I am a NJ/NY state certified special educator with extensive DIR/Floortime experience and certified provider of the Polyvagal Theory SSP (Safe and Sound Protocol). In 1984, I began working in a NJ state residential treatment facility for neglected young children using art as a therapeutic tool to facilitate dialogue, thoughts, feelings and emotions through symbolic expression where communication otherwise proved extraordinarily challenging with this population.  In 1996, co-taught at Barbara Taylor School, Brooklyn, NY based upon the philosophy and teachings of Lev Vygotsky.  Since 2001, I have worked with families in the states and abroad as a special educator in the Early Intervention population, birth to three, as well as older children through late adolescence and young adulthood using a DIR/Floortime based approach.  2002 completed graduate studies, MA Developmental Psychology, SUNY, NYC. From 2004 to 2013, I was a primary contributor to the DIR/Floortime coalition of NJ.  I have also trained other clinicians in Early Intervention on DIR/Floortime methodology working with both typical and non-typical developing children. In 2006, completed training at Integral Yoga Institute, NYC in "Yoga For The Special Child." 2023 Certified provider of the Polyvagal Theory SSP (Safe and Sound Protocol). 2024 Polyvagal Theory Certificate. I have worked with families whose toddler or older child have been diagnosed with mild to severe ASD and other neurodevelopmental and social-pragmatic language/communication based challenges, including, Fragile X, Down Syndrome, Rett Syndrome, PANDAS, Angelman Syndrome, Russell Silver Syndrome, ADHD and moderate to severe SPD (sensory processing disorder).

The foundation of my practice has always been on systematically guiding primary caregivers as well as clinicians not to simply redirect "inappropriate behaviors" but to comprehensively and developmentally understand and facilitate each child’s underlying core functional emotional developmental capacities and sensory-affect motor processing differences. This is begun by guiding you to consistently follow your child’s lead and begin to connect with his/her natural intent or affective interests in order to meaningfully begin to deepen back and forth two-way social-emotional engagement and as a result more complex ideation, symbolic play sequences, receptive and expressive social pragmatic language and peer relationship skills.  

As each child moves up the functional emotional developmental ladder we are supporting the foundations for each child's developing healthy autonomy or "sense of self."  This includes each child's natural capacity for spontaneous reciprocal co-regulated and assertive engagement, sensory-affect-motor regulation/integration and pragmatic language skills. The following represent the first six primary Functional-Emotional Developmental milestones from birth to three:

Self-Regulation and Taking Interest in the World  Engagement and Relating (Falling in Love) Purposeful Two-Way Communication. Complex Communication and Problem Solving Using  Symbols and Creating Emotional Ideas Logical Thinking and Building Bridges Between Ideas (1)

My intervention approach with families is in direct contrast to behavioral based methodologies, where clinicians generally do not take into consideration your child’s s natural intent or range of affect [the emotions] which is connected to each child's executive functioning (ability to plan and sequence actions) and emerging “sense-of-self “ but instead primarily focus on managing your child’s compliance to a series of memorized “surface behavioral responses” so s/he can complete a series of itemized tasks on a checklist.

(1)  For a more detailed explanation for all sixteen primary functional-emotional developmental capacities or milestones, see http://www.icdl.com/dir/fedcs  For a quite useful parent developmental chart with respect to the first six primary milestones, see,   http://www.icdl.com/dir/fedcs/functional-emotional-developmental-levels-basic-chart

For a wonderful presentation by Dr. Stanley Greenspan (founder of DIR/Floortime) explaining the core differences in a relationship based DIR/Floortime approach with respect to addressing the functional-emotional developmental milestones that each child must master as s/he moves up the developmenttal ladder in contrast to a splintered behavioral based approach see, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41FVIGN7jWU