About Dr. Elaine

I AM FULLY QUALIFIED

PhD in psychology

M.A.’s in Speech-Language Pathology and Dance/Movement Therapy

My mission is to create possibilities for families, children and/or teens with speech and language difficulties, learning differences and/or social skills needs. As an award-winning certified and licensed speech-language pathologist I know what it is like to have difficulty expressing yourself. You see, I didn’t talk until I was four years of age. I can remember my mother, my mother’s friend and her friend’s daughters sitting around the table in my grandparents’ kitchen when I was about five years of age.

They were smiling while looking at me and told me to say, “Old Mother Witch.” I smiled back and said those three words. When my words came out as “O Mudda Mitch” they began to laugh. They thought I was cute. I thought they were laughing at me. I became embarrassed, ashamed and my self-image was deflated. It wasn’t until many years later when I went to Hunter College of the City University of New York, that I was identified as a person who needed speech-language therapy to improve an articulation error known as a “dark l.” That’s where your tongue tip stays down on the bottom of your mouth to say the “l” sound instead of the tip of your tongue moving upward to the little spot behind your upper two teeth.

Well, it wasn’t easy to change a speech pattern I had for 14 years. But I did! With hard work and the excellent speech-language pathologist I was assigned, I corrected my speech disorder. I felt great about my achievement, and my career path became clear.

I swore that no child, teen or adult should ever have to feel the way I was made to feel. I promised that I would intervene with younger children so they wouldn’t have to go through life feeling inferior and ridiculed because their speech sounds weren’t clear, or they couldn’t express themselves.

As an award-winning certified and licensed speech-language pathologist (SLP), Fellow of the California Speech-Language and Hearing Association (CSHA), Distinguished SLP with the National Academy of Professionals, holding a Ph.D. in psychology, I have travelled the world offering strategies to parents and professionals for raising calm, inspired, and successful children, as they improve their communication skills, social skills, comprehension skills, and overall health and well-being.

I believe that in order to learn and excel we must find ways to use simple strategies in our daily lives. I created GetREALNow (Get Ready Everyone And Learn Now) that has been utilized in preschool and elementary school programs that takes about 3-4 minutes a day to see results.

Now is the time to take on each day with strength and courage. Let my years of experience guide your child and bring you a sense of peace and accomplishment. Every parent wants what’s best for his or her child. I want that for your child, too!

I UNDERSTAND

Parents

As a parent and grandparent, I know firsthand the stressors that are placed on caregivers and families today. Having spent over thirty-five years working with families and with children and adults with communication disorders, I provide parents, children, teens, and young adults with the coaching they need to find solutions to their everyday problems.

Building Stellar Success Teams (SSTs) assists in raising confident, joyful, inspired, and successful children. This is a dream that every parent can realize.

Using an integrated holistic approach based on my academic training in the fields of psychology, speech-language pathology, dance/movement therapy, and wellness training offers me the opportunity to meet the needs of each child and family with great success.

• Do you want your child to be able to speak more clearly?
• Do you want your child to be able to get his or her needs known?
• Would you like to connect more with your child?
• Do you want to find out how to improve the communication skills of your child?
• Would you like to improve the social skills of your child or teen?
• Do you want your child to be calm, inspired and successful?
• Do you want to find out how to build a Stellar Success Team for your child and family?
• Would you like to develop a secure bond and attachment with your child that will last a lifetime?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, you’ve come to the right place.

I WRITE BOOKS & ARTICLES

best selling author

I have always wanted to write books that would make a difference in the lives of my readers. My last two books were both Amazon Best-Sellers.

My first Amazon best-seller was 7 Strategies for Raising Calm, Inspired, and Successful Children.
My second Amazon best-seller was Confidence & Joy: Success Strategies for Kids with Learning Differences.

Another book I wrote for parents and was translated into Chinese and Malay is Massaging Your Baby: The Joy of Touch (Communication): Techniques for Happier, Healthier, and More Relaxed Child & Parent.

I have been invited by peer review journals and popular magazines to write articles for their readers. My works have appeared in the American Speech-Language and Hearing Association (ASHA) Perspectives and the ASHA Leader Blog, Infants and Young Children, Massage Magazine, Parents Magazine, Young Exceptional Children, and Zero to Three.

International blogs have also responded favorably to the many articles I have written. Some of these blogs are DailyNews.com, Fatherly.com, Parents.com, Red Tricycle.com, Thrive Global.com, Twins.com, Working Mother.com, and more.

My focus in writing books or articles is to guide parents and/or professionals in reaching solutions to their everyday questions and challenges. By the wonderful feedback I’ve received, from my reading audience, I am on target in doing just that!

I LIKE SHARING

world speaker, local leader

As an invited speaker at national and international conferences and schools, I’ve given keynote speeches for parent and professional groups and organizations, universities, school districts leadership trainings, and non-profit groups.

I enjoy being a guest speaker on radio, television, podcasts and webinars.

My app for iPhones, Baby Massage Basics won the ORCHA Award for outstanding app in the area of providing health information throughout the world.

I arrived in California in a town 50 miles north of Los Angeles on the Mojave Desert, back in the late 70’s. I was a newlywed, and a transplanted New Yorker. I founded Antelope Valley Speech-Language and Movement Therapy Center in 1981. In 1983 I founded Baby Steps, and expanded the company into Community Therapies serving Lancaster, Palmdale and Santa Clarita Valleys.

The company grew from myself as the sole practitioner into over 100 employees. Services are provided in the areas of early intervention, communication disorders, occupational therapy, physical therapy, social skills groups, dietary and health needs. I’ve served hospitals, acute and rehabilitation, school districts, skilled nursing facilities, home health agencies, group homes, day care settings, foster parents, home visitors of at-risk youth, and provided trainings for all of their staffs.

I started TouchTime® International, LLC, to help parents strengthen their parent-infant bond and grow healthy and happy infants, one nurturing touch at a time. I’ve traveled to Viet Nam with the American Academy of Pediatrics Bright Futures Program bringing speech-language and TouchTime® to hospitals, schools, orphanages, and Universities in Ho Chi Minh City at the request of the Vietnamese government and Project Viet Nam. (You can learn more about TouchTime® in my book Massaging Your Baby – The Joy of TouchTime® that was translated into Chinese and Malay.)

People often ask me what motivates me to share. I tell them that I believe that by sharing my knowledge and skills with those in need, I can make a difference in our world and make this world a better place-a place of respect; caring; connection; and joy.

If you would like to share your thoughts with me, you can reach me at [email protected] I would love to hear from you!