Heterogeneity in Social Development Panel Discussion

Sherri Cawn, MA, CCC-SLP, clinical director of Cawn-Krantz and Associates Developmental Therapies (with locations in Chicago and Northbrook, Il), 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® model in speech and language development and conducts trainings other professionals throughout the US and overseas on the concepts of this model. Sherri is the author of the self study DVD/Manual on the Assessment and Intervention of DIR/Floortime® produced by the American Speech and Hearing Association in 2011 and the self study DVD on the Assessment/Intervention of Developmental Language (2013)., In addition she is a co-author of Language Disorders chapter in the Diagnostic Manual for Infancy and Early Childhood and she is a co-author of the Profectum Parent Toolbox, (March 2016) an online free webcast series for parents and caretakers. Sherri is a senior faculty member of the ICDL DIR FT, the Profectum (DIR/FT) Academy Online Training Program and adjunct faculty at the Erikson Institute. She received her graduate and undergraduate degrees from the University of Illinois.

Director of the Interdisciplinary Training Institute, Los Angeles /Connie Lillas, PhD, MFT, RN is the Director of the Interdisciplinary Training Institute with a background in high-risk maternal-child nursing, family systems, and developmental psychoanalysis. She is a National Graduate Zero to Three Leadership Fellow and a Court Team Liaison for a birth to three-year-old Fostering Family Partnerships pilot promoting child welfare reform in Los Angeles. Connie has a full-time private practice, specializing in dual diagnosis across both developmental delays and mental health concerns. In addition, she trains locally, nationally, and internationally on the Neurorelational Framework (NRF, 2009) based upon her co-authored book—Infant/Child Mental Health, Early Intervention, and Relationship-Based Therapies: A Neurorelational Framework for Interdisciplinary Practice, which is a part of the W. W. Norton Interpersonal Neurobiology Series.

Dr. Wieder is the Clinical Director and a founding member of the Profectum Foundation, dedicated to advancing the development and infant mental health of all children, including children, adolescents and adults with autism and special needs through training and educational programs. She also co-founded the Interdisciplinary Council on Developmental and Learning Disorders with the late Stanley Greenspan. Dr. Wieder is a Board Member of Zero to Three and also serves on Advisory Boards to various programs serving infant mental health and other special needs. She established DIR-Israel and provides consultation and training to 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-developed the DIR Model with Stanley Greenspan, edited two diagnostic manuals for infants and young children, and created models for interdisciplinary post-graduate case based training and work with parents. She has co-chaired and organized national and international conferences integrating development, neuroscience and intervention approaches for nearly 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 have received DIR comprehensive interventions and the evaluation of training and educational programs. 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) and the original Diagnostic Classification of Mental Health and Developmental Disorders of Infancy and Early Childhood (DC 03).  Most recently, Dr. Wieder 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. Wieder also has a private practice in NYC for diagnosis, treatment and consultation regarding complex developmental and mental health challenges.