KidsLink Family
We would like to introduce you to our KidsLink Family. As staff members are added, you can find out more about them here! Pictures arriving soon...
Medical
Nevada Reed, MD is a board certified pediatric neurologist. She completed medical school at Washington University School of Medicine. She finished her Pediatrics residency and Pediatric Neurology Fellowship at St. Louis Children's Hospital. She came to Akron Children's Hospital in 2003 as a staff child neurologist and was named medical director of the Autism Program. During her years at Akron Children's, she developed an inter-disciplinary autism assessment team and was active in creating several programs for family support and education. Dr. Reed was appointed by Governor Taft to serve on the Ohio Autism Taskforce and now serves in a three-year appointed position on the Advisory Board for the Ohio Center for Autism and Low Incidence disabilities (OCALI). She has been the primary investigator for several autism research projects. Dr. Reed enjoys treating children with a variety of neurologic needs and believes that family involvement is essential for the best medical care. She is married and has three children, ages 8, 10 and 10.
Psychology
Richard Cowan, PhD, NCSP, will begin part-time clinical psychology treatment at KidsLink starting in January, 2008. He received his doctoral training in School Psychology program at University of Nebraska-Lincoln and completed an APA-accredited internship in pediatric psychology at the Munroe-Meyer Institute, University of Nebraska Medical Center. Richard has been a faculty member at Kent State University since his arrival in Northeast Ohio in 2003. He has also worked as a part time clinician at Northeast Ohio Behavioral Health since 2004. In addition, he co-developed the COACH Autism Program at Akron Children's Hospital. His research and clinical interests include individualized assessment and the development and implementation of evidence-based interventions for children with autism spectrum disorders and their families. He is also interested in providing and coordinating services for children demonstrating disruptive behaviors across multiple settings through an ecological model of service delivery. He enjoys participating in a variety of community support activities.
Michelle DePolo, PsyD will be joining the KidsLink family part time starting in January 2008. She is a licensed pediatric clinical psychologist. She completed her PsyD in clinical psychology at Wright State University. She finished a pediatric psychology clinical fellowship at The Cleveland Clinic Center for Autism focusing on diagnosis and treatment of autistic spectrum disorders. She served on the medical staff of The Cleveland Clinic for two years, prior to working as a pediatric psychologist in the NeuroDevelopmental Center at Akron Children's Hospital where she was asked to co-direct the Autism Program. She developed a very successful social skills training program that most recently served over 40 patients in 5 groups, with participants ranging in age from 6 to 18 years old. She has lectured widely in our community and has provided in-school and in-home consultative services. She also developed a pediatric psychology fellowship program to train future psychologists to work with patients who have neurodevelopmental disabilities and oversaw the inception of a new sibling support program, for siblings of children with developmental disabilities. She is married and recently had her first child, Jonah.
Therapy
Speech Therapy
Jocelyn Mills, MA, CCC/SLP is a licensed speech and language pathologist and directs speech therapy at KidsLink. She completed her masters degree at Kent State University. Ms. Mills has also completed course work leading to licensure in school administration at Cleveland State University, and is now close to completing her PhD in Education - Learning and Development at CSU. Ms. Mills has worked in the area of behavioral management for children with autism for the past 10 years, including positions as an independent behavioral therapist, team leader and multi-handicapped teacher. She has also worked at the Cleveland Clinic Center for Autism as the coordinator of the speech pathology department. She was then named director of the STARS program (Specialized Teaching for students with Autism and Resources Services) for the Geauga County Educational Service Center, serving as the administrator for the school programming for 25 students with autism. She enjoys providing speech treatment and behavioral intervention for children with a variety of developmental disabilities. She is married and active in a variety of community events, including serving on the board of the National Association of Autism - Northeast Ohio chapter.
Rosemarie Donatelli, MA, CCC/SLP is a licensed speech and language pathologist. She completed her masters degree at Kent State University. Miss Donatelli has earned her pupil personnel licensure from Cleveland State University, and is now close to completing her education specialist degree at CSU. Miss Donatelli has been a speech language pathologist for the past 5 years. For the past four years her focus has been on behavioral treatment for individuals with autism. Before starting work for the Geauga County Educational Service Center, she worked at the Cleveland Clinic Center for Autism as a speech language pathologist. She is currently the senior speech therapist for the STARS program (Specialized Teaching for students with Autism and Resources Services) and the speech coordinator for the Geauga County Educational Service Center. She enjoys helping students with autism strengthen their socialization skills. She is engaged and enjoys playing the harp and spending time with family.
Jill Jackson, MA, CCC-SLP is a licensed Speech Language Pathologist. She completed her Masters degree at Case Western Reserve University. Ms. Jackson has worked as a speech language pathologist for the past 7 years, with a focus on behavioral treatment for individuals with autism for the past 4 years. She has worked in various public school settings, in a private school serving children with autism, and privately providing speech and language and behavioral home programming for children with autism and other disorders of communication. Ms. Jackson is currently employed full time with the Beachwood City schools providing speech language pathology services and early literacy intervention for kindergarten students. She has partially completed the requirements for becoming a Board Certified Behavior Analyst with certification as her goal. She is affiliated with the Milestones Organization and has participated as a planning committee and faculty member for the Milestones teacher training program as well as a member of the education committee for strategic planning for the organization. She has completed thirteen years of service with the Ohio Air National Guard and is currently a Captain and Personnel Officer in the Military Equal Opportunity Office of the 179th Airlift Wing in Mansfield, Ohio. She is married and enjoys time with family and participating in community activities.
Occupational Therapy
Kelle DeBoth, MOT, OTR/L is a licensed and registered occupational therapist. She completed her masters degree at the University of Pittsburgh. She is currently certified to administer the Sensory Integration and Praxis Test (SIPT). Ms. DeBoth has worked with children with autism for more than six years, providing in-home services and programming as well as occupational therapy. Upon moving to Ohio in 2004, she took a position as senior occupational therapist for the STARS program (Specialized Teaching for students with Autism and Resources Services) for the Geauga Counting Educational Service Center, serving 25 students with autism. Ms. DeBoth also has a strong background in behavioral management, pre-vocational/vocational and life skills training, and has provided OT consultative services across the northeast Ohio region. She has experience with feeding treatment as well. She is married and enjoys participating in community activities.
ABA In-home Therapy
Robin Ludwig, MA, BCBA is a board certified behavior analyst. She completed her masters degree in Special Education/Applied Behavior Analysis at Ohio State University. Ms. Ludwig has worked in the area of autism and behavioral intervention for the past 10 years, including positions as an independent behavioral therapist and team leader. She has also worked at the Columbus Children's Hospital Autism Center, IBI Program as a Clinical Supervisor. Upon returning to Northeast Ohio from Columbus, Ms. Ludwig began work for the Geauga County Educational Service Center as the Autism/Behavioral Consultant for schools throughout Geauga County. Ms. Ludwig believes that coordination of services and family involvement are essential for the most successful behavioral intervention. She is married and has one child, age 2.
Camp Director / Recreation Specialist
Beth Lattime, M. Ed., is joining Kidslink in June 2008. She has worked for the past two years at Tallmadge High School as an intervention specialist and inclusion teacher for high school students with behavior and learning disabilities. Her previous classroom experience includes working with adolescent students with multiple disabilities both in the classroom and at various job sites. Beth's practicum experiences have also provided her with knowledge on how to effectively work with children in an integrated preschool setting. She has also worked with students with Autism both as a private tutor and as a case manager. Beth's student teaching involved working with students within a resource room environment who were within grades 1-5. Along with being a licensed intervention specialist for students with mild to moderate disabilities, Beth also has her reading endorsement and is interested in helping students effectively communicate and comprehend written material within the perimeters of their given disability profiles and learning styles. Her undergraduate degree is in Rhetoric Communication. In 2005, Beth created the SPLASH swim program at LifeCenter Plus. She considers this her biggest accomplishment so far and has taught children and teens with a wide variety of disabilities how to enjoy swimming within a social environment that is both fun and rewarding to them. Beth is married and recently had her first child!
Office Staff
Sue Corp is joining KidsLink as our office coordinator. She has an undergraduate degree in special education. She has worked in office management and marketing in a variety of industries. Recently, she has worked at Akron Children's Hospital in the NeuroDevelopmental Center and in the department of Social Work. She serves as a facilitator in the "Good Mourning" group for children who have experienced a personal loss. She is the proud grandmother of Shane and Sean.
JoAnne Webster has joined KidsLink as our part time medical office secretary. Many of you who call in will most likely talk with JoAnne. She has been a stay at home mom raising two children. With one now off to college and another a junior in high school, she is now returning to the workforce. She has previously worked as a part time teacher aide working with autistic elementary school age children.
Christopher Richani is a junior at Walsh Jesuit High School. He is helping us with registration in the evenings and on Saturdays. He participates in Academic Challenge and is considering a career in medicine.