May is Better Speech and Hearing Month and we will be highlighting a different clinician each week so you can get to know your clinician in and out of the office!
To kick off Speech and Hearing Month:
Laney Griffin, MA, CCC-SLP
Laney has been with FUNdamentals and Building Blocks Therapy since 2009 when she returned home after attending graduate school in Louisiana. Laney grew up, and continues to reside, in the Northern Virginia area. She has family throughout the country and enjoys traveling to visit her younger sisters and brother. She is looking forward to seeing her baby brother soon on a family trip to Vegas!
Laney’s caseload includes a variety of ages and disorders. She has worked at both our big and little kid summer camps and runs an ongoing social skills group with an Occupational Therapy in our Falls Church office.
Currently Laney is reading a great resource titled “The Myth of Autism” By: Dr. Michael J. Goldberg.
A synopsis of the book states:
“Experts agree that America is in the midst of a disturbing epidemic of what has thus far been diagnosed as autism. In just thirty years autism diagnoses have risen from 1 in 5,000 children to 1 in 110, according to the Center of Disease Control and Prevention.
But in the history of our society there has never been an “epidemic” of any developmental or genetic disorder – it is scientifically impossible. So what is this mysterious affliction known as ‘autism,’ and how can we stop it? Dr. Goldberg and his colleagues illustrate why autism cannot be genetic, but is a symptom of a treatable neurological disease that attacks the brain’s immune system. Readers will come to understand:
-Autism is not psychological or developmental, but a medical disease.
-Autism is caused by a dysfunction in the neuro-immune system and often by secondary neurotropic viruses that impact the neuro-immune system and brain.
-Illness such as autism, ADD/ADHD, and chronic fatigue syndrome all have different “labels” but are actually variations of the same thing: neuro-immune dysfunction syndromes (NIDS).
-A NeuroSPECT scan is a diagnostic tool which, used in combination with proven therapies and treatments described in this book, is saving lives today, while opening the door for new therapies.
-What you can do to transform your own life or the lives of your loved ones.”
Golberg believes that in order to save the next generation of children from the incurable stigma of an autism diagnosis, we mush quickly realize that all of these disorders result form a very treatable disease process.”
Some of Laney’s favorite iPad apps come from http://www.kindergarten.com. She likes these to work on descriptive language, function, categories, and association. Controls allow you to turn the volume on/off to work on expressive language goals.