Joleen R. Fernald, PhD, CCC-SLP was awarded Board Specialty Recognition in Child Language from the American Speech Language Hearing Association. Dr. Fernald follows Greenspan and Wieder’s model, DIRFloortime® , when working with children and families. She has a special interest in the social emotional development of young children and its impact on their speech and language skills. As a speech-language pathologist, Dr. Fernald works with children who have a variety of communication disorders. She partnered with Easter Seals NH in 2006 to begin the first multidisciplinary assessment and treatment clinic specifically for children with selective mutism and has recreated the model in the Tampa Bay area of Florida as well. In 2018, Dr. Fernald cofounded a private DIRFloortime school that supports children with various individual differences and most recently partnered with fellow DIR colleagues to open a DIR therapy center. She enjoys public speaking and has presented both nationally and internationally on the topics of childhood apraxia of speech and selective mutism.