Director of the Learning and Emotional Assessment Program (LEAP) at MGH, co-director of The Clay Center for Young Healthy Minds at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), and an associate professor of psychology at Harvard Medical School.  She is a psychologist, teacher, and researcher whose career has focused on improving understanding and treatment of children with learning and attention issues, particularly ADHD, learning disabilities, dyslexia, autism spectrum, and processing speed.  Ellen is frequently called on by main stream and popular media to elucidate on the complexities of learning differences and challenges among young people. She holds the Kessler Family Endowed MGH Chair in Pediatric Neuropsychological Assessment.

As a mother of two young adult children, as well as a psychologist, Dr. Braaten is keenly interested in parenting issues, particularly those relating to normal development, education, and parenting children with behavior and learning differences.  She has written a number of books for parents including Straight Talk about Psychological Testing for Kids, How to Find Mental Health Care for Your Child, and most recently Bright Kids Who Can’t Keep Up, a book for parents that addresses slow processing speed in children.

Dr. Braaten is active in clinical work with children and in the training of psychologists and psychiatrists to diagnose and treat ADHD and learning disabilities.  She is a frequent speaker on topics relating to education, child development, learning disabilities, autism, processing speed, and intelligence.  She has a special interest, in both her writing and research, in helping students with learning and emotional challenges succeed in the fast-paced world in which we live.