Dr. Serena Wieder is the Clinical Director and a founding member of the Profectum Foundation, dedicated to advancing the development and mental health of children, of all ages, including adolescents and adults with neurodivergent development and emotional challenges through interdisciplinary training and educational programs. She also co-founded the Interdisciplinary Council on Developmental and Learning Disorders and was a Board Member of Zero to Three for 23 years. Dr. Wieder serves on various advisory boards to various programs serving infant mental health and other special needs.  Dr. Wieder also founded DIR-Israel, a training program that offers DIR Certificates, and provides consultation and training to many international and national programs.

As a clinical psychologist, Dr. Wieder has pioneered important approaches to diagnosing and treating infants and toddlers with infant mental health and developmental disorders.  She co-created the DIR Model with Stanley Greenspan, edited two diagnostic manuals for infants and young children. Further, she created models for interdisciplinary post-graduate case based training and pioneered parent-mediated intervention for parents of neurodivergent children.

Dr. Wieder has co-chaired and organized national and international conferences integrating development, neuroscience and intervention approaches for over 20 years. Dr. Wieder also developed approaches to integrate visual-spatial knowledge to advance emotional and cognitive development.  Her research interests concern follow up studies of children on the autism spectrum who received DIR model interventions and the evaluation of training and educational programs. In addition, she serves as adjunct faculty at various universities including Bank Street , UCS Davis IMH Fellowship Program, and Adelphi.

Amongst her many publications Dr. Wieder co-authored Engaging Autism, The Child With Special Needs and Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health with Stanley Greenspan, M.D. They also co-edited Infants in Multi-Risk Families as well as the ICDL Diagnostic Manual for Infants and Young Children (DMIC)/ She edited the original Diagnostic Classification of Mental Health and Developmental Disorders of Infancy and Early Childhood (DC 0-3) for Zero-Three. . Her chapters on the DIR Model appear in major textbooks on Autism Spectrum Disorders. Dr. Wieder also co- authored Visual Spatial Portals to Thinking, Feeling, and Movement with Harry Wachs, O.D. She has published numerous journal and book chapters and presents at multiple conferences nationally and internationally.

At this time, Dr. Serena Wieder also has a private practice in NYC for diagnosis, treatment and consultation regarding complex developmental and mental health challenges.

Ricki Robinson, MD, MPH. is co-director of Descanso Medical Center for Development and Learning in La Canada, California and a clinical professor of pediatrics at the Keck School Medicine of USC. She has been in private pediatric practice for nearly forty years, specializing in children with autism and developmental delays for over twenty-five years.

Dr. Robinson received her MD degree in 1973 from the University of Southern California. She trained in pediatrics at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, having served as Chief Pediatric Resident for CHLA in 1976. She is board certified in pediatrics. In 1988 she received her MPH from the University at Berkeley School of Public Health.

She has been actively involved in the field of autism since 1990, developing multidisciplinary educational and medical programs for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and devoting endless hours in education, legislation and research efforts on a national level. Dr. Robinson has been at the forefront of leading grassroots autism organizations. She was a founding board member of Cure Autism Now (now Autism Speaks) and the Interdisciplinary Council on Developmental and Learning Disorders (ICDL), and most recently Profectum Foundation. She was a member of the Autism Speaks Scientific Review Panel for over eight years. Dr. Robinson organized and chaired the first nationally recognized task force to define the standard of care for clinical trials in autism. The results of this outstanding effort were published in CNS Spectrums (January 2004, Vol. 9, #1). Most recently she was appointed as Medical Director of Profectum Foundation, an organization devoted to providing multi-disciplinary education and training for parents, families and professionals working with individuals with ASD across the lifespan.

A nationally sought-after expert, she has appeared on the Today Show, The Talk, Larry King Live and Good Morning America Health in support of the needs of children and families with autism spectrum disorders. She is an internationally recognized speaker addressing the needs of children with autism and other developmental delays to parent, professional and lay audiences worldwide for the past two decades. She is also the author of the acclaimed book Autism Solutions – How to Create a Healthy and Meaningful Life for Your Child. 

Dr. Serena Wieder is the Clinical Director and a founding member of the Profectum Foundation, dedicated to advancing the development and mental health of children, of all ages, including adolescents and adults with neurodivergent development and emotional challenges through interdisciplinary training and educational programs. She also co-founded the Interdisciplinary Council on Developmental and Learning Disorders and was a Board Member of Zero to Three for 23 years. Dr. Wieder serves on various advisory boards to various programs serving infant mental health and other special needs.  Dr. Wieder also founded DIR-Israel, a training program that offers DIR Certificates, and provides consultation and training to many international and national programs.

As a clinical psychologist, Dr. Wieder has pioneered important approaches to diagnosing and treating infants and toddlers with infant mental health and developmental disorders.  She co-created the DIR Model with Stanley Greenspan, edited two diagnostic manuals for infants and young children. Further, she created models for interdisciplinary post-graduate case based training and pioneered parent-mediated intervention for parents of neurodivergent children.

Dr. Wieder has co-chaired and organized national and international conferences integrating development, neuroscience and intervention approaches for over 20 years. Dr. Wieder also developed approaches to integrate visual-spatial knowledge to advance emotional and cognitive development.  Her research interests concern follow up studies of children on the autism spectrum who received DIR model interventions and the evaluation of training and educational programs. In addition, she serves as adjunct faculty at various universities including Bank Street , UCS Davis IMH Fellowship Program, and Adelphi.

Amongst her many publications Dr. Wieder co-authored Engaging Autism, The Child With Special Needs and Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health with Stanley Greenspan, M.D. They also co-edited Infants in Multi-Risk Families as well as the ICDL Diagnostic Manual for Infants and Young Children (DMIC)/ She edited the original Diagnostic Classification of Mental Health and Developmental Disorders of Infancy and Early Childhood (DC 0-3) for Zero-Three. . Her chapters on the DIR Model appear in major textbooks on Autism Spectrum Disorders. Dr. Wieder also co- authored Visual Spatial Portals to Thinking, Feeling, and Movement with Harry Wachs, O.D. She has published numerous journal and book chapters and presents at multiple conferences nationally and internationally.

At this time, Dr. Serena Wieder also has a private practice in NYC for diagnosis, treatment and consultation regarding complex developmental and mental health challenges.

Sherri Cawn is Clinical Director of Cawn-Krantz and Associates Developmental Therapies of suburban Chicago, has over 40 years of clinical pediatric experience specializing in the assessment and treatment of infants, toddlers, and school-age children. She is a leading practitioner of the DIR Floortime® in speech and language development and trains other professionals throughout the United States and overseas on the concepts of this model. She is a frequent invited presenter at professional events .

Sherri is the author of the self study DVD/Manual on the Assessment and Intervention of DIR®/Floortime Model produced by the American Speech and Hearing Association (2011). She is co-author of the language disorders chapter in the Diagnostic Manual for Infancy and Early Childhood (2005). Sherri is a senior faculty member of the ICDL DIR®/FT Model Training Institute and the online Profectum Academy DIR® model training programs and she is an adjunct faculty member at the Erikson Institute in Chicago, Illinois. She received her graduate and undergraduate degrees from the University of Illinois.

Caroline Ferguson-Walsh, MS-LP(C), CCC-SLP is a licensed Speech-Language Pathologist and founder of BEAR Pediatric Speech & Language Therapy, based in Chicago, Illinois. Caroline is a member of the American Speech & Hearing Association (ASHA), Illinois Speech & Hearing Association (ISHA) and Speech-Language & Audiology Canada (SAC). She holds a position as a Faculty Member of Profectum Foundation and is a DIR-FCD™ Expert Clinician, Tutor and Trainer. Caroline is a presenter for the Early Intervention Training Program at the University of Illinois and is a credentialed instructor for conferences, trainings and professional certification courses through Profectum. She is committed to community outreach and provides local and regional trainings on supporting families of children with communication disorders.

Caroline has worked in a multitude of settings including pediatric hospitals, early childhood facilities, schools, homes and private practice in the United States, Canada and Ireland. Her clinical focus includes providing assessments and treatment to children with developmental delays, autism and disorders of relating and communicating. Her work is supported by her training in DIR-FCD™, Hanen It Takes Two to Talk® and the Sequential Oral Sensory (S.O.S) Approach to Feeding. She is dedicated to coaching and supporting families to be an integral part of the clinical team.

Diane has been a faculty member of the DIR® model summer institute since 2002. In addition to her private practice, she is the mental health consultant and supervisor of the mental health department at Beth Osten and Associates, a multidisciplinary DIR® model pediatric clinic. The mental health program includes DIR® model coaching, individual therapy (children, adolescent and adults), family therapy and multidisciplinary group therapy. She has also helped develop and continues to supervise the Penguin Playgroup Program, a DIR® model therapeutic playgroup program for preschool and kindergarten aged children at Beth Osten and Associates, as well as a practicum program for mental health graduate students. She provides individual and group (multidisciplinary and mental health) supervision to therapists within the clinic, as well as to many candidates within the DIR® model certificate program. She is also the mental health consultant and supervisor at Soaring Eagle Academy, the DIR® model school in Illinois for children on the autistic spectrum. Thus, in addition to DIR® model intervention and psychotherapy, she has a strong interest in organizing, developing and working in therapeutic milieus for children and families. Prior to her involvement with the DIR® model, she worked in various psychodynamic and developmental schools and programs. She has presented workshops at the ICDL November conference, as well as at various clinics, parent groups and schools.

Richard Solomon, MD, is a practicing developmental and behavioral pediatrician, the Medical Director at The Ann Arbor Center for Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, and founder of The PLAY Project. He is board certified in pediatrics and developmental and behavioral pediatrics and has been diagnosing and treating children with autism spectrum disorders for over 25 years. With a reputation as the “fun” doctor, Rick is known for his ability to make children smile and laugh, calming their fears and building trust. His overall approach is influenced by his work alongside autism and child development visionaries T. Berry Brazelton MD, Stanley Greenspan MD, and Mr. Fred Rogers.

In 2001, Dr. Rick developed the PLAY Project in response to the need for evidenced-based autism intervention options and from 2009-2012 was the principle investigator of one of the largest autism intervention research studies in the U.S., with the results published in the Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics. The PLAY Project’s mission is to train a national network of pediatric professionals to deliver an evidence-based, low-cost, intensive, developmental intervention to families of young children with autism spectrum disorders. To that end, Dr. Solomon has trained 500+ pediatric professionals from 30 U.S. states and 7 countries to become certified PLAY Project Consultants. This year, Dr. Solomon published his book Autism: The Potential Within, The PLAY Project Approach for Children with Autism.

Linda Cervenka is a licensed speech-language pathologist and works primarily with children and adolescence with autistic spectrum and related disorders utilizing DIR® model and development language models. She has a private practice in LaGrange, Illinois. Linda is also co-founder of Soaring Eagle Academy, an Illinois State Board of Education approved school serving students 5 through 21 years of age with autism and related disorders. Within the academy, Linda serves as an expert clinician, supporting staff and students in learning and growing within the DIR® model and developmental language model. Linda received her Bachelor’s Degree from Elmhurst College in Elmhurst, IL and her Master’s Degree in communicative disorders from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She has worked for 30 years with children with special needs, in home based and clinic based therapeutic services and public and private schools providing consultation, training and support for children and families. Linda is a senior faculty member of Profectum and has presented nationally on the topic of developmental approaches to intervention for children.

Celebrate the Children’s founder, Monica G. Osgood, is an experienced behavioral consultant and therapist who specializes in using developmental approaches to support children with autism and other differences in relating and communicating. She is also the Founder and Director of the Developmental Center for Children and Families (Limitless), a Board Member and founding member of the Profectum Foundation, and a Board Member and founding member of Celebrate the Individual (CTI). Monica has worked in homes, therapy centers, and private and public school settings for over 20 years. Some of her experience has included assessment and the development of intervention programs, curriculum and IEP development, and parent and professional training.

In 1998, Monica created the first public school program with the Developmental Individual Relationship-based (DIR model) approach as the core philosophy. ​In 2000, she was the first educator to join the senior faculty of the Interdisciplinary Council on Development and Learning(ICDL) to provide interdisciplinary training in the DIR model. During her time with ICDL, Monica served as faculty for all of their yearly training institutes, spoke at many of their conferences and had the opportunity to work closely and collaborate with Drs. Greenspan and Wieder to further develop the DIR model in school settings. ​In 2004, she collaborated with Lauren Blaszak to open a state-approved, DIR model school for children ages 3-21 in Denville, New Jersey, now serving over 70 school districts and 150 families.

Additional accomplishments include, many speaking engagements at conferences and participation in television, radio and newspaper interviews across the USA, Wales, Ireland and Amsterdam. Monica has appeared on Welsh Channel 4 and BBC1 documentaries, sharing the DIR model approach with British parents and professionals. Monica and the Celebrate the Children school were featured in a TIME Magazine cover story in May of 2006. ​She serves on the Advisory Board for 3LPlace and the National Advisory Council for The Centers for Exceptional Children​.  Monica also serves on the Economic Development Advisory Council and the Sustainable Economic Development Plan Steering Committee for her local Town Council. Finally, she collaborated with twice Grammy nominated children’s artists Dan Myers and Brady Rymer on an album and music video celebrating diversity in children with all abilities released April 2011.

Michele is a licensed speech and language pathologist, who works primarily with children diagnosed on the autistic spectrum. She has been in private practice since 1997 and worked in an early childhood school setting prior to that.

Michele has consulted in many public school districts in Illinois and is one of three founders of a private school (Soaring Eagle Academy) for children with special needs that uses developmental language intervention and incorporates the DIR® model into its academic programming. Soaring Eagle Academy provides integrated programming to meet each child’s unique needs.

Michele has a master’s degree in speech-language pathology from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois (1995). She also holds an undergraduate degree in communicative disorders from University of the Pacific in Stockton, California (1993).

Michele is also a mother of three children and has learned the most about development and language acquisition through her interactions and experience as a parent.

Chris Seminaro is an instructional coach for students with autism spectrum disorders in a large suburban public school system near Chicago, Illinois. She has 30 years of teaching and administrative experience specializing in working with families and students with ASD. Chris has presented nationally on development, assessment, intervention, working with families as part of the school system and educating students with autism spectrum disorders. She has presented at the International Council on Developmental and Learning Disorders (ICDL) International Conferences on the topic of the DIR® model in public school systems. Chris has been on the faculty of the DIR® model Training Institute and is on the faculty of Profectum.

Diane has been a faculty member of the DIR® model summer institute since 2002. In addition to her private practice, she is the mental health consultant and supervisor of the mental health department at Beth Osten and Associates, a multidisciplinary DIR® model pediatric clinic. The mental health program includes DIR® model coaching, individual therapy (children, adolescent and adults), family therapy and multidisciplinary group therapy. She has also helped develop and continues to supervise the Penguin Playgroup Program, a DIR® model therapeutic playgroup program for preschool and kindergarten aged children at Beth Osten and Associates, as well as a practicum program for mental health graduate students. She provides individual and group (multidisciplinary and mental health) supervision to therapists within the clinic, as well as to many candidates within the DIR® model certificate program. She is also the mental health consultant and supervisor at Soaring Eagle Academy, the DIR® model school in Illinois for children on the autistic spectrum. Thus, in addition to DIR® model intervention and psychotherapy, she has a strong interest in organizing, developing and working in therapeutic milieus for children and families. Prior to her involvement with the DIR® model, she worked in various psychodynamic and developmental schools and programs. She has presented workshops at the ICDL November conference, as well as at various clinics, parent groups and schools.

Linda Cervenka is a licensed speech-language pathologist and works primarily with children and adolescence with autistic spectrum and related disorders utilizing DIR® model and development language models. She has a private practice in LaGrange, Illinois. Linda is also co-founder of Soaring Eagle Academy, an Illinois State Board of Education approved school serving students 5 through 21 years of age with autism and related disorders. Within the academy, Linda serves as an expert clinician, supporting staff and students in learning and growing within the DIR® model and developmental language model. Linda received her Bachelor’s Degree from Elmhurst College in Elmhurst, IL and her Master’s Degree in communicative disorders from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She has worked for 30 years with children with special needs, in home based and clinic based therapeutic services and public and private schools providing consultation, training and support for children and families. Linda is a senior faculty member of Profectum and has presented nationally on the topic of developmental approaches to intervention for children.

Celebrate the Children’s founder, Monica G. Osgood, is an experienced behavioral consultant and therapist who specializes in using developmental approaches to support children with autism and other differences in relating and communicating. She is also the Founder and Director of the Developmental Center for Children and Families (Limitless), a Board Member and founding member of the Profectum Foundation, and a Board Member and founding member of Celebrate the Individual (CTI). Monica has worked in homes, therapy centers, and private and public school settings for over 20 years. Some of her experience has included assessment and the development of intervention programs, curriculum and IEP development, and parent and professional training.

In 1998, Monica created the first public school program with the Developmental Individual Relationship-based (DIR model) approach as the core philosophy. ​In 2000, she was the first educator to join the senior faculty of the Interdisciplinary Council on Development and Learning(ICDL) to provide interdisciplinary training in the DIR model. During her time with ICDL, Monica served as faculty for all of their yearly training institutes, spoke at many of their conferences and had the opportunity to work closely and collaborate with Drs. Greenspan and Wieder to further develop the DIR model in school settings. ​In 2004, she collaborated with Lauren Blaszak to open a state-approved, DIR model school for children ages 3-21 in Denville, New Jersey, now serving over 70 school districts and 150 families.

Additional accomplishments include, many speaking engagements at conferences and participation in television, radio and newspaper interviews across the USA, Wales, Ireland and Amsterdam. Monica has appeared on Welsh Channel 4 and BBC1 documentaries, sharing the DIR model approach with British parents and professionals. Monica and the Celebrate the Children school were featured in a TIME Magazine cover story in May of 2006. ​She serves on the Advisory Board for 3LPlace and the National Advisory Council for The Centers for Exceptional Children​.  Monica also serves on the Economic Development Advisory Council and the Sustainable Economic Development Plan Steering Committee for her local Town Council. Finally, she collaborated with twice Grammy nominated children’s artists Dan Myers and Brady Rymer on an album and music video celebrating diversity in children with all abilities released April 2011.

Michele is a licensed speech and language pathologist, who works primarily with children diagnosed on the autistic spectrum. She has been in private practice since 1997 and worked in an early childhood school setting prior to that.

Michele has consulted in many public school districts in Illinois and is one of three founders of a private school (Soaring Eagle Academy) for children with special needs that uses developmental language intervention and incorporates the DIR® model into its academic programming. Soaring Eagle Academy provides integrated programming to meet each child’s unique needs.

Michele has a master’s degree in speech-language pathology from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois (1995). She also holds an undergraduate degree in communicative disorders from University of the Pacific in Stockton, California (1993).

Michele is also a mother of three children and has learned the most about development and language acquisition through her interactions and experience as a parent.

Chris Seminaro is an instructional coach for students with autism spectrum disorders in a large suburban public school system near Chicago, Illinois. She has 30 years of teaching and administrative experience specializing in working with families and students with ASD. Chris has presented nationally on development, assessment, intervention, working with families as part of the school system and educating students with autism spectrum disorders. She has presented at the International Council on Developmental and Learning Disorders (ICDL) International Conferences on the topic of the DIR® model in public school systems. Chris has been on the faculty of the DIR® model Training Institute and is on the faculty of Profectum.

Diane has been a faculty member of the DIR® model summer institute since 2002. In addition to her private practice, she is the mental health consultant and supervisor of the mental health department at Beth Osten and Associates, a multidisciplinary DIR® model pediatric clinic. The mental health program includes DIR® model coaching, individual therapy (children, adolescent and adults), family therapy and multidisciplinary group therapy. She has also helped develop and continues to supervise the Penguin Playgroup Program, a DIR® model therapeutic playgroup program for preschool and kindergarten aged children at Beth Osten and Associates, as well as a practicum program for mental health graduate students. She provides individual and group (multidisciplinary and mental health) supervision to therapists within the clinic, as well as to many candidates within the DIR® model certificate program. She is also the mental health consultant and supervisor at Soaring Eagle Academy, the DIR® model school in Illinois for children on the autistic spectrum. Thus, in addition to DIR® model intervention and psychotherapy, she has a strong interest in organizing, developing and working in therapeutic milieus for children and families. Prior to her involvement with the DIR® model, she worked in various psychodynamic and developmental schools and programs. She has presented workshops at the ICDL November conference, as well as at various clinics, parent groups and schools.

Cortney Grove is an SLP with a special interest in illuminating the connection between communication and other developmental domains, especially in the context of relationships. She earned her MA in Communication Disorders from Northwestern University in 2008. Cortney is also a credentialed Infant / Early Childhood Mental Health Consultant through ILAIMH and a trainer, tutor, and expert clinician in DIRFloortime®. Cortney owns a private practice in Chicago which operates in collaboration with a transdisciplinary team.

Diane has been a faculty member of the DIR® model summer institute since 2002. In addition to her private practice, she is the mental health consultant and supervisor of the mental health department at Beth Osten and Associates, a multidisciplinary DIR® model pediatric clinic. The mental health program includes DIR® model coaching, individual therapy (children, adolescent and adults), family therapy and multidisciplinary group therapy. She has also helped develop and continues to supervise the Penguin Playgroup Program, a DIR® model therapeutic playgroup program for preschool and kindergarten aged children at Beth Osten and Associates, as well as a practicum program for mental health graduate students. She provides individual and group (multidisciplinary and mental health) supervision to therapists within the clinic, as well as to many candidates within the DIR® model certificate program. She is also the mental health consultant and supervisor at Soaring Eagle Academy, the DIR® model school in Illinois for children on the autistic spectrum. Thus, in addition to DIR® model intervention and psychotherapy, she has a strong interest in organizing, developing and working in therapeutic milieus for children and families. Prior to her involvement with the DIR® model, she worked in various psychodynamic and developmental schools and programs. She has presented workshops at the ICDL November conference, as well as at various clinics, parent groups and schools.

Linda Cervenka is a licensed speech-language pathologist and works primarily with children and adolescence with autistic spectrum and related disorders utilizing DIR® model and development language models. She has a private practice in LaGrange, Illinois. Linda is also co-founder of Soaring Eagle Academy, an Illinois State Board of Education approved school serving students 5 through 21 years of age with autism and related disorders. Within the academy, Linda serves as an expert clinician, supporting staff and students in learning and growing within the DIR® model and developmental language model. Linda received her Bachelor’s Degree from Elmhurst College in Elmhurst, IL and her Master’s Degree in communicative disorders from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She has worked for 30 years with children with special needs, in home based and clinic based therapeutic services and public and private schools providing consultation, training and support for children and families. Linda is a senior faculty member of Profectum and has presented nationally on the topic of developmental approaches to intervention for children.

Michele is a licensed speech and language pathologist, who works primarily with children diagnosed on the autistic spectrum. She has been in private practice since 1997 and worked in an early childhood school setting prior to that.

Michele has consulted in many public school districts in Illinois and is one of three founders of a private school (Soaring Eagle Academy) for children with special needs that uses developmental language intervention and incorporates the DIR® model into its academic programming. Soaring Eagle Academy provides integrated programming to meet each child’s unique needs.

Michele has a master’s degree in speech-language pathology from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois (1995). She also holds an undergraduate degree in communicative disorders from University of the Pacific in Stockton, California (1993).

Michele is also a mother of three children and has learned the most about development and language acquisition through her interactions and experience as a parent.

Mona M. Delahooke, PhD is a clinical psychologist specializing in the development of infants, young children, and their families. She has received training as an infant mental health specialist, and works widely with multi-disciplinary teams supporting children with developmental or emotional delays. She is a faculty member of the Early Intervention Training Institute (EITI) of the Los Angeles Child Guidance Clinic. She is a senior faculty member and mental health working group Co-Chair of the Profectum Foundation. She also provides training to personnel in the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health and agencies across the country. Dr. Delahooke has a blog for parents and professionals, the Visible Parent, at www.thevisibleparent.com and at Facebook at /www.facebook.com/thevisibleparent and twitter at /twitter.com/monadelahooke

Professional Affiliations

Member: American Psychological Association

Member: California Psychological Association

Senior Faculty Member: Profectum Foundation

Faculty Member: Los Angeles Child Guidance Clinic Early Intervention Training Institute

Recent Trainings

November 2014:  Neurodevelopmental Techniques for Early Intervention, Hyannis and Taunton, MA

March 13-15, 2015: Co-Chair Profectum Third International Conference, Pasadena, CA

April 18, 2015: Parent Program at Harbor Regional Center, Torrance, CA.

April 27-28, 2015: Relationships Matter: About Building Connections, Project ABC Forum, Los Angeles, CA

November 5, 2015: Early Intervention: Neurodevelopmental Techniques for Challenging Behaviors, Parsippany, NJ

November 6, 2015: Early Intervention: Brain Based Techniques for Challenging Behaviors, Hasbrouck Heights, NJ

Celebrate the Children’s founder, Monica G. Osgood, is an experienced behavioral consultant and therapist who specializes in using developmental approaches to support children with autism and other differences in relating and communicating. She is also the Founder and Director of the Developmental Center for Children and Families (Limitless), a Board Member and founding member of the Profectum Foundation, and a Board Member and founding member of Celebrate the Individual (CTI). Monica has worked in homes, therapy centers, and private and public school settings for over 20 years. Some of her experience has included assessment and the development of intervention programs, curriculum and IEP development, and parent and professional training.

In 1998, Monica created the first public school program with the Developmental Individual Relationship-based (DIR model) approach as the core philosophy. ​In 2000, she was the first educator to join the senior faculty of the Interdisciplinary Council on Development and Learning(ICDL) to provide interdisciplinary training in the DIR model. During her time with ICDL, Monica served as faculty for all of their yearly training institutes, spoke at many of their conferences and had the opportunity to work closely and collaborate with Drs. Greenspan and Wieder to further develop the DIR model in school settings. ​In 2004, she collaborated with Lauren Blaszak to open a state-approved, DIR model school for children ages 3-21 in Denville, New Jersey, now serving over 70 school districts and 150 families.

Additional accomplishments include, many speaking engagements at conferences and participation in television, radio and newspaper interviews across the USA, Wales, Ireland and Amsterdam. Monica has appeared on Welsh Channel 4 and BBC1 documentaries, sharing the DIR model approach with British parents and professionals. Monica and the Celebrate the Children school were featured in a TIME Magazine cover story in May of 2006. ​She serves on the Advisory Board for 3LPlace and the National Advisory Council for The Centers for Exceptional Children​.  Monica also serves on the Economic Development Advisory Council and the Sustainable Economic Development Plan Steering Committee for her local Town Council. Finally, she collaborated with twice Grammy nominated children’s artists Dan Myers and Brady Rymer on an album and music video celebrating diversity in children with all abilities released April 2011.

Ricki Robinson, MD, MPH. is co-director of Descanso Medical Center for Development and Learning in La Canada, California and a clinical professor of pediatrics at the Keck School Medicine of USC. She has been in private pediatric practice for nearly forty years, specializing in children with autism and developmental delays for over twenty-five years.

Dr. Robinson received her MD degree in 1973 from the University of Southern California. She trained in pediatrics at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, having served as Chief Pediatric Resident for CHLA in 1976. She is board certified in pediatrics. In 1988 she received her MPH from the University at Berkeley School of Public Health.

She has been actively involved in the field of autism since 1990, developing multidisciplinary educational and medical programs for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and devoting endless hours in education, legislation and research efforts on a national level. Dr. Robinson has been at the forefront of leading grassroots autism organizations. She was a founding board member of Cure Autism Now (now Autism Speaks) and the Interdisciplinary Council on Developmental and Learning Disorders (ICDL), and most recently Profectum Foundation. She was a member of the Autism Speaks Scientific Review Panel for over eight years. Dr. Robinson organized and chaired the first nationally recognized task force to define the standard of care for clinical trials in autism. The results of this outstanding effort were published in CNS Spectrums (January 2004, Vol. 9, #1). Most recently she was appointed as Medical Director of Profectum Foundation, an organization devoted to providing multi-disciplinary education and training for parents, families and professionals working with individuals with ASD across the lifespan.

A nationally sought-after expert, she has appeared on the Today Show, The Talk, Larry King Live and Good Morning America Health in support of the needs of children and families with autism spectrum disorders. She is an internationally recognized speaker addressing the needs of children with autism and other developmental delays to parent, professional and lay audiences worldwide for the past two decades. She is also the author of the acclaimed book Autism Solutions – How to Create a Healthy and Meaningful Life for Your Child. 

Dr. Serena Wieder is the Clinical Director and a founding member of the Profectum Foundation, dedicated to advancing the development and mental health of children, of all ages, including adolescents and adults with neurodivergent development and emotional challenges through interdisciplinary training and educational programs. She also co-founded the Interdisciplinary Council on Developmental and Learning Disorders and was a Board Member of Zero to Three for 23 years. Dr. Wieder serves on various advisory boards to various programs serving infant mental health and other special needs.  Dr. Wieder also founded DIR-Israel, a training program that offers DIR Certificates, and provides consultation and training to many international and national programs.

As a clinical psychologist, Dr. Wieder has pioneered important approaches to diagnosing and treating infants and toddlers with infant mental health and developmental disorders.  She co-created the DIR Model with Stanley Greenspan, edited two diagnostic manuals for infants and young children. Further, she created models for interdisciplinary post-graduate case based training and pioneered parent-mediated intervention for parents of neurodivergent children.

Dr. Wieder has co-chaired and organized national and international conferences integrating development, neuroscience and intervention approaches for over 20 years. Dr. Wieder also developed approaches to integrate visual-spatial knowledge to advance emotional and cognitive development.  Her research interests concern follow up studies of children on the autism spectrum who received DIR model interventions and the evaluation of training and educational programs. In addition, she serves as adjunct faculty at various universities including Bank Street , UCS Davis IMH Fellowship Program, and Adelphi.

Amongst her many publications Dr. Wieder co-authored Engaging Autism, The Child With Special Needs and Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health with Stanley Greenspan, M.D. They also co-edited Infants in Multi-Risk Families as well as the ICDL Diagnostic Manual for Infants and Young Children (DMIC)/ She edited the original Diagnostic Classification of Mental Health and Developmental Disorders of Infancy and Early Childhood (DC 0-3) for Zero-Three. . Her chapters on the DIR Model appear in major textbooks on Autism Spectrum Disorders. Dr. Wieder also co- authored Visual Spatial Portals to Thinking, Feeling, and Movement with Harry Wachs, O.D. She has published numerous journal and book chapters and presents at multiple conferences nationally and internationally.

At this time, Dr. Serena Wieder also has a private practice in NYC for diagnosis, treatment and consultation regarding complex developmental and mental health challenges.