Testimonials and References
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Testimonials
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Textbook non-verbal to mainstream classroom and lots of friends:
I highly recommend Dr. Jones! She has been with us from the beginning since my son was diagnosed. We went from non-verbal “textbook” child on the spectrum to a boy who is a highly verbal and interactive child. He is in mainstream school system with minimal help pushing in, he has friends, and is even on several sports teams. Dr. Jones is able to communicate and “translate” some fairly complicated interventions to “parent lingo”. It gave me the knowledge and confidence to be able to provide interventions in a natural setting with great success. Every success built my confidence as a parent providing intervention even more. My wish, is that every parent of a child of the spectrum or any with challenges like ours, has the success that we have had. I know for a fact, that our son's great success would not be possible without Dr. Jones’s wisdom and guidance through this process.
HJ - parent
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Preschool administrator, parent of a son with Down Syndrome, and grandparent of a pre-verbal toddler with social challenges shares her successes
I am a retired 35 year special educator and the mother of four sons: 2 of which have special needs. I had the honor of meeting LorRainne Jones back in the early 90’s when I was the special education coordinator at an inclusive preschool. For 28 years, I worked closely with the teachers, therapists that saw our students, and the parents. Together as a team we set goals in all areas of development for our special needs students (ages 12 months-5 years old.) I knew LorRainne professionally at the preschool, but also personally as a mother to my third son Nick who was born with Down syndrome. LorRainne was his speech therapist through preschool and well into elementary school. Nick is now 32 years old and is an accomplished young man working administratively in a law office for almost 10 years.
LorRainne and I “clicked”. We seemed to think alike. I learned so much from her by just observing her interact with my preschool students and of course my own son. She always started her sessions by getting to know the child, establishing rapport, and introducing activities that interested the child, making it much easier to elicit sounds which inevitably lead to words. She was and still is quite skilled in handling challenging behavior and figuring out the purpose of that behavior. She reminded me that behavior is communication. Then years later my granddaughter was born and by the time she was 16 months old, we began to feel that (possibly due to 3 weeks premature) she could benefit from a speech/language evaluation. She was not quite reaching language and play milestones, not vocalizing as much as we had hoped, and I immediately thought of LorRainne. Being who she is, LorRainne made room in her jammed schedule for my granddaughter. I just have to say that she made a huge impact on my granddaughter. By observing her and participating in the therapy sessions, my daughter in law and myself were able to carry over her language activities at home. We learned how to extend play, share emotions through gestures, facial cues, and eye contact, and her vocalizations and play skills just continued to grow over the 6 months of therapy. Today she is thriving and getting ready to enter 1st grade! It is a given that communication skills are vital to anyone’s growth and success in life.
I can attest to that first hand professionally and on a personal level that LorRainne has changed the lives of hundreds of children. She has truly made a positive impact on their future. And for that, I am forever grateful!
DA - professional, parent, grandparent
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Autism diagnosis concern but now optimistic about her future
My child has an autism diagnosis. When I first heard her diagnosis, I was heartbroken. As a mom, I was worried if my daughter would ever talk, have friends, be independent and have a functional life. She had two different SLPs before seeing Dr. Jones and they were not a good match, so I was a little hesitant to see Dr. Jones at first. I knew Dr. Jones was qualified, but that didn’t mean she’d be the right fit for my child. Then I met with her, and I was convinced! I was willing to drive 45 minutes each way just so she could see my child. I like that Dr. Jones uses research-backed methods, but not only that, her calm demeanor and collaborative approach to treating kids are remarkable. She connected with our child and we have been extremely pleased with our daughter's progress. Our child has wonderful conversations with us and she is a happy little girl now who loves school and wants to be a veterinarian when she grows up!
GS - Parent
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Smiles, smiles everywhere
Our son CB was diagnosed with ASD and apraxia. We found LorRainne Jones when he was nine years old. We had already been through a handful of therapists. I knew we had found something special when Ms. LorRainne said to CB “I’m not going anywhere”. She meant every word and she never did. She continues to work with him even during her retirement.
During our sessions, I first noticed she wore a big smile and CB would smile back. I remember mentioning to my husband that she was always smiling at CB. When we started, CB was only able to say Mama and a few other sounds. After working with Ms. LorRainne, he was able to produce all the sounds of the alphabet. Then he started to imitate speech and form words. She has an arsenal of treatments and I would try anything she suggested.
Now CB can read aloud, sing and play the piano. He has come so far…I have never seen such dedication, commitment, and passion from a therapist. We feel blessed and are forever grateful to have her work with our son.
GG, MG - parent
References
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Drash, P.W., High, R.L., Tudor, R.M.(1999) Using mand training to establish an echoic repertoire in young children with autism. The Analysis of Verbal Behavior, 16, 29-44.
Drash, P.W & Tudor, R.M. (1990) Language and cognitive development: A systematic behavioral approach and technology for increasing the language and cognitive skills of developmentally disabled and at risk preschool children. In M. Herson, R.M. Eisler & P.M. Miller (eds), Progress in Behavior Modification, 26: 173-220.
Foegel, A. (1991) Developing Through Relationships: Origins of Communication, Self, and Culture. The University of Chicago Press
Locke, J.L.(1993) The Child’s Path to Spoken Language. Cambridge, Harvard University Press
Voss, A. (2011) Understanding Your Child's Sensory Signals: A Practical Daily Use Handbook for Parents and Teachers. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform