About
About Bonny Forrest, J.D., Ph.D.
A leader in the field of child development, Dr. Bonny Forrest is the creator of Project SKIP and has been an advocate for children for over 20 years. As an attorney and a child psychologist, with specialized training in pediatric neuropsychology, she has vast experience in working with children in a variety of settings.
Dr. Forrest has been a researcher and clinician in academic and medical settings such as the Yale Child Study Center, has directed clinics serving low-income populations, and since 2001 has conducted a private practice focusing on the assessment of cognitive and other developmental issues in children. For much of her career, she has worked with parents to advocate for children, especially those with special needs, so they can obtain much needed services in school.
In 2006, Dr. Forrest was approached to design an instrument that would help to comprehensively screen for learning issues among children in a classroom environment. Project SKIP is the result of her extensive research and development of a program for over 7,000 families. SKIP also meets the mandates of RTI for public schools and solves the difficulties associated with implementing Tiers 1 and 2 on a cost-effective basis for large numbers of children.
Relevant Professional Experience
- Director and faculty member of Loyola Clinical Centers, with teaching emphasis in interventions with children and adolescents
- Director of Clinical Programs, Developmental Services, Rady Children's Hospital
- Private Practice Psychologist, specializing in the assessment of children for psychological, neuropsychological, and learning disabilities and the representation of families in IEP team meetings and Due Process hearings for children with developmental disabilities
- National Institute of Mental Health Postdoctoral Research Fellowship, Columbia University, Departments of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry; conducted research into the correlates of social processing, ADHD, and Tourette's syndrome in children and designed testing protocols for children with autism spectrum disorders
- Neuropsychology and Bush Center Social Policy Fellow, Yale Child Study Center and Yale University School of Medicine; conducted neuropsychological testing of children to determine cognitive functioning, training in brain imaging techniques, and participated in IEP meetings
- Published author, expert witness, and frequent lecturer on children with special needs and their cognitive profiles
Education
- Doctor of Philosophy, Psychology with emphasis in pediatric neuropsychology, Columbia University and Teachers College, New York, NY, 2001
- Kappa Delta Pi Education Honor Society for outstanding academics in an educational curriculum
- DISSERTATION: The relationship among executive functions, math skills, and social abilities in children with nonverbal learning disabilities.
- Juris Doctor, Indiana University School of Law, Bloomington, IN, 1986
- Glen Peters Scholarship Fellow for outstanding academics
- Member, Indiana National Trial Team
- Editor, Indiana Law Journal
- NOTE: What constitutes an unwelcome advance under the EEOC guidelines?
- Bachelor of Arts, Criminal Justice with concentration in Political Science and honors awarded in Sociology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 1983
- THESIS: Effects of stress on police functioning.
