Autism Solutions: Pathways to Progress - New York City 2011
The conference welcomed parents, clinicians, educators, early intervention specialists and others interested in broadening their understanding of DIRFloortime®, with other integrated treatment approaches. Lecture, dialogue, video clips, case presentations and workshops illustrated real life challenges and how parents and professionals use real world solutions to realize each child's potential.
ADDED TO CART
Included In This Series
Developing Development: Foundational Capacities for Developm...
Presenter
Serena Wieder, PhD
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.
Pathways to Progress: Integrated Perspectives
Presenter
Tal Baz, MS, OTR/L
Tal Baz, MS, OTR/L is a registered and licensed occupational therapist who has practiced as a DIR Floortime® therapist, supervisor and consultant for more than fifteen years and works both nationally and internationally with families, clinicians, and various school systems. She has a clinical practice in Somerville, MA, and is teaching DIR Floortime® courses through the Profectum Foundation, nationally as well as internationally. Her special interests are in sensory-affective regulation, as it develops within the parent-child relational field. Tal has served on the DIR® faculty since 2001.
Monica Osgood, MA
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.
Serena Wieder, PhD
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.
Behavior as Communication: What is the child really telling ...
Presenter
Ricki Robinson, MD, MPH
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.
DIR Floortime Functional Emotional Developmental Levels 1-4
Presenter
Lisa DeFaria, MSW, LICSW, BCD
Lisa deFaria, MSW, LICSW, BCD is a Certified Senior Clinician and Profectum Founding Faculty member, with over 20 years of advanced training and clinical experience in the DIR® model and the DIRFloortime® developmental play therapy approach.
Lisa trained under Serena Wieder, PhD, and the late Stanley Greenspan, MD. She was previously on faculty with the Interdisciplinary Council on Developmental and Learning Disorders (ICDL) and was an Associate Professor with the ICDL Graduate PhD program in Early Childhood Development. Lisa has presented at national Profectum and ICDL training symposiums, in addition to regional agency, school and university speaking engagements related to child and parent development. She provides developmental programming consultation and in-service training focusing on pro-active and positive approaches for Early Start/Infant Intervention preschools, elementary/high school and inclusion programs. Lisa has and continues to provide reflective mentorship to advanced clinicians working in the model.
Formerly the founder and director of the Family Center for Developmental Therapies in Monterey, CA, Lisa has since relocated to Washington State. She currently has a private practice on Bainbridge Island, providing child and family-centered consultation and direct services utilizing DIR® and DIRFloortime® approach. While offering general psychotherapeutic services for children and teens, Lisa remains dedicated to focusing on supporting the growth and development of young children with neurodevelopmental challenges, including autism spectrum disorders, difficulties with self-regulation, attending and focusing and those with emerging emotional, behavioral and learning challenges.
Lisa has a Master’s in Social Work (MSW) from the University of Southern California and holds dual licensure in California and Washington State as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW/LICSW) and is a Board-Certified Diplomat (BCD) in Clinical Social Work. Lisa is an accredited member of the American Board of Examiners in Clinical Social Work, the National Association for Social Work, the Washington Society for Clinical Social Workers, and the Bainbridge Island Psychotherapy Guild.
Griff Doyle, PhD
Griffin Doyle is a clinical psychologist in private practice treating children of all ages, adolescents, adults and couples. His work has focused for over twenty five years on the DIR® model and practice with developmentally delayed, regulatory and autism spectrum disordered children. He also consulted to the Milton and Ethel Harris Research Initiative at York University studying the effectiveness of the DIR® model intervention. As an expert witness on attachment/separation, early development and autism spectrum disorders he has served for over ten years in several jurisdictions throughout Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia. Dr. Doyle has been a faculty member of the DIR® model Training Institute Program since 2001, a member of the ICDL Advisory Board and a past faculty member (2007 – 2011) of the ICDL Doctoral Program in Infant Mental Health and Developmental Disorders. In addition, he has been a core faculty member for fifteen years and past Co-Chair of the Infant Mental Health Postgraduate Seminar Program at the Washington School of Psychiatry (Washington, DC). His published articles include the subjects of forgiveness, the internal world of the infant and in-depth book reviews on child development and neuro-relational treatment approaches to infants and children. In 2009, Dr. Doyle was cited through a randomized, peer survey conducted throughout the Washington, DC metro area by WASHINGTONIAN magazine as a regional expert clinician in the treatment of autism spectrum disorders.
The Paths to Language: Knowing When To Teach What
Presenter
Sima Gerber, PhD, CCC-SLP
Profectum Senior Faculty Sima Gerber is a professor of speech-language pathology in the Department of Linguistics and Communication Disorders of Queens College, City University of New York. Dr. Gerber has over 40 years of clinical experience, specializing in the treatment of children with autistic spectrum disorders. Dr. Gerber is on the faculty of Profectum and the Advisory Board of the New York Zero-to-Three Network. Dr. Gerber has presented nationally and abroad on the topics of language acquisition and developmental approaches to intervention for children with challenges in language development. Dr. Gerber is the recipient of the award for Outstanding Service to the field of speech-language pathology given by the New York City Speech-Language-Hearing Association and the Louis DiCarlo Clinical Achievement Award from the New York State Association. Dr. Gerber has received the Distinguished Achievement Award from the New York State Speech-Language-Hearing Association and is a Fellow of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.
Sensory Integration and Individual Differences: Synchrony of...
Presenter
Rosemary White, OTR/L
Rosemary White has been an occupational therapist since 1972 and brings a wealth of clinical experience to every workshop she teaches throughout the United States and internationally in Canada, Europe, South Africa, Uganda and Australia. Rosemary is a true clinician’s clinician! Rosemary received her neurodevelopmental therapy training in London with the Bobaths, her sensory integrative therapy training in Los Angeles with Dr. A Jean Ayres and her training in the DIRFloortime® model with Stanley Greenspan and Serena Wieder, Ph.D. and the Faculty of ICDL. She currently owns and operates Pediatric Physical and Occupational Therapy Services in Seattle, Washington. Rosemary has her certificate in the DIR® model and has been senior faculty on the Interdisciplinary Council on Developmental and Learning Disabilities (ICDL) chaired by Stanley Greenspan, M.D. and Serena Wieder, Ph.D., since 2002. Rosemary is on the clinical faculty at the University of Washington in the School of Nursing Infant Mental Health Certificate Program. Rosemary is also faculty in the ICDL Graduate School in the Ph.D. in infant and early childhood mental health and developmental disorders. This is an on-line Ph.D. program providing education to professionals throughout the world. Rosemary is also Profectum Foundation Faculty.
Emotional Development and Symbolic Thinking
Presenter
Ron Balamuth, PhD
Ron Balamuth is a clinical psychologist and psychoanalyst and a graduate of the New York University post doctoral program in psychotherapy and psychoanalysis. He is on the faculty and a supervisor at the William Alanson White Institute Child and adolescent training program, the National Institute for the Psychotherapies and Columbia University Teacher’s College Program in Clinical Psychology. Dr. Balamuth has been involved in DIR Floortime® method for twenty years, serves on the faculty of the DIR® model institute and conducts DIR® model workshops both nationally and internationally. Dr. Balamuth has written, presented and published numerous articles on topics ranging from psychoanalytic approaches to the body, parenting, immigration and the integration of spirituality and psychoanalysis. Dr. Balamuth is in private practice in New York City, where he consults with individuals, couples, families and children. He also leads study groups and case consultations for professionals.
Serena Wieder, PhD
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.
Education: Using an Integrated Approach in Pre-school and El...
Presenter
Monica Osgood, MA
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.
Coaching Parents
Presenter
Barbara Kalmanson, PhD
Barbara Kalmanson has 40 years experience working with infants, children and their families, as well as with schools and agencies serving children environmentally and developmentally at risk . She is a founder of the Oak Hill School in San Anselmo, California, a developmental, relationship-based school for children and adolescents with autism spectrum and related neurodevelopmental disorders. Dr. Kalmanson has extensive experience as a clinical psychologist, a special educator, and an infant mental health specialist, including work with the Infant-Parent Program at the University of California in San Francisco; The San Francisco Psychoanalytic Institute, Child Development Program; California Pacific Medical Center, Child Development Center and in private practice in San Francisco and Marin County. She provides interdisciplinary consultation to schools and agencies nationwide and internationally. Dr. Kalmanson is the recipient of a FAR fund grant for the Kids Attuned website, promoting the importance of healthy relationships in infancy and early childhood. She teaches infant mental health at the Stella Maris Institute, the neuropsychiatric institute of the University of Pisa medical school. Dr. Kalmanson was the founding Academic Dean of the ICDL Graduate School, and senior faculty and for the Interdisciplinary Council on Learning & Developmental Disorders (ICDL). She’s served on multiple boards of directors including the Mayor’s Advisory Board on Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health in San Francisco, California. She received her doctorate in psychology and special education from the University of California, Berkeley. Dr. Kalmanson is a recipient of the Zero to Three: the National Center for Infants, Toddlers and Families Harris Fellowship, The Frederic Burk Foundation for Education Fellowship and a National Institute of Mental Health Training grant. Her publications and presentations focus on early identification and treatment of autistic spectrum disorders, relationship-based intervention and the importance of family-provider relationships. Recent publications include: Infant Parent Psychotherapy for Early Indicators of Autism Spectrum Disorders:How We Know How to be with Others, In Bonovitz and Harlem (eds.), Therapeutic Action in Child Psychotherapy, (in press) Echoes in the Nursery: Insights for the Treatment of Early Signs of Autism in a Baby Sibling, Journal of Infant, Child, and Adolescent Psychotherapy, vol. 8, no.1,2009, and Autism Assessment and Intervention: the developmental individual difference, relationship-based DIR® model / Floortime model, with Serena Wieder and Stanley Greenspan, Zero to Three, March 2008.
Ruby Salazar, LCSW, BCD
Ruby Moye Salazar is a child and family consultant and developmental therapist as well as an internationally recognized expert in early childhood development and autism.
Mrs. Salazar founded Pennsylvania Lifespan Services in 1980, a family-focused trans-displinary developmental practice providing psycho-social-developmental services for children and families.
She has worked in the office of three PA governors in child-care policy, was appointed to the Pennsylvania Governor’s Council for Children and the PA Department of Welfare Workgroup to establish Autism Assessment Policy and clinically directed both the ASD Comprehensive Assessment Project and the PA Department of Early Intervention Reflective Supervision Project. Proudly, Mrs. Salazar chaired then-candidate Barack Obama’s first Autism Workgroup who drafted the bill which became ASD Federal Law.
Mrs. Salazar has received many professional awards, among them the inaugural Sally Provence Award for excellence in infant and family practice from Zero to Three, Girl Scouts of America Professional of the Year award and National Guidance Counselors Association Professional Excellence award, all received in her hometown of Washington, D.C.
Mrs. Salazar is currently adjunct professor at Commonwealth Medical School and founding member and senior faculty at Profectum Academy, providing individual and group reflective supervision and consultation in leadership and organizational development to mental health non-profits and private practice organizations.
At home, she delights in her family, including her husband of 46 years, four children and four grandchildren. Ruby enjoys reading biographies and just about anything on the USA’s Founding Fathers.
Visit Ruby’s Website for More Information
Advanced Clinical Thinking - Part 1: Sensory Processing and ...
Presenter
Tal Baz, MS, OTR/L
Tal Baz, MS, OTR/L is a registered and licensed occupational therapist who has practiced as a DIR Floortime® therapist, supervisor and consultant for more than fifteen years and works both nationally and internationally with families, clinicians, and various school systems. She has a clinical practice in Somerville, MA, and is teaching DIR Floortime® courses through the Profectum Foundation, nationally as well as internationally. Her special interests are in sensory-affective regulation, as it develops within the parent-child relational field. Tal has served on the DIR® faculty since 2001.
Gilbert Foley, EdD, IMH-E
Consulting Clinical Psychologist, New York Center for Child Development (NYCCD); Clinical Co- Director, New York City Early Childhood Mental Health Training and Technical Assistance Center (TTAC)
Gilbert M. Foley, EdD, IMH-E® serves as Consulting Clinical Psychologist at the New York Center for Child Development (NYCCD) in New York City and Clinical Co- Director of the New York City Early Childhood Mental Health Training and Technical Assistance Center (TTAC). He is Endorsed as an Infant Mental Health/ Clinical Mentor, Level IV and is a founding board member of the New York and Pennsylvania State Associations of Infant Mental Health. He is a senior faculty member of the DIR® Profectum Academy and core faculty member of the Psychodynamic Institute for Clinical Social work (Chicago). Dr Foley is a retired Associate Professor (tenured) of the School-Clinical Child Psychology Doctoral Program at Yeshiva University’s Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology and Director Emeritus of the Graduate Program in Infant Mental Health and Developmental Practice at Adelphi University. He served as Visiting Fellow at the Yale Child Study Center and was Director of Psychology in the Department of Pediatrics at the Medical College of Pennsylvania. Dr. Foley is the co-author of four books and has written over 50 scholarly articles and chapters. Linking Sensory Integration and Mental Health: Nurturing Self-Regulation in Infants and Young Children has just been published by National Zero to Three. Dr. Foley lectures widely nationally and internationally.
DIR Floortime Functional Emotional Developmental Levels 5-9
Presenter
Lisa DeFaria, MSW, LICSW, BCD
Lisa deFaria, MSW, LICSW, BCD is a Certified Senior Clinician and Profectum Founding Faculty member, with over 20 years of advanced training and clinical experience in the DIR® model and the DIRFloortime® developmental play therapy approach.
Lisa trained under Serena Wieder, PhD, and the late Stanley Greenspan, MD. She was previously on faculty with the Interdisciplinary Council on Developmental and Learning Disorders (ICDL) and was an Associate Professor with the ICDL Graduate PhD program in Early Childhood Development. Lisa has presented at national Profectum and ICDL training symposiums, in addition to regional agency, school and university speaking engagements related to child and parent development. She provides developmental programming consultation and in-service training focusing on pro-active and positive approaches for Early Start/Infant Intervention preschools, elementary/high school and inclusion programs. Lisa has and continues to provide reflective mentorship to advanced clinicians working in the model.
Formerly the founder and director of the Family Center for Developmental Therapies in Monterey, CA, Lisa has since relocated to Washington State. She currently has a private practice on Bainbridge Island, providing child and family-centered consultation and direct services utilizing DIR® and DIRFloortime® approach. While offering general psychotherapeutic services for children and teens, Lisa remains dedicated to focusing on supporting the growth and development of young children with neurodevelopmental challenges, including autism spectrum disorders, difficulties with self-regulation, attending and focusing and those with emerging emotional, behavioral and learning challenges.
Lisa has a Master’s in Social Work (MSW) from the University of Southern California and holds dual licensure in California and Washington State as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW/LICSW) and is a Board-Certified Diplomat (BCD) in Clinical Social Work. Lisa is an accredited member of the American Board of Examiners in Clinical Social Work, the National Association for Social Work, the Washington Society for Clinical Social Workers, and the Bainbridge Island Psychotherapy Guild.
Griff Doyle, PhD
Griffin Doyle is a clinical psychologist in private practice treating children of all ages, adolescents, adults and couples. His work has focused for over twenty five years on the DIR® model and practice with developmentally delayed, regulatory and autism spectrum disordered children. He also consulted to the Milton and Ethel Harris Research Initiative at York University studying the effectiveness of the DIR® model intervention. As an expert witness on attachment/separation, early development and autism spectrum disorders he has served for over ten years in several jurisdictions throughout Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia. Dr. Doyle has been a faculty member of the DIR® model Training Institute Program since 2001, a member of the ICDL Advisory Board and a past faculty member (2007 – 2011) of the ICDL Doctoral Program in Infant Mental Health and Developmental Disorders. In addition, he has been a core faculty member for fifteen years and past Co-Chair of the Infant Mental Health Postgraduate Seminar Program at the Washington School of Psychiatry (Washington, DC). His published articles include the subjects of forgiveness, the internal world of the infant and in-depth book reviews on child development and neuro-relational treatment approaches to infants and children. In 2009, Dr. Doyle was cited through a randomized, peer survey conducted throughout the Washington, DC metro area by WASHINGTONIAN magazine as a regional expert clinician in the treatment of autism spectrum disorders.
Monica Osgood, MA
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.
Communication: Pathways to Progress
Presenter
Cindy Harrison, MSc Reg CASLPO
Cindy is a Speech Language Pathologist and President and CEO of ACT Learning Centre. Cindy's area of clinical focus is the provision of assessment and treatment of children, adolescents, and adults with autism spectrum disorder, disorders of relating and communicating, intellectual disabilities, global developmental delays.
Cindy is also Senior Faculty for Profectum and has taught in Profectum’s Training Program educating occupational therapists, speech language pathologists, psychologists, educators and physicians in the use of the DIR model in their practice settings. Cindy is a well-known public speaker who trains and educates clinicians and parents in North America and abroad.
Cindy believes that it is essential to make parents an integral part of intervention and that together with the therapists, parents should be seen as “co-quarterbacks” in the treatment process.
Cindy holds Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Western Ontario and a Master of Science in Speech Language Pathology from the University of Vermont. She is very active in her community and serves on a number of Boards and community associations.
The Dyadic Space - Where Affect and Sensory Merge
Presenter
Tal Baz, MS, OTR/L
Tal Baz, MS, OTR/L is a registered and licensed occupational therapist who has practiced as a DIR Floortime® therapist, supervisor and consultant for more than fifteen years and works both nationally and internationally with families, clinicians, and various school systems. She has a clinical practice in Somerville, MA, and is teaching DIR Floortime® courses through the Profectum Foundation, nationally as well as internationally. Her special interests are in sensory-affective regulation, as it develops within the parent-child relational field. Tal has served on the DIR® faculty since 2001.
Rosemary White, OTR/L
Rosemary White has been an occupational therapist since 1972 and brings a wealth of clinical experience to every workshop she teaches throughout the United States and internationally in Canada, Europe, South Africa, Uganda and Australia. Rosemary is a true clinician’s clinician! Rosemary received her neurodevelopmental therapy training in London with the Bobaths, her sensory integrative therapy training in Los Angeles with Dr. A Jean Ayres and her training in the DIRFloortime® model with Stanley Greenspan and Serena Wieder, Ph.D. and the Faculty of ICDL. She currently owns and operates Pediatric Physical and Occupational Therapy Services in Seattle, Washington. Rosemary has her certificate in the DIR® model and has been senior faculty on the Interdisciplinary Council on Developmental and Learning Disabilities (ICDL) chaired by Stanley Greenspan, M.D. and Serena Wieder, Ph.D., since 2002. Rosemary is on the clinical faculty at the University of Washington in the School of Nursing Infant Mental Health Certificate Program. Rosemary is also faculty in the ICDL Graduate School in the Ph.D. in infant and early childhood mental health and developmental disorders. This is an on-line Ph.D. program providing education to professionals throughout the world. Rosemary is also Profectum Foundation Faculty.
Education: Using an Integrated Approach in Middle School, Hi...
Presenter
Barbara Kalmanson, PhD
Barbara Kalmanson has 40 years experience working with infants, children and their families, as well as with schools and agencies serving children environmentally and developmentally at risk . She is a founder of the Oak Hill School in San Anselmo, California, a developmental, relationship-based school for children and adolescents with autism spectrum and related neurodevelopmental disorders. Dr. Kalmanson has extensive experience as a clinical psychologist, a special educator, and an infant mental health specialist, including work with the Infant-Parent Program at the University of California in San Francisco; The San Francisco Psychoanalytic Institute, Child Development Program; California Pacific Medical Center, Child Development Center and in private practice in San Francisco and Marin County. She provides interdisciplinary consultation to schools and agencies nationwide and internationally. Dr. Kalmanson is the recipient of a FAR fund grant for the Kids Attuned website, promoting the importance of healthy relationships in infancy and early childhood. She teaches infant mental health at the Stella Maris Institute, the neuropsychiatric institute of the University of Pisa medical school. Dr. Kalmanson was the founding Academic Dean of the ICDL Graduate School, and senior faculty and for the Interdisciplinary Council on Learning & Developmental Disorders (ICDL). She’s served on multiple boards of directors including the Mayor’s Advisory Board on Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health in San Francisco, California. She received her doctorate in psychology and special education from the University of California, Berkeley. Dr. Kalmanson is a recipient of the Zero to Three: the National Center for Infants, Toddlers and Families Harris Fellowship, The Frederic Burk Foundation for Education Fellowship and a National Institute of Mental Health Training grant. Her publications and presentations focus on early identification and treatment of autistic spectrum disorders, relationship-based intervention and the importance of family-provider relationships. Recent publications include: Infant Parent Psychotherapy for Early Indicators of Autism Spectrum Disorders:How We Know How to be with Others, In Bonovitz and Harlem (eds.), Therapeutic Action in Child Psychotherapy, (in press) Echoes in the Nursery: Insights for the Treatment of Early Signs of Autism in a Baby Sibling, Journal of Infant, Child, and Adolescent Psychotherapy, vol. 8, no.1,2009, and Autism Assessment and Intervention: the developmental individual difference, relationship-based DIR® model / Floortime model, with Serena Wieder and Stanley Greenspan, Zero to Three, March 2008.
Monica Osgood, MA
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.
The Importance of Working with Families
Presenter
Gilbert Foley, EdD, IMH-E
Consulting Clinical Psychologist, New York Center for Child Development (NYCCD); Clinical Co- Director, New York City Early Childhood Mental Health Training and Technical Assistance Center (TTAC)
Gilbert M. Foley, EdD, IMH-E® serves as Consulting Clinical Psychologist at the New York Center for Child Development (NYCCD) in New York City and Clinical Co- Director of the New York City Early Childhood Mental Health Training and Technical Assistance Center (TTAC). He is Endorsed as an Infant Mental Health/ Clinical Mentor, Level IV and is a founding board member of the New York and Pennsylvania State Associations of Infant Mental Health. He is a senior faculty member of the DIR® Profectum Academy and core faculty member of the Psychodynamic Institute for Clinical Social work (Chicago). Dr Foley is a retired Associate Professor (tenured) of the School-Clinical Child Psychology Doctoral Program at Yeshiva University’s Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology and Director Emeritus of the Graduate Program in Infant Mental Health and Developmental Practice at Adelphi University. He served as Visiting Fellow at the Yale Child Study Center and was Director of Psychology in the Department of Pediatrics at the Medical College of Pennsylvania. Dr. Foley is the co-author of four books and has written over 50 scholarly articles and chapters. Linking Sensory Integration and Mental Health: Nurturing Self-Regulation in Infants and Young Children has just been published by National Zero to Three. Dr. Foley lectures widely nationally and internationally.
Ruby Salazar, LCSW, BCD
Ruby Moye Salazar is a child and family consultant and developmental therapist as well as an internationally recognized expert in early childhood development and autism.
Mrs. Salazar founded Pennsylvania Lifespan Services in 1980, a family-focused trans-displinary developmental practice providing psycho-social-developmental services for children and families.
She has worked in the office of three PA governors in child-care policy, was appointed to the Pennsylvania Governor’s Council for Children and the PA Department of Welfare Workgroup to establish Autism Assessment Policy and clinically directed both the ASD Comprehensive Assessment Project and the PA Department of Early Intervention Reflective Supervision Project. Proudly, Mrs. Salazar chaired then-candidate Barack Obama’s first Autism Workgroup who drafted the bill which became ASD Federal Law.
Mrs. Salazar has received many professional awards, among them the inaugural Sally Provence Award for excellence in infant and family practice from Zero to Three, Girl Scouts of America Professional of the Year award and National Guidance Counselors Association Professional Excellence award, all received in her hometown of Washington, D.C.
Mrs. Salazar is currently adjunct professor at Commonwealth Medical School and founding member and senior faculty at Profectum Academy, providing individual and group reflective supervision and consultation in leadership and organizational development to mental health non-profits and private practice organizations.
At home, she delights in her family, including her husband of 46 years, four children and four grandchildren. Ruby enjoys reading biographies and just about anything on the USA’s Founding Fathers.
Visit Ruby’s Website for More Information
Raising the Bar: Developmental School and Adult Programs Around the World
Presenter
Monica Osgood, MA
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.
Amy Keveanos
Margaret Demsak
Madeleine Welch
CHRIS SEMINARO, MEd
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.
Ryan Gresik
Olivia Lofgren
Michele Havens, EdD
Dr. Michele Havens received her Ed.D. degree from Rutgers University, is certified in DIRFloortime® and is a Board-Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA). She is a DIRFloortime® Consultant at Imagine Academy, a Brooklyn ABA/DIR® program. Dr. Havens is Professor Emeritus from Kean University, Montclair State University and Daemen College, advocate and private interventionist for children with special needs, and Autism parent support group. Facilitator. Dr. Havens was previously the coordinator of the Verona, NJ Preschool Disabled Program.
Elizabeth Osten, MS
Susan Smith-Foley, OTD, MPA, OTR/L
Susan Smith-Foley, OTD, MPA, OTR/L is the Clinical Director of Positive Development’s Cherry Hill and Lakewood, NJ Therapy Centers. She has expertise on the provision of transdisciplinary DIR®/DRBI services and frequently lectures on this topic. Susan is passionate about integrating the DIR® model into school and community settings. She completed a post-professional doctoral degree in Occupational Therapy (OTD) at The University of Kansas Medical Center in December 2018. Susan is a Senior Faculty member of Profectum Academy.
Natalka Kitts, MS
Richard Solomon, MD
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.
Karen McDowell
Karen McDowell is an educator with over 25 years experience working with the adolescent and young adult population. She is an assistant faculty member of Profectum Foundation and strives to implement a comprehensive developmental curriculum into both her classroom environment and therapy work. As a lead teacher and Young Adult Program Coordinator at Celebrate the Children school for 13 years, she has contributed to innovative curriculum and strategies with the unique needs of individuals in mind while promoting opportunities for growth and development in both group and individual settings. Karen facilitates a weekly young adult group for several years with intensive focus on social and emotional strengths and challenges. Areas of interest and study include executive functioning, visual spatial processing, emotional regulation, and problem solving and she has provided workshops around the country on these developmental areas. Karen strives to provide programs that entice thinking, collaborative problem solving, effective communication, and positive coping strategies to support success, independence, meaningful and fulfilling experiences, and happiness within the demands of the 21st century.
Mady K Ahern, MSW, Certified Early Childhood Group Therapist, Profectum Clinical Certification
Mady Kaplan is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, with a specialization in children and families. She is a Certified Early Childhood Group Therapist, a graduate of the Profectum Advanced Clinical Training Program and a Certified Profectum Trainer. Mady conducts individual and group therapy for children and parents at Celebrate the Children school and in private practice. Throughout her career Mady has offered workshops at a variety of national conferences for educators, parents, social workers and other professionals. Mady is delighted to be presenting at the NY/NJ Profectum Conference on Relationships.
Michelle Rehse, BS in Special Education
Maria Aggio
Maria is a primary school teacher and a special education teacher from Buenos Aires, Argentina. She has been working in the special education field since 1990. She completed a 6-month fellowship program in special education at Kennedy Krieger School, Baltimore, Maryland in 2000. Maria has been working in programs of trans-disciplinary assessment and intervention in early childhood and in particular, in intervention programs for children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders. She is the Coordinator of the DIR® Model Service at CETNA, FLENI (www.fleni.org.ar) and has worked at summer camp programs at Celebrate the Children School in New Jersey.
Maria has held a DIR® model certificate since 2007 and served as a training leader at ICDL. She has co-coordinated numerous trainings in the DIR Floortime® in Argentina, both at FLENI and at UAI (Universidad Abierta Interamericana), in Buenos Aires and across the country. She provides DIR® model-based interventions to children and their families and supervises and consults with professional teams working with children and adolescents with special needs. Maria has been invited to different conferences and lectures across the country to speak about the DIR® model.
Lauren Blaszak
Fostering Independence and Feelings of COMPETENCE in the Home While Improving Engagement with Your Child
Presenter
Margaret Demsak
Madeleine Welch
Intro to the 5 C’s and the DIR-FCD Adult Program Model
Presenter
CHRIS SEMINARO, MEd
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.
Ryan Gresik
Olivia Lofgren
Social-Emotional Learning Curriculums for Special Needs Students
Presenter
Mady K Ahern, MSW, Certified Early Childhood Group Therapist, Profectum Clinical Certification
Mady Kaplan is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, with a specialization in children and families. She is a Certified Early Childhood Group Therapist, a graduate of the Profectum Advanced Clinical Training Program and a Certified Profectum Trainer. Mady conducts individual and group therapy for children and parents at Celebrate the Children school and in private practice. Throughout her career Mady has offered workshops at a variety of national conferences for educators, parents, social workers and other professionals. Mady is delighted to be presenting at the NY/NJ Profectum Conference on Relationships.
Amy Keveanos
Michelle Rehse, BS in Special Education
Parent Panel-Lessons Learned and Looking to the Future
Presenter
Lauren Blaszak
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