About Peer Projects

Linda Murphy M.S., CCC-SLP, CEIS founded Peer Projects in 2005 when she began running social pragmatics groups for young children at Emerson College. Peer Projects has a family-centered approach, which means family members are included in therapy sessions and provided with carryover activities week to week. This all-important “homework” lets children practice so they can make progress. Parents are given ideas and strategies specifically tailored to their child’s situation – for example, they may be instructed on how to interact with their child in a slightly different way, given a story written with their child in mind, or coached on how to create opportunities for better communication in daily life. Our focus is on creating ways to address a child’s goals within everyday settings and set the stage for a child’s real success in the real world.

 

About Linda Murphy M.S., CCC-SLP, CEIS
Pediatric Speech Language Pathologist
RDI® Program Certified Consultant

Linda Murphy has been a speech language pathologist since 1999. She is also a Certified Early Intervention Specialist and an RDI® Program Certified Consultant – in fact, she is one of the few people in Massachusetts certified to offer the RDI® program. She graduated from Boston College in 1993 with a degree in Mathematics. After spending two years working with adults with Autism, she decided to pursue a Master’s Degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders at Emerson College. Since then, Linda has provided services to children ranging from toddler to adult in a range of educational and other settings, including schools, daycares, homes, summer camps, playgrounds, her office, and university clinics. She enjoys working collaboratively with families and other members of a child’s team.

 

Linda has recently begun writing articles for the Boston Autism & Parenting topic at Examiner.com. Click to view Linda's most recent articles.

 

About Melissa Andrichak M.A.T.

Melissa Andrichak has been an elementary school teacher for over 20 years. She has a B.S. in Psychology from the University of Denver and a Master of Arts in Teaching from Tufts University. In addition to her classroom focus, she has worked with children in residential settings, as a tutor and as a summer camp coordinator. While she loves the academic focus of public school, she really cherishes the time that she can spend helping children grow socially and emotionally.

 

About Janice Coughlin B.S.

Janice Coughlin started as a graduate from Syracuse University with a degree in Communications and a minor in French. While working at Mullen and Fulgent New Media Group as an Interactive Media Director, she continued to work with children as a mentor, a tutor and substitute teacher. In 2005, Janice left her agency work to start working as a SPED TA in the Hamilton Wenham School district and fell in love with the concept of helping to create, develop and aid children on the spectrum. She spent several years there while doing home based ABA services for a company in Waltham. She also spent a year working in the intensive program in the Hamilton Wenham School District and gained much knowledge from both the children as well as the teachers. In August 2009, Janice started working at the Beverly School for the Deaf/The Children’s Center for Communication as a Para-Professional for children on the spectrum. She loves what she does, enjoys working with children and is grateful for the opportunity to grow and develop with them.

 

About Marlena Primo

Marlena Primo has worked with children on the Autism Spectrum for over 5 years. She has worked providing services in the home and more recently within the school. Marlena has a Bachelor’s degree in Human Development from Lesley University. She is currently working towards her Master’s degree with a focus on Applied Behavior Analysis and Special Education. Marlena believes that the best approach for working with children with diverse needs is a combined approach that meets the child’s individual needs. She enjoys facilitating social pragmatics groups at Peer Projects and watching the children enhance their social competence while also having a great time!