Child & Family

I am pleased to announce that Joy Granetz, Ph.D. is joining the Child and Family Development team on August 30.

Dr. Granetz received her Ph.D. in Psychology from George Mason University and is a North Carolina licensed psychologist. She has over twelve years of extensive experience in neuropsychological testing with a special focus in working with children and adolescents with learning disorders, attention related problems, and head injury. Dr. Granetz also provides therapy for children and adolescents with emotional and/or behavioral difficulties.

During her training, Dr. Granetz worked at the National Institutes of Health in the Cognitive Neuroscience Section administering neuropsychological tests. During a two year internship, she worked at the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center of Walter Reed Army Medical Center, where she performed neuropsychological assessments. In addition, she has published research on the neuropsychological effects of brain injury and learning disorders.

Prior to joining the Child and Family Development team, Dr. Granetz worked in a pediatric group practice in Northern Virginia for ten years. Dr. Granetz will be based at our South Charlotte clinic. 

In addition to our assessment and treatment services, we plan to expand our scope to include neuropsychological testing.

The speech therapy team at Child and Family Development welcomes Carolyn Curry, M.A., CCC-SLP on August 30. 

Ms. Curry graduated from Fairfield University and completed her Master's in Communication Arts at Hofstra University in 1998.  She has over twelve years of clinical experience in both the school and private practice settings.  In addition, she was a teacher of children with autism spectrum disorder and an applied behavior analysis (ABA) consultant.  

She will based at our Midtown clinic as a full-time pediatric speech therapist. 

Welcome Carolyn, we are glad you are here!

Child and Family Development is blooming this summer!

An occupational therapist, Beth White, OTR/L, joined the team on June 8.  She has 8 years of experience working in pediatrics, primarily in the outpatient hospital setting, but also inpatient hospital, with additional training in early intervention and school settings. Her primary focus of experience is in the areas of Sensory Integration, behavioral management, autism, social skills, aquatics, Attention Deficit Disorder, developmental delay, dyspraxia, handwriting difficulties, visual motor and perceptual concerns, Oppositional Defiant Disorder, brain injury, and executive functioning. She has had extensive training in Sensory Integration and she is currently completing the certification to administer the SIPT (Sensory Integration and Praxis Test), as well as further extensive continuing education in the above listed focus areas. Beth believes strongly in family involvement to assist the child in being the best they can be! She is based at our South Charlotte office.

A speech-language pathologist, Sadia Syed, M.S., CCC-SLP, joined the team on July 5.  She has worked in private school, clinic and natural environment settings. Her clinical experience includes working with children with Developmental Apraxia of Speech (DAS), articulation, Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD), autism, behavioral feeding, language, literacy, processing disorder (CAPD), oral motor, phonology, and voice.  In addition, Sadia has training in Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) and Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS).  She believes in a collaborative and multi-disciplinary approach to therapy.  Sadia likes to create a fun and naturalistic environment for the children to interact and learn.  She also incorporates the family to help facilitate and achieve the communication goals.

An occupational therapist, Danielle Perugini, MOT, OTR/L, joined the team on July 12.  She has worked in outpatient pediatric rehabilitation, early intervention, home care, public/private school, and residential school settings. Danielle has had the opportunity to work with children and adolescents with varying needs including strength deficits, fine motor/visual-motor delays, dyspraxia, visual impairments, sensory processing disorder, developmental delays, orthopedic impairments, handwriting legibility issues, and learning disabilities. She has also served as the primary treating and consulting therapist in two different programs for children with autism. Danielle believes strongly in the occupational therapy principle that meaningful, motivating activities provide the best opportunities for learning and skill development and greatly enjoys the challenge of making therapy fun and engaging in order to maximize therapeutic gains. 

August brings more people to our pediatric therapy team.  Look for my upcoming blog about another occupational therapist and a child psychologist.

Welcome Ladies!

Child and Family Development is pleased to be one of the sponsors for this week's The Down Syndrome Association of Charlotte 2010 Symposium. 

On June 25, Lori Overland, MS, CCC-SLP will be training parents, caregivers and pediatric therapy providers in the Talk Tools Approach to Oral-Motor Feeding and Speech Therapy.  The seminar is an overview of a sensory motor approach to feeding.  It is a three-part program that outlines medical, behavioral and sensory issues which impact feeding, skills that are needed for feeding and intelligible speech and sensory diet plans. 

Ms. Overland will evaluate several local children at our Midtown clinic this week and present those case studies at Friday's course. 

To learn more about the event or this great organization, go to www.dsanc.org

Child and Family Development is growing!

As we relocate our South Charlotte clinic in June into a larger space, we are looking for a North Carolina licensed physical therapist to join the team.

Visit the Careers tab on our website, www.childandfamilydevelopment.com, to learn more about this opportunity. 

May is Better Speech and Hearing Month!

Our website, www.childandfamilydevelopment.com, contains a developmental chart that list typical age ranges for babbling, talking, sound production and other speech-language skill acquisition.

Use it as a reference tool or contact a speech therapist with specific questions. 

Child and Family Development is already excited about the Autism Super Conference scheduled for October 21-22 in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Experts in the autism spectrum disorders field will be leading the event, including:

At least one person from each of our 5 disciplines is planning to attend, including Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, Speech Language Therapy, Psychology and Education.

It's the last day of the April, so another Autism Awareness Month is coming to a close.

In recognition and as part of our regular work, Child and Family Development has been involved in a number of community activities including regional Autism Society family meetings, professional gatherings pertaining to Charlotte residents access to related services and the Autism Aware Fare.

Throughout the year, we provide pediatric therapy services to children with this diagnosis, including:

• ASD Diagnostic clinic led by psychologist, Carol Capehart
• Feeding group, led by occupational therapist, Ellen Bruce
• Interactive Metronome, led by a number of occupational therapy and physical therapy team members
• Relationship Development Intervention (RDI) led by certified RDI provider and physical therapist, Amy Sturkey
• Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) services
   

March is National Nutrition Month and a timely occasion to inform the Charlotte community of the partnership between Child and Family Development and pediatric dietitian, Anu Manthripragada, MS, RD, LDN, CNSC.  

The Nutrition Clinic was launched in February 2009 and offers comprehensive nutrition assessments and follow-up care, including education and counseling to children and families. Typically, it occurs on Wednesday evenings at our Midtown clinic. 

Services are for people ages 0-20 years for diagnoses including but not limited to allergies, cystic fibrosis, cerebral palsy, developmental delays, enteral and parenteral nutrition support, gastro-intestinal issues, infant formula selection and guidance, mental retardation, metabolic issues, prematurity, special diets (gluten-free and Casein-free) and trauma issues.   

Anuradha (Anu)  Manthripragada, MS, RD,  LDN, CNSC is a clinical nutrition specialist in pediatrics and adult medical nutrition therapy.   Her credentials include:  Registered Dietitian (RD), Licensed Dietitian/Nutritionist (LDN), and Clinical Nutrition Specialist (CNS).  Anu brings over 19 years of dietetic experience to the Nutrition Clinic at Child & Family Development.  Anu is the lead pediatric dietitian in all areas of pediatric specialties, including hematology, oncology, genetics, and metabolic nutrition at Levine Children's Hospital at Carolinas Medical Center.  She obtained her Master's degree from East Carolina University and is a board-certified specialist in nutrition support with a depth of knowledge in tube feedings and intravenous nutrition therapy.  Additionally, Anu taught Advanced Clinical Nutrition at Winthrop University and has been invited to share her expertise in GI nutrition with various dietetic associations across the country. 

We are proud to work with Anu and support nutritional health for children. 

C&FD is growing!

Dr. Stephen Elliott. Ph.D. is a North Carolina licensed child psychologist with about 30 years of clinical experience who joins the pediatric therapy team today.  His focus is on child, adolescent and family counseling. 

Dr. Elliott completed his Ph.D. in Clinical Marriage and Family Therapy from Virginia Tech.  He has practiced in private and large group settings.  In addition, he was a Professor at Wake Forest School of Medicine where he taught courses on counseling skills.  He has given presentations at numerous local, state, and national workshops and conferences.  He is a black belt in Tae Kwon Do and owns a mixed martial arts studio in Cornelius where he coaches and teaches classes. 

He provides individual, family and group counseling to children, adolescents, parents and families. Dr. Elliott‘s work includes using the “Parenting with Love and Limits” model developed by the Savannah Family Institute to help parents help their children. He emphasizes encouragement and competency-building as two key elements to helping children increase confidence and self-esteem. 

Child and Family Development is growing! 

Hollie Bowling, M.A., CCC-SLP joins the team on March 10 to assist in case coverage of speech therapy services.  She is a pediatric speech therapist who has practiced in Charlotte for the last 3 years.  She obtained her Masters degree from Appalachian State University in 2006 and an undergraduate degree from University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill.  In 2007, she started work at a non-profit agency that included multi-disciplinary services and community outreach with various programs and organizations. In 2008, Charlotte Parent magazine published an article written by Hollie about pre-school stuttering. 

Hollie is passionate about sharing her life experience with others and she adores helping children learn to form speech and language to do just that as they encounter the world around them. Finding great satisfaction in making a lasting impact on children and their families, Hollie integrates their priorities, values, and unique personalities into therapy plans, by means of games, crafts, and other motivational and functional tasks, so that her client’s maximum communication potential may be stretched beyond expectations. 

Read her full biography, along with every member of the pediatric therapy team, on our website, www.childandfamilydevelopment.com.  Welcome Hollie!
 

• Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant (COTA)
• Occupational Therapist
• Physical Therapist
• Speech-Language Pathologist