My approach to neuropsychological assessment has been shaped by an appreciation of the importance of identifying the strengths of children, teens, and young adults, as it is their strengths that they will use to find their way in the world. It is also based on the belief that people are always doing the best they can at any given time – and that one of the best things we can do for young people is to accept them as they are – and to see their challenges as part of “their path” to creating a satisfying life.

William R. Stixrud, Ph.D., is a clinical neuropsychologist and the founder of The Stixrud Group. He is also a faculty member at Children’s National Medical Center and an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics at the George Washington University School of Medicine. Additionally, Dr. Stixrud is the co-author, with Ned Johnson, of the national best-selling book, The Self-Driven Child (Viking Books, 2018). It has been published in 18 countries and 17 languages and has sold almost a million copies worldwide, and a one-hour podcast about the book has been viewed by 39,000,000 people in China. Dr. Stixrud and Mr. Johnson have also written a critically-acclaimed second book, What Do You Say? Talking with Kids to Build Motivation, Stress Tolerance, and a Happy Home (Viking Books, 2021), and they are currently finishing a third book that will be published by Viking in February 2025.

Dr. Stixrud’s work has been featured in media outlets such as NPR, CNN, MSNBC, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Times of London, The Wall Street Journal, U.S. News and World Report, Time Magazine, Scientific American, Business Week, Barron &, New York Magazine, and Vogue.

Dr. Stixrud’s approach to neuropsychological assessment has been shaped by an appreciation of the importance of identifying the strengths of children, teens, and young adults, as it is their strengths that they will use to find their way in the world. It is also based on the belief that people are always doing the best they can at any given time – and on the belief that one of the best things we can do for young people is to accept them as they are – and to see their challenges as part of “their path” to creating a satisfying life.

Dr. Stixrud is a long-time practitioner of Transcendental Meditation, and he plays in the rock band Close Enough.

Services & Expertise

• Neuropsychological assessment of children, adolescents, and young adults who present with learning, attentional, emotional, and or social challenges
• Participation in IEP meetings and other school meetings at both public and independent schools
• Consultations and second opinions regarding diagnoses and recommendations for helping young people
• Consultations with adolescents and young adults about post-secondary and post-college planning
• Consultations with parents based on the principles from The Self-Driven Child and What Do You Say?
• Lectures about, The Self-Driven Child and What Do You Say?, as well as about executive functioning, stress and anxiety, sleep, motivation, and the effects of technology on developing brains

Education & Training

• Doctoral degree In Educational Psychology (School Psychology), University of Minnesota
• Pre-doctoral internship at Children’s Hospital of Boston
  • Fellow, Harvard Medical School
• Postdoctoral training in Clinical Neuropsychology, Tufts New England Medical Center
• Staff neuropsychologist, Children’s National Medical Center
• Staff neuropsychologist, Georgetown University School of Medicine
• Consultant, Division of Neuropsychology, National Institutes of Mental Health