Therapy
The Speech, Occupational, and Physical Therapy Team at SERESC provides interdisciplinary solutions to meet each client’s individual needs.
Service Overview
The Speech and Language, Occupational, and Physical Therapy Team at SERESC provide solutions to meet each client’s individual needs. Our therapists work in an interdisciplinary and collaborative fashion and value the perspective that each discipline brings to the special education team process.
Services include comprehensive assessments, individual and group therapy sessions, classroom-based instruction, co-treatment, and consultation to staff and parents, as well as training and workshops at both the school and district levels. Our therapists are experienced in supporting students with behavioral issues, multiple disabilities, and challenging medical diagnoses.
Therapy Services
Speech and Language Therapy
Our Speech and Language Pathologists offer conventional and specialized speech and language services in a range of areas.
Services include:
- Receptive and/or expressive language delay
- Speech and language impairments due to hearing loss
- Fluency disorders/stuttering
- Voice disorders
- Childhood Apraxia of Speech
- Social skills/pragmatic language impairments
- Oral and written language
- Speech sound disorders
Augmentative Alternative Communication (AAC) Services
Our AAC specialist supports students with complex communication needs and works within the educational setting providing assessment and intervention, as well as consultation and training, to staff and student IEP teams.
The AAC specialist assists teams in incorporating AAC into functional and meaningful goals/objectives and strategies specific to each individual student. They also provide technical assistance and support in the selection, set-up, programming, customizing, and troubleshooting of AAC for individuals and school teams.
Occupational Therapy
Our Occupational Therapists provide services targeting a range of needs, focusing on independent functioning physically, emotionally, academically, and socially. They provide staff training to increase student access to the learning environment.
They target a wide range of areas, including:
- Regulation of arousal levels
- Refinement of sensory processing
- Age-appropriate self-care skills
- Hand/eye coordination
- Muscle strengthening
- Balance improvement
- Handwriting
Physical Therapy
Our Physical Therapists provide meaningful and functional solutions that allow students to access the curriculum and participate in daily classroom events.
They provide services for students who present with a wide range of deficits and needs including:
- Developmental delays
- Congenital or acquired orthopedic impairments
- Genetic disorders
- Cardio-pulmonary dysfunction
- Muscle diseases
- Neuromuscular or neurological disorder
- Other mobility limiting conditions
“Karen has a lot of knowledge about not only the speech and language skills, but how those skills interact or are a part of academic skills and achievement. She is confident and knowledgeable about students at all grade levels.”
Kelley Brooks, Director of Special Education
Timberlane Regional School District
Meet the Team
Team Leader:
Kathy McKechnie, MS, CCC-SLP
Physical Therapists:
- Mary Fontaine, MS, RPT
- Tara Holbrook, DPT, RPT
- Susanne McAllister, MS, RPT
Speech-Language Therapists:
- Michele Dinsmore, MS, CCC-SLP
- Jill Horan, MA, CCC-SLP
- Karen Howell, MS, CCC-SLP
- Mary Ann Melizzi-Golja, MA, CCC-SLP
- Kelsey McKechnie, MS, CCC-SLP
- Denise Torti, MS, CCC-SLP
AAC Specialists:
- Michele Dinsmore, MS, CCC-SLP
Occupational Therapists:
- Nicole Forrence, MS, OTR/L
- Linda Lucas, MS, OTR/L
Team Leader:
Kathy McKechnie, MS, CCC-SLP
Physical Therapists:
- Mary Fontaine, MS, RPT
- Tara Holbrook, DPT, RPT
- Susanne McAllister, MS, RPT
Speech-Language Therapists:
- Kailey Avery, MS, CCC-SLP
- Michele Dinsmore, MS, CCC-SLP
- Jill Horan, MA, CCC-SLP
- Karen Howell, MS, CCC-SLP
- Mary Ann Melizzi-Golja, MA, CCC-SLP
- Kelsey McKechnie, MS, CCC-SLP
AAC Specialists:
- Michele Dinsmore, MS, CCC-SLP
Occupational Therapists:
- Nicole Forrence, MS, OTR/L
- Linda Lucas, MS, OTR/L
Contact us to learn about our services and providers.
For over 50 years, SERESC has partnered with New Hampshire schools to help learners reach their full potential. Reach out today to start your journey with us!