Dr. Morton grew up the Appalachian region of Virginia, and she was involved in band, public speaking, and volleyball in high school. While attending Radford University in Radford, VA, she served as her college Sigma Alpha Iota International Music Fraternity chapter president and was a national winner of the E. Thayer Gaston writing award. She was also involved in several martial arts, earning belts in judo and karate. After completing an internship at William Pat Day Early Childhood Center in Cleveland, OH, Dr. Morton received her Bachelor of Music Therapy degree with honors, becoming the first college graduate in her family.
While working as a music specialist at a summer camp for individuals with developmental disorders, Dr. Morton met her husband, who had traveled from England to work at the camp. In addition to teaching preschool music class, Dr. Morton went on to work with adult and geriatric psychiatry patients in Kingsport, TN as a Board-Certified Music Therapist.
Dr. Morton moved to Chicago, IL and obtained her master’s and PhD degrees in clinical psychology from Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science. She completed a doctoral internship in neuropsychology at the Jesse Brown Veterans Affairs Medical Center and a postdoctoral fellowship in pediatric neuropsychology at the University of Illinois at Chicago. While living in Chicago, Dr. Morton was active in recreational soccer leagues.
After leaving her private pediatric and developmental neuropsychology practice in Chicago, Dr. Morton moved to Fort Worth, TX to work as a staff neuropsychologist at Cook Children’s Medical Center. Her primary specialty areas are stroke, concussion, demyelinating disorders, congenital heart defects, chromosomal abnormalities, and autism spectrum disorders. Dr. Morton will also be completing a public school policy fellowship with Leadership ISD in Tarrant County, TX during the 2017-2018 school year. In addition, Dr. Morton is active in politics as well as advocating for high-quality public education for all children, access to healthcare, and social justice issues.
Dr. Morton lives with her husband, two sons, and two dogs. Her children attend elementary school in the Fort Worth public school district, and her younger son is in the gifted and talented program. Dr. Morton’s older son survived a perinatal stroke, and he has received special education services since 3 years of age. His current challenges include ADHD, speech disorder, and hemiparesis. Dr. Morton wrote about her son’s journey in a series of articles:
http://www.checkupnewsroom.com/a-stroke-at-birth-1/
http://www.checkupnewsroom.com/en-us/stroke-at-birth/