About Me

My name is Alison Kane, and I am a licensed school psychologist with more than 13 years experience working with youth and their families. Growing up in the Midwest, I spent my time around children with diverse skills and abilities as my mother established a pediatric outpatient clinic. As I became a teenager, I had the opportunity to support skills groups (for language development, regulation skills, social skills, etc.), provide in-home educational and behavioral support for families, and develop dance classes and recitals for children who had barriers to traditional dance classes (such as muscle spasticity, sensory processing challenges, attention challenges, etc.). I loved learning about how incredible human development is and helping others reach their goals. Ultimately, it led me to a career as a school psychologist.

I pursued my graduate education at the University of Denver. After four years of intensive studies and supervised practice, I graduated with my degree in Child, Family, and School Psychology with an additional specialization in Early Childhood School Psychology. I worked outside of Washington, DC for several years before moving to Florida. Throughout my career, I have served children of all ages and their families, collaborated with school-based staff to support students from diverse backgrounds and with a wide range of abilities, supervised and led fellow psychologists and graduate students, served as a crisis responder/grief counselor, and provided instructional trainings to educators and families. As a private practitioner, my goals are to help families better understand their children’s unique strengths and challenges, to help children develop skills to be healthy, happy, and well-rounded individuals, and to assist families as they navigate various support systems.

In my spare time, I’m chasing my two year old daughter around local parks and planning our next travel adventure with my husband and extended family.

Testimonials

We met Alison at a crossroads. Our sweet and kind third grade son’s spirit was being crushed. Daily, Ian would be in tears because he was struggling academically, emotionally, and developmentally. As his parents, we had always known Ian learned differently; he possessed a phenomenal memory, loved to tinker with Legos, and preferred to play independently than in a group. In Ian’s small school, his veteran teacher ran an extremely structured classroom—parents referred to her teaching style as “old school” and the grade you “simply endured.”

In our first meeting with Alison, we immediately felt at ease. Not only is Alison extremely professional and knowledgeable – she’s kind. Alison never thought of or treated Ian as a problem that needed to be fixed. Alison was curious about Ian. She wanted to know about his favorite things, what he had been like as a little guy, and what made him happy. It was only then she asked us to share his struggles.

After talking with us, chatting with Ian, and observing him in the classroom, Alison administered psychological and diagnostic testing. Ian would later share, “Testing was fun with Miss Kane!” As a result of her work, Alison was able to diagnose Ian with autism. She explained how his strengths benefited him and taught us to understand how he struggled with executive function skills. With her professional guidance, we were able to develop a plan for Ian which included obtaining an IEP, finding targeted social skills supports, and gaining additional resources to help Ian thrive.

Once we obtained Ian’s diagnosis, we also realized that Ian would benefit from a different school. With Alison as our guide, we successfully navigated the school system to make sure Ian received all the supports he needed. Ian graduated from high school in 2022 without an IEP in large part because of the guidance and interventions which stretched back to working with Alison in 3rd grade. Today, Ian is a college freshman pursuing a career in theater arts—a passion he developed back in 4^th grade at his new school!
Ian’s Family

Alison worked with our 2nd grade daughter after she was experiencing heightened levels of anxiety at school and home. Her teachers were concerned that as a gifted student she agonized over making mistakes and not being perfect. We worked with Alison to develop age-appropriate strategies and tools to help her mange her perfectionism and stress. Alison taught our daughter mindfulness exercises, relaxation techniques, and cognitive reframing strategies to help her reduce her anxiety.
N.’s Family