Natalie Kitts
Clinical Director @Positive Development
Natalie Kitts is passionate about using scientific evidence-based approaches to help kids, families, and adults live well-balanced lives. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and a Master’s of Science in Occupational therapy from Kean University. As a licensed occupational therapist she has expertise working in early intervention, school-based practice, autism, parent coaching, and private practice. She is a lifelong learner and has extensive continuing education including advanced training in Sensory Integration Theory (SIPT) and STAR SI Advanced Proficiency, and has earned a Trainers Certificate in the DIR-FCD.
Faith Thayer
Lead Mental Health Therapist @Positive Development
Dr. Faith Thayer is an Expert Training Leader & DIR Floortime® Provider; Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC); Registered, Board Certified Art Therapist (ATR-BC); and Licensed Creative Arts Therapist (LCAT). She lectures in the School of Psychology and Counseling at Caldwell University (Caldwell, NJ). She was an Assistant Professor in the Graduate Program of Special Education at Daemen College TTI (Amherst, NY). Previous positions include Director of Student Programing at the Atlas Foundation for Autism (New York, NY); Director of Mental Health and DIR Floortime® at the Imagine Academy for Autism (Brooklyn, NY), and Director of the Creative Arts Therapy Center and Overnight Camps for the Connecticut Institute for the Blind/Oak Hill (Hartford, CT). She is the lead author of the recently published study “An Evaluation of a Developmental Individual-differences Relationship-based (DIR®) Creative Arts Therapies Program for Children with Autism” (Arts & Psychotherapy, 2021).
The DIR model was created to help children with developmental challenges and strengthen their families so they can support and advocate for their child as the unique individual they are.
Together we will discover how to meet a child where he or she is developmentally, as well as how using simple strategies and techniques can promote motivation, learning, and engagement.
· Learn how understanding the deep why of behavioral challenges can bring out the best in our children.
· Explore techniques adults can use that support their child's interest in the world.
· Understand that goodness of fit is affected by the individual differences within the family unit.
· Identify how we can use practical strategies to help children respond to environmental challenges.
· Learn about the brain development that happens when children connect and play with people who care about them.
· Examine the evidence showing DIR among the most effective interventions for families supporting children with autism.
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NJACE is funded in part by the New Jersey Governor’s Council for the Medical Research and Treatments of Autism and by the NJ DOH
The views expressed herein may not necessarily reflect the views of the NJACE or our partners, the Governor's Council for Medical Research and Treatments in Autism, the New Jersey Department of Health, and Children's Specialized Hospital.
The mission of the NJACE is to educate society about the neurobiology of autism, and autistic people‘s unmet needs across their lifespan. We do this by listening to the perspectives of autistic people, their parents and families, clinicians from interdisciplinary fields, and researchers from various fields including psychology, genetics, engineering, and computer science. We hope to build an all-inclusive community, which embraces autistic people as valued members of our society.
