Dr. Fernald was awarded Board Specialty Recognition in Child Language from the American Speech Language Hearing Association. She follows Greenspan and Wieder’s model, DIRFloortime® , when working with children and families. Dr. Fernald has a special interest in the social emotional development of young children and its impact on their speech and language skills. As a speech-language pathologist, Dr. Fernald works with children who have a variety of communication disorders. She partnered with Easter Seals NH in 2006 to begin an assessment and treatment clinic specifically for children with selective mutism and has recreated the model in the Tampa Bay area of Florida as well. In 2018, Dr. Fernald co-founded REConnections Education Center, a private school that utilizes the DIRFloortime® framework as its foundation to support children with individual differences. Dr. Fernald enjoys public speaking and has presented nationally on the topics of childhood apraxia of speech and selective mutism.