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Catherine Sheahan
Catherine Sheahan founded the practice due to the increasing demands for speech and language therapy for children and adults and CAINT now has five therapists. Catherine qualified from Trinity in 1997 and was awarded a Masters in 2009. She has extensive experience in working with individuals with a variety of speech and language difficulties in Australia, USA and Ireland. Catherine commenced her professional career working with the HSE before subsequently joining the Speech and Language Department at the University of Sydney, Australia. She experienced a variety of cases at the University of Sydney clinic including, speech delay, language delay, specific language impairment, (SLI), stuttering, Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), Aspergers, and literacy difficulties. Catherine devised individual education plans (IEP) for students with language, learning and literacy difficulties for the Australian Department of Education and trained teachers and resource teachers how to use these plans to deliver the best possible results for the students. Catherine has lectured at the University of Limerick as a key member of the Speech and Language Therapy team in the areas of child speech disorders (including dyspraxia), phonetics and stuttering since 2004. Catherine has extensive experience in running seminars and training for teachers regarding communication difficulties. Catherine develops programmes for teachers for IEP and Resource planning. Catherine provides assessments and therapy to children at Caint Speech Therapy. These provide a detailed analysis of a child’s communication strengths and weakness and therapy programmes are individualised to each child’s specific needs. Catherine in her role as Clinical Director ensures that her clients receive a professional service in a caring environment and has earned a nationwide reputation for excellence of service. Catherine is committed to ensuring that only evidence based practices are used by Caint therapists and she ensures that continuous professional training and development is pursued by all Caint therapists. Catherine is a member of IASLT and IASLTPP.
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Edel Kelly
Edel has been a member of the Caint team since 2015 and is based between our Naas and Carlow clinics. Edel graduated from Trinity College Dublin in 2015. She is a full member of the Irish Association of Speech and Language Therapists (IASLT) and her qualification is recognised by the Regulating Health and Social Care Professional body (CORU). Edel has experience in assessment and treatment of children and adolescents with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and is trained in the administration and scoring of the ADOS-2. Edel has worked closely with both clinical and educational psychologists during the assessment process in order to collaboratively recommend intervention and therapy. Edel also has experience in working with children with ASD to implement therapy programs and provide parent and teacher training. Edel works with children, families and schools to provide the best possible outcomes for children, their communication and their well-being. Edel also works within a multidisciplinary model for children with ASD and frequently works closely with Occupational therapy providing dual therapy and joint sessions. She is trained in the SCERTS Model and applies this to her intervention practices. Edel also has experience working with children with language delays and Developmental Language Disorder (DLD, or previously referred to as Specific Language Impairment/SLI). Edel provides a comprehensive assessment of the child’s receptive language, expressive language, vocabulary skills and literacy skills. Edel implements curriculum focused therapy for these children to provide them with the skills and knowledge to fully engage in curriculum material. Edel provides therapy in helping children to process information presented to them, use vocabulary to describe and define and express themselves coherently and cohesively. Therapy is also provided on reading and comprehension skills where literacy development has proven difficult for a child. Edel has worked closely with teachers in pre-schools, primary schools and secondary schools to develop programs, provide training and develop insight into the child’s areas of strength and difficulties. Edel also has experience in the assessment and treatment of children with speech sound disorders and “late talkers”. Edel provides tasks and activities for parents to implement at home to maximize the child’s exposure to treatment targets. She has engaged in a variety of training including Nuffield and DTTC for children with Developmental Verbal Dyspraxia. Edel provides therapy in a caring and kind environment in order to promote the child’s self-esteem and confidence in using their language and help to achieve their communicative potential
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Pia Drever
I graduated from University of Cape Town in 2013 with a Bachelor in Speech and Language pathology. The population of clients I have worked with ranges from babies to adults. I worked with children with developmental conditions including ASD, cerebral palsy and fetal alcohol syndrome and adult conditions such as strokes and TBI. I have found that my passion is working with children, in particular ASD and early communication. I am trained in administering the ADOS-2 and ADI-r. I have also completed courses related to developmental conditions in children.
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Ciara Gallen
Ciara joined the team at Caint Therapy in 2021 and is based between our Naas and Carlow clinics. Ciara completed an Undergraduate degree in the National University of Ireland, Galway and graduated in 2016. Ciara then completed a Post Graduate Diploma in Speech and Language Therapy. Ciara graduated from Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh in 2019. Ciara is a full member of the Irish Association of Speech and Language Therapists (IASLT) and her qualification is recognised by the Regulating Health and Social Care Professional body (CORU). Ciara’s approach to Speech and Language therapy aims to facilitate the development of children’s communication through direct intervention and family training. She provides evidence-based practice in a supportive environment to achieve functional goals, bringing meaningful change to clients’ lives. Ciara has developed her skills across a variety of client groups through previous employment, graduate experience with Enable Ireland and placements, in hospital settings, primary care, Early Intervention Team’s and school based SLT services. She has worked with a range of client groups including children with physical and neurological difficulties, children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and children with speech and language delays. Ciara is very passionate about working closely with families to ensure the needs of the children are being met and strengthened.
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Nicole Kennedy
Nicole Kennedy qualified from Trinity College Dublin in 1999 and began working within the HSE. She quickly identified her interest in acquired communication disorders in adults and succeeded in acquiring a post in ST. James’s Hospital, Dublin. Nicole was able to develop specialist clinical skills by working with a wide variety of people with communication and/or swallowing difficulties as a result of Stroke, Parkinson’s disease, Dementia and also Head and Neck Cancer. Nicole was also trained in unique therapies for helping those with voice disorders ( e.g. teachers, singers and other professional voice users) Understanding the wealth of experience and knowledge to be gained from working in a different health system, Nicole worked for a year in a large teaching hospital in Sydney, Australia. This experience allowed Nicole to further develop specialist clinical skills in the above areas. Throughout her years working in St. James’s Hospital Nicole was always passionate about supporting students and their learning. She was offered the opportunity of further contributing to undergraduate education of Speech and Language Therapists when offered the role of Practice Education Co-ordinator in the Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences at University College Cork. Nicole’s depth of experience and passion for learning allowed her to introduce new ways for Speech and Language Therapy students to learn about what it was like for someone with a communication and/or swallowing disorder. Such novel learning approaches earned Nicole the prestigious UCC‘President’s Award for Innovation in Research and Teaching’ in 2012. More recently, through CAINT Nicole has developed a workshop for corporate clients seeking to educate their staff in voice care.
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Tricia Fletcher
Tricia joined the team at Caint Therapy in 2022 and provides assessment and therapeutic intervention services via teletherapy (therapy provided via secure video connection). After receiving her Undergraduate degree, a Bachelor of Science in Speech Pathology and Audiology, in 2001 from Marquette University in Wisconsin, USA, Tricia completed her Graduate degree, receiving a Master of Arts in Communication Sciences and Disorders, passing with distinction and receiving a graduate student award, in 2004 from Saint Louis University in Missouri, USA. Tricia is a member of the Irish Association of Speech and Language Therapists (IASLT) and her qualification is recognized and registered by the Regulating Health and Social Care Professionals body (CORU). She has vast experience working in paediatrics (Birth to 21 years) in a variety of settings, including, but not limited to, private clinics, child-care facilities, private and public schools, home-based services, and virtually through teletherapy. She provides assessment, intervention and family support for the remediation of a variety of acquired, developmental and neurological disorders, in addition to feeding disorders. Tricia has collaborated with occupational therapists, teachers, parents, physiotherapists, developmental therapists, and psychologists, and other team members for a holistic approach to the enhancement of a child’s communicative success. She enjoys the organisation and implementation of screenings, as well as group therapy services for pragmatic language, sensory feeding skills, parent-child language elicitation, and Early Intervention. She feels that the connection between child and parent should be the main focus of intervention, achieved through team collaboration and use of evidence-based approaches, in order to guide each child to becoming a confident, successful, and engaging member of their community.
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Femy Anna Kuriakose
Femy graduated as an occupational therapist from Kovai Medical Center and Hospital (KMCH) College of Occupational Therapy Coimbatore, affiliated to the Tamil Nadu Dr. M.G.R. Medical University, Chennai, India during the academic year 2014-19. She has worked as an occupational therapist in the department of Developmental Paediatric and Child Neurology department at MOSC medical college hospital, Kerala, India from July 2019 to September 2022. Femy has experience in working with children with ASD, ADHD, Down syndrome, SPD, Learning Disabilities, Central Motor Disorders, Seizures, Global Developmental Delay (GDD), Cognitive Impairment, Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD), and children with Cerebral Palsy and Rett Syndrome . Femy is CORU registered and is passionate about working with children having special needs and supporting them in developing all the skills required to be independent in performing their day-to-day activities.
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Dr Cesar Jayaro
Dr. Cesar Jayaro has worked as a clinical psychologist and neuropsychologist for more than 12 years in clinical practice. He has experience in intervention with children, adults, and older adults. He has collaborated with different internationally recognized institutions and has extensive experience in the area of mental health. His goal is to create a nurturing environment in which the patient feels comfortable and cared for while working in a solution-focused manner with scientifically proven techniques for the client’s condition. He has a valuable experience in Ireland working with children and their educational needs as well as ADHD. He also is trained to assess, diagnose and propose interventions in Autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders.
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Aoife McLaughlin
Aoife is a Chartered Clinical Psychologist. She has worked with children and families in Ireland and the UK for the past 25 years. She has many years of experience in diagnosing autism and providing support and interventions after diagnosis. She has a special interest in supporting families in times of transition and adjustment. She also enjoys working therapeutically with children and providing attachment and parenting support to families.