Geri O’Brien is a seasoned speech and language pathologist. She is certified by the American Speech and Hearing Association.
Mrs. O’Brien is licensed with over 20 years of clinical practice. Mrs. O’Brien has successfully treated over 5,000 children with diagnoses of speech delay, childhood apraxia, articulation disorders, stuttering, feeding problems, auditory processing problems and autism.
Today Mrs. O’Brien manages an agency practice for the provision of evaluations, therapeutic and educational services for children demonstrating a wide range of delays, deficits and disorders.
The practice incorporates individual and group therapy that integrates speech, occupational, physical and behavioral therapies and special education modalities as prescribed for each case.
Meg Langton is a licensed NYS Speech-Language Pathologist, licensed Teacher of the Speech and Hearing Handicapped, has her Certificate of Clinical Competence (ASHA) and has over 15 years of experience in the Plainview-Old Bethpage Central School District. She has provided speech and language evaluations and treatment for speech and language disorders involving articulation, phonological, auditory processing, vowel training, stuttering, pragmatics, and receptive and expressive language disorders.
Alexis Canfora
Alexis Canfora is a Speech-Language Pathologist licensed by New York State and certified by the American Speech and Hearing Association. Alexis graduated from Queens College with a Master’s Degree. She has significant experience with children having cochlear implants and conversational sign language allowing her to work with children diagnosed with hearing impairment and speech disorders. In addition, Alexis has clinical experience treating diagnoses of speech delay, articulation disorders, receptive and expressive language disorders/delays and medically fragile children. Alexis enjoys integrating play-based tasks into therapy plans to aid in the progression of speech, language, and social skills.
Maria Mudsacchio
Maria is a Speech-Language Pathologist certified by the American Speech and Hearing Association. She graduated with her Masters degree from Adelphi University, and has treated children with diagnoses of speech delay, childhood/acquired apraxia, articulation disorders, auditory processing and expressive/receptive language disorders, and Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Special Educators/Psychological Services
Kerry Neira
Kerry Neira serves as a Special Educator for O’Brien Speech, Language and Learning, PLLC. She has 25 years of experience working with children in the field of special education. Mrs. Neira holds NY state teaching licenses in Elementary Education, Special Education and Reading.
She is our Special Education Service Provider, responsible for working with children from ages 18 months through 36 months to meet individual developmentally appropriate goals, coordinating and communicating with supplemental providers and coaching caregivers in assisting with progress. She also holds the role of Applied Behavior Analysis Team Leader, responsible for designing programs for toddlers and preschool age children with autism, supervising team members and providing family training.
Mrs. Neira is trained in the Embedded Coaching Model to ensure parent participation in delivery of services. She is responsible for core and supplemental evaluations including administration, scoring and analysis, and utilization of current technological supports such as the augmentative communication devices.
Mrs. Neira has extensive experience working with a wide range of special needs including Developmental Delays, Behavioral Issues, Down Syndrome and Autism Spectrum Disorder. She works with family members and colleagues to develop an individualized plan of action enabling each child to develop the skills necessary to be successful in a variety of settings.
Marilyn DeSimone
Marilyn DeSimone is a BCBA Board Certified Behavior Analyst. She has her NYS Teacher Certification in Special Education, Pre-K, Kindergarten, and Grades 1-6. Marilyn has over 30 years of experience in the field of Special Education. She has provided home/community based intensive and structured programming to children diagnosed with ASD and their families. She also has experience working as Director of Education in hospital settings where she dealt with crisis management and collaborated with all levels of hospital and educational staff. She enjoys working with families, maintaining a supportive learning environment and utilizing a team approach.
Kristin Cacic
Kristin Cacic is a Masters-prepared Licensed Clinical Social Worker with 25 years of experience treating children, teens, and adults. For the past 18 years she has served clients in her own private practice, in local preschools, and via home visits. Previous to that, she treated clients in public health and inpatient settings. Much of her work today focuses on collaborating with parents to identify the issues most affecting their families. From there, she trains them in parenting skills and behavior modification strategies to address the needs of each family member. Her goal is always to help parents support their children's healthy emotional development. In addition, Kristin also consults with preschool and day care staff on guiding individual children who have behavioral and emotional issues. Together, they plan expectations, rewards, and consequences to help kids gro