SEMRUD-CLIKEMAN, Margaret 1950-

PERSONAL: Born July 9, 1950, in Albany, OR; daughter of Ray (a vocational teacher) and Margaret (an executive secretary; maiden name, Schoppenhurst) Semrud; married John C. Clikeman (in sales), October 20, 1979. Ethnicity: "Caucasian." Education: Concordia College, Moorhead, MN, B.S., 1972; University of Wisconsin—Madison, M.S., 1975; University of Georgia, Ph.D., 1990. Religion: Lutheran. Hobbies and other interests: Camping, dog rescue, reading.

ADDRESSES: Office—Department of Educational Psychology, University of Texas—Austin, Austin, TX 78712; fax: 512-471-1288. E-mail—peg.semrud@mail.utexas.edu.

CAREER: School psychologist for public schools in Portage, WI, 1974-75, and Mequon, WI, 1975-86; University of Georgia, Athens, associate director of Center for Clinical and Developmental Neuropsychology, 1988-89; Massachusetts General Hospital, psychology intern, 1989-91, postdoctoral fellow in neuroscience, 1990-91; University of Washington, Seattle, assistant professor of educational psychology, 1991-95; University of Minnesota—Twin Cities, Minneapolis, assistant professor of neurology, 1995-97; University of Texas—Austin, associate professor of educational psychology, 1997—. School psychology intern, Monticello, GA, 1989-90; Leech Lake Reservation, affiliate of Fetal Alcohol Project, 1995-97; Children's Hospital of Austin, consulting pediatric neuropsychologist, 1999—; in private practice of psychology. Guest lecturer at educational institutions, including University of Tennessee, Rutgers University, and Free University, Amsterdam, Netherlands; workshop presenter.

MEMBER: International Neuropsychology Society, American Psychological Association, National Academy of Neuropsychologists, National Association of School Psychologists.

AWARDS, HONORS: Electrophysiological fellow, University of Jyväskylä, 1988; fellow of National Institute of Mental Health, 1991; Orton Dyslexia Award, 1990; Early Career Award, National Academy of Neuropsychology, 2000.

WRITINGS:

Child and Adolescent Therapy, Allyn & Bacon (Boston, MA), 1995.

(With P. Anne Teeter) Child Neuropsychological Assessment and Intervention, Allyn & Bacon (Boston, MA), 1997.

Traumatic Brain Injury in Children and Adolescents: Assessment and Intervention, Guilford Press (New York, NY), 2001.

Contributor to books, including Attention Deficit Disorder Comes of Age, edited by S. E. Shaywitz and B. A. Shaywitz, Plenum Press (New York, NY), 1992; Learning Disabilities: New Directions for Assessment and Intervention, edited by N. Robinson and J. Goldsmith, Rutgers University Press (New Brunswick, NJ), 1993; How to Be a Better Reading Teacher, edited by L. Putnam, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1995; Health-related Disorders in Children and Adolescents, edited by L. Phelps, Plenum Press (New York, NY), 1998; and Psychosocial Correlates of Exceptionality, edited by V. L. Schwean and D. H. Saklofske, Plenum Press (New York, NY), 2000. Contributor to periodicals, including Journal of Psychotherapy in Independent Practice, School Psychology Quarterly, Epilepsia, Journal of Learning Disabilities, Clinical Supervisor, Journal of Child Neurology, Brain and Language, Child Assessment News, Archives of Neurology, and Attention.

SIDELIGHTS: Margaret Semrud-Clikeman told CA: "My primary motivation for writing is to provide my students with information that they can access at different times. The biggest compliment I ever received from a student was when she said 'When I am trying to think of what to do [in a therapy case], I just listen and I can hear Peg's voice in my head.' The fact that she had internalized my teaching touched me deeply.

"I wrote my first book to fill a gap in what I found for helping students to formulate ideas and case information. Most of the books available were either cookbooks or edited books. I wanted to provide my students, not only with a theoretical background, but also with a coherent voice as to the process behind therapy—not just the tools. The second book grew out of a need that my colleague, Anne Teeter, and I found in the area of pediatric neuropsychology. My volume on traumatic brain injury in children was written at the request of an astute editor who saw a need in this area.

"The person who influences my work is my mentor, Dr. George Hynd at the University of Georgia. I also feel that my clinical work provides an unusual impetus to some of my writing. In clinical work, one must be clear and concise when talking with parents and children about emotional and neuropsychological issues. The clarity of such work is something that I have attempted to bring into my writing. I also wanted my writing to be human; that is, to take academic material and make it easier to read and to understand, hopefully also to keep in one's mind as my student had done.

"My writing process begins with good research. I then develop a working outline. I am fortunate in that, when I sit at the computer keyboard, my mind begins to work and my fingers move quickly. I write as I go and save my revisions until I am done. My least favorite part of writing is the editing, but this part is very necessary to preserve the clarity of the work. Finally, I read the material again, trying to be as critical as possible, and make revisions. I will confess that every time I sit down at the keyboard I am afraid I have nothing new to say. Once the fright of this idea passes, I am able to write and provide, I hope, knowledge and insight into the subject."