Services We Offer

My team and I have a particular specialty in treating individuals with autism spectrum disorders. Our philosophy is to treat the core deficits while increasing each individual’s participation in life. Children will learn to think and problem solve in a dynamic manner across concrete life tasks as well as within social situations. This will help a child become a full and flexible participant in all aspects of life.  

Increasing an individual’s competence in everyday activities is one of the greatest motivators for continued growth and learning. To this end, we place a large emphasis on involving parents and caregivers in the treatment process so progress can continue between therapy sessions and generalization happens naturally. When parents are their child’s guide through life, children and families experience the most success.

In addition, we work with schools and educators to coordinate services and assist in developing the most appropriate educational plan. 

When a child is ready, we offer small group therapy (2 or 3 children) as a means of teaching collaboration within life skills and social interaction.

Families come to be in many different ways. The diversity this brings to the world is a wonderful thing. However, often times, parents and children struggle with issues related to adoption. Due to my personal family history with adoption, I have always had a particular interest in the challenges that develop with this wonderful, yet difficult, decision. I have completed a certification in Clinical Issues in Adoption developed jointly by the Connecticut Department of Children and Families, the UConn School of Social Work, and Southern Connecticut State University.

Too often children and adolescents with deficits in executive functioning (e.g., organization, planning, problem-solving) receive accommodations for support rather than intervention to address the underlying skill weaknesses. The goal is to determine which areas of executive functioning are weak and work with the child to strengthen those skills. We strengthen executive functioning skills through engaging, fun practice and developing strategies. Those strategies help to provide the organization needed to experience success. With enough guided practice, children demonstrate the ability to internalize the strategies and overcome the skill deficits for academic and life tasks.

All parenting is challenging, but parenting a child with behavioral difficulties is particularly challenging. The key to treating behavioral challenges involves understanding the underlying cause and addressing the cause through direct work with the child and family. Parent training is an essential part of the process. My team and I have particular expertise in working with young children and their parents in managing behavior.

Children can present with social difficulties for many reasons, such as anxiety, ADHD, nonverbal learning disability, and/or autism spectrum disorders. The first step in treatment is to determine the root of the social difficulties. A child might need to learn how to visually assess a social situation, make a social inference, initiate social interaction, engage flexibly in play or conversation, maintain a role in a social interaction, coordinate his/her actions with others, or he/she might just need experience learning and enacting social skills to overcome his/her fears. With the root cause in mind, we can develop a treatment plan that teaches the child necessary social strategies and supports the child in applying these strategies to experience social success.

Beginning in the summer of 2021, my team and I will offer in-home therapy to provide families with support for behavior management or treatment for a child with an autism spectrum disorder. 

Our in-home services for children with autism spectrum disorders focus on teaching parents and caregivers how to be their child’s guide in life as the means of addressing underlying difficulties. Parents will learn how to teach social relatedness skills within daily tasks so their child will build social and adaptive skills in small moments across the day. Teaching a child to think and problem solve while engaging in an appropriately scaffolded social interaction is the key to developing life-long success. Please contact us to discuss how a home program could work for your family.