and neurological functioning.  Pediatrics, 106, e76.
• Lachar, D., Randle, S., Harper, R. A., Scott-Gurnell, K., Lewis, K., Santos, C. W., Saunders, A., Pearson, D. A., Loveland, K. A., and Morgan, S.  (2001).  The Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale for Children (BPRS-C): Validity and reliability of an anchored version.  Journal of the Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 40, 333-340.
• Casat, C.D., Pearson, D.A., & Casat, J.P. (2001).  “Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.”  In B. Vance & A.J. Pumariega (Eds.), Clinical Assessment of Children and Youth Behavior.  New York:  John Wiley and Sons, pp. 263-306.
• Casat, C.D., & Pearson, D.A. (2001).  “The mental status exam in child and adolescent evaluation.”  In B. Vance & A.J. Pumariega (Eds.), Clinical Assessment of Children and Youth Behavior.  New York:  John Wiley and Sons, pp. 86-97.
• Lachar, D., Randle, S., Harper, R.A., Scott-Gurnell, K., Lewis, K., Santos, C.W., Saunders, A., Pearson, D.A., Loveland, K.A., & Morgan, S. (2001) The Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale for Children (BPRS-C):  Validity and reliability of an anchored version.  Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 40, 333-340.
• Loveland, K., Pearson, D.A., Tunali-Kotoski, B., Ortegon, J., & Gibbs, M.C. (2001). Judgments of social appropriateness by children and adolescents with autism. J of Autism and Dev Disorders, 31, 367-376.

• Pearson, D.A., Santos, C.W., Loveland, K.A., Casat, C.D., Lachar, D., Roache, J., & Faria, L.P. (2003). Treatment effects of methylphenidate on behavioral adjustment in children with mental retardation and ADHD.  Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 42, 209-216.
• Pearson, D.A. (2003).  "Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder:  Interview, commentary, and review of syndrome."  In D.M. Lane (Ed.), A Multimedia Textbook in Behavioral Neuroscience. Web-based textbook sponsored by the National Science Foundation (http://128.42.98.168/neuropsychology/video_ADHD.html).
• Scheibel, R., Pearson, D., Faria, L., Kotrla, K.J., Aylward, E., & Levin, H.S. (2003). An fMRI study of executive functioning after severe diffuse TBI.  Brain Injury, 11, 919-930.
• Pearson, D.A., Santos, C.W., Jerger, S.W., Casat, C.D., Roache, J., Loveland, K.A., Lane, D.M., Lachar, D., Faria, L.P., & Getchell, C. (2004). Treatment effects of methylphenidate on cognitive functioning in children with mental retardation and ADHD.  Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 43, 686-698.
• Aman, M.G., Novotny, S., Samango-Sprouse, C., Lecavalier, E., Gadow, K., King, B., Pearson, D., Gernsbacher, M.A., Chez, M., Herlihy, W. (2004)  Outcome Measures for Clinical Trials in Autism.  CNS Spectrums, 9, 36-47
• Pearson, D.A., Lane, D.M.,  Santos, C.W., Casat, C.D., Jerger, S.W., Roache, J., Loveland, K.A., Lachar, D., Faria, L.P., Getchell, C., Mansour, R., & Cleveland, L.A. (2004). Effects of methylphenidate treatment in Children with ADHD/MR:  Individual Variation in Medication Response. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 43, 677-685.
• Taber, K.H., Shaw, J.B., Loveland, K.A., Pearson, D.A, Lane, D.M., & Hayman, L.A. (2004). Accentuated Virchow-Robin spaces in the centrum semiovale in children with autistic spectrum disorders. Journal of Computer Assisted Tomography, 28, 263-268.
• Pearson, D. A., Loveland, K. A., Lachar, D., Lane, D. M., Reddoch, S. L., Mansour, R., Cleveland, L. A. (2006). A Comparison of Behavioral and Emotional Functioning in Children and Adolescents with Autistic Disorder and PDD-NOS. Child Neuropsychology, 12, 321-333.

• Scheibel, R.S., Newsome, M.R., Steinberg, J.L., Pearson, D.A., Rauch, R.A., Mao, H., Troyanskaya, M., Sharma, R., & Levin, H.S. (2007).  Altered brain activation during cognitive control in patients with moderate to severe traumatic brain injury.  Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair, 21, 36-45.
• Tomanik, S., Pearson, D.A., Loveland, K.A., Lane, D.M., & Shaw, J.B. (2007). Increasing the reliability of autism diagnoses: Examining the utility of adaptive functioning.  Journal of Autism and Developmental Disabilities, 37, 921-928.
• Loveland, K.A., Bachevalier, J., Pearson, D.A., & Lane, D.M. (2008). Fronto-limbic functioning in children and adolescents with and without autism.  Neuropsychologia, 46, 49-62.
• Loveland, K.A., Steinberg, J.L., Pearson, D.A., Mansour, R. and Reddoch, S. (in press). fMRI of judgments of auditory-visual affective congruence in adolescents with and without autism. Perceptual and Motor Skills.

Location & Contact Info

Behavioral and Biomedical Sciences Building
1941 East Road
Houston, Texas 77054

713.486.2500 Primary
713.486.2530 Fax
713.486.2525 New Patients

Faculty Biography

• Deborah A. Pearson, Ph.D.
  Professor
• Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
  
• University of Texas-Houston Medical School
  1941 East Road
  Houston, Texas 77054
• phone: (713) 486-2580
• Fax: (713) 486-2585
  e-mail: Deborah.A.Pearson
  @uth.tmc.edu