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A passionate clinician, executive director, and entrepreneur with keen strategic and intellectual ability evidenced in professional accomplishments, clinical staff mentoring, and advising and teaching students, professionals, and parents across the country. Landria has the opportunity every day to work and live in her purpose by working and training people with special needs and their families. Landria is described as a dynamic, informative, energetic, and captivating speaker. She is a certified and licensed speech-language pathologist with specialties in autism, assistive technology, behavior, and communication. As the granddaughter of a woman who’s communication abilities were cut short by a massive stroke, she understands first hand the impact of impairment on the family. Landria is currently the owner and Executive Director of SLC Therapy, a private therapy firm located in Connecticut and Michigan focused on Empowering Families and Expanding Independence. Through her leadership at SLC Therapy, Landria has created dynamic and innovative programs for families that include Flourish!, a center based educational program for learners with autism, and the use of videoconferencing (Teletherapy) technology to provide families access to therapy service. In addition, Landria is focused on empowerment through partnerships with organizations to enhance community services. Landria is the creator of The Empowered Parent, a parent e-magazine focused on support for families of people with special needs. Landria was recently selected as a professional expert on a documentary focused on Autism in the African-American Community. Landria is the author of the social curriculum Keep the Conversation Going, which focuses on social cognition, conversation fluency, and social skills. Education B.S. Speech and Hearing Science University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign M.A. Speech Language Pathology Northwestern University Certified Speech Language Pathologist American Speech Language Hearing Association DIR Level 1 Practitioner Certification: Compton P-ESL Certificate: ADOS Training, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor PROMPT-Introduction Verbal Behavior, Dr. Vincent Carbone Achievements 40 Under 40 Business Professionals in Fairfield County 2009 Someone You Should Know Award, Bridgeport Black Pride 2007 People’s Bank Community Award 2006
Blog » To Empower a parent means to Create Client Independence
As I type this, I am running between my office and my living room television watching one of my favorite new television shows, Parenthood.
Today I was excited to see the character Max (a child with Aspergers) gets a behavior therapist (Hint to ABC: still waiting on someone mention the importance of a speech-language pathologist!...I would be happy to avail myself as a consultant to the show!).
The scene that touched a chord for me was the parents watching the therapist in the park with Max wondering "why are we paying $30.00 an hour for her to play with him?"...just as they are verbally pondering this necessity...they see their child (with some coaching) introduce himself and begin to play with another child. At this point, the mother has mixed emotions: sadness because she couldn't do it as his mother and happiness because Max was interacting with another child.
Later in the scene the behavior therapist and mother are talking where the mother shares her raw thoughts and emotions.
I was waiting for the understanding therapist to share how she did it...share how she provided a reinforcer as an incentive for his social interaction. But this understanding, listening ear missed this opportunity to EMPOWER this parent. Now in my world of therapy, I would have liked to see the therapist explain how this was done, explain the theory behind it, and give the mom some tools (attainable tools) for the next time. But that did not happen.
It is my belief and our belief at SLC Therapy that clients are educated toward recovery and their optimal level. Moving beyond functional...because let's face it...that's still a very dependent state to be in. And the goal is to become interdependent...because that's what human beings are. In order to educate toward recovery...parents must be educated as well. And by educated...I mean moving beyond the latest seminar. I have taught seminars and had more parents than therapists (another blog topic). I'm talking hands on, supernanny like empowerment. Show parents how to get in there: teach, parent, connect with their children on the spectrum.
I had the awesome opportunity to visit the Hope Center at Beaumont Hospital and that's exactly what they were doing...EMPOWERING PARENTS. These parents were armed with tools and knowledge to set up ABA programs, run the programs, graph, collect data, play with their children while the therapist coached. These parents attended this hands on training 3 hours a day for 3 months with their child. Watching these therapists work and meeting some staff members..I felt validated and had a "so we are doing this right" This is what SLC ABA programs look like...parents present, we (parent and therapist runs programs), and parents learn how to do it on theri own. Why? Because if we don't share the information and tools in a meaningful way, do the clients really improve outside of our therapy rooms or outside of us? Not as fast and not really. And...therapy is expensive! And we have to stop letting it be okay when parents mortgage their homes, etc. to pay for our services...it's not right! Yes state agencies, insurance should do their part, but so should we as therapists. My answer: True Empowerment!
It happens far too often that we therapists don't empower when its time. During this scene the mother needed information on "how and why" so that she could no longer feel like a loser! (~those are words used in the scene).
Therapists have to come to the point in their careers where they understand they lose nothing by arming parents and teachers with all the information necessary. In fact, when you arm people with tools it makes you more of a valuable source to them!
~Enjoy and Be Empowered
Landria Seals Green
Andrea,
We work with ALL parents and children, young adults with disabilities.
Posted by Landria Seals Green, M.A., CCC-SLP, 07/01/2011 8:17am (1 year ago)
*Cheers!* for your attitude of true parental training and empowerment! Do you take parents of Aspies as well as those with non-verbal children? My son can play soccer alongside of his teammates... and even functions well in terms of strategy... but he fails to truly engage with them - which leaves him open to misunderstandings. The only thing he can do is stomp off alone to deal with "his" problem.
Posted by Andrea Harman-Mondeau, 05/11/2010 2:58pm (2 years ago)
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