About Eb Pediatric Resources

EB Pediatric Resources is located in Chicago, IL. We provide a variety of home-based and center-based services to families with children under 5 years old, including Developmental Therapy and other Pediatric Therapy services, Comprehensive Global Developmental Evaluations, home-based Infant Massage Instruction, Family Counseling, training workshops such as "Undercover Speech Therapist for Parents," and a home-based educational service called Therapeutic Play Interactions™.

The Learning Through Play™ Center for Child Development in the Lakeview area offers Playgroups and Classes for children ages 0-5 years. These classes were designed by developmental therapists. They are small (6-7 children max), provide a teacher/child ratio of one adult for every 2 children, and are staffed by experienced therapists. The classes are formatted to provide a playful but structured forum for children to learn socialization and language skills, to separate from their parents in a gentle and positive way, to help children become accustomed to a structured classroom setting and learn to attend to adult-directed activities. The classes are particularly helpful for children who may still be learning language skills or have difficulty socializing with their peers.

The Center also provides a pleasant, environment where parents can socialize and browse through books and parent resources. Therapists are available to consult with parents, as needed, and discuss their concerns and goals for their children.

Children learn through play!

Our philosophy is that all children have an amazing capacity to learn new skills and all children learn best through play. Our therapy approach involves assessing a child's areas of challenge — whether cognitive, social, sensory, motor or language-related — and providing them with tools to overcome these challenges through play-based interventions.

Melanie Arvanitakis, MS DT

Melanie is a Developmental Therapist who received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Lake Forest College and her Master of Science degree in Child Development with Infant Specialization from the Erikson Institute. During her graduate internship, Melanie worked as a Developmental Therapist in an Early Intervention program and completed screening and assessments for young children in a NICU follow-up clinic. She has experience in the Early Intervention system as a service coordinator with Child and Family Connections. She recently completed a grant-funded project to implement a sustainable developmental screening protocol in a major medical institution, providing training and technical assistance to physicians and medical staff in regards to developmental screening and referral. Currently, Melanie serves the role of Technical Assistance Coordinator for CFC #5.

Sara Baillie, MA BCBA

Sara is a board certified Behavior Analyst who specializes in teaching children and adults with autism. She has experience teaching functional communication using PECS, voice output devices, limited sign language, and verbal behavior intervention strategies. She has designed functional behavior plans for children and adults. She graduated with a MA in Special Education from Saint Xavier University and received her Applied Behavior Analysis Certificate from Florida Institute of Technology. She is currently enrolled at UIC's doctoral program in Special Education with special interest in autism research.

Elizabeth Benney, MA DT CIMI

Elizabeth is an IAIM-certified Infant Massage Instructor and state-credentialed Developmental Therapist and Evaluator for the Illinois Early Intervention Program. She is the founder of the Illinois Developmental Therapy Association and an Executive Committee Member on the Local Interagency Council. Her practice specializations include Listening Therapy ("Core/Listening with the Whole Body"), ABA, Greenspan's Floor Time Approach, and Therapy for the Visually Impaired. Elizabeth earned her graduate degree from University of Chicago and is currently working with graduate schools to provide graduates and interns with supervised clinical experience and training as developmental therapists serving the Chicago population. She opened the Learning through Play Center as a forum in which she and her staff could design a unique style of developmental playgroup, which utilizes structure in conjunction with various modes (art, music, movement) tailored specifically to help children adapt to and learn effectively in group settings.

Candace Bohn, MA, BCBA

Candace is a board certified Behavior Analyst who specializes in teaching children with autism. She has had several years of experience planning and implementing individual education plans for students with autism in a classroom setting. She graduated with a MA in Special Education from Saint Xavier University and received her Applied Behavior Analysis Certificate from Florida Institute of Technology.

Megan Brady, MA ATR LCPC

Megan is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor as well as Registered Art Therapist. She graduated with a MA in Counseling Psychology and Art Therapy from the Adler School of Professional Psychology. She has had several years of experience in both individual and group therapy and in art therapy for children. She has worked in a variety of environments including hospital, private clinic, and home-based settings. She has additional training in play therapy, parent education, and behavior management strategies.

Lisa Brennan, M.Ed. DT LPC

Lisa Brennan is a Developmental Therapist and a Licensed Professional Counselor. She received her M.Ed. in Counseling with a specialization in Early Intervention from DePaul University and a B.A. in Psychology from Wayne State University. Lisa has completed coursework in sensory integration, treatment options for children with autism, Theraplay, and Floor Time. Before Early Intervention, Lisa worked with at-risk children and their families, led social skills groups for young school-age children, and taught preschool.

Heather Copeland, MSW DT

Heather is a Developmental Therapist who received a second Master's degree in Infant Mental Health and Child Development from Erikson Institute, earned her Master's in Social Work from University of Chicago, and has an undergraduate in Psychology from University of Michigan. Heather joins our staff after several years of conducting Applied Behavioral Analysis therapy privately for children diagnosed with Autism. She has supervised and managed preschool classes for three-year-olds using the Reggio Emilio approach to early childhood when designing the daily curriculum. Her professional experience also includes counseling, social skills training for children, IEP development, child development and scholastic assessments, and data collection/reporting for ABA programs.

Justina Crawford, MT-BC

Justina is a nationally board certified Music Therapist. She received her Bachelor's of Music in Music Therapy and a Minor in Psychology from Ohio University in 2006. She joins the staff at the Learning through Play Center with experience in clinical music therapy interventions. She completed a 6-month internship at Langley Porter Psychiatric Institute in San Francisco where she worked on an inpatient and partial hospitalization unit. She relocated to Chicago in 2007, where she worked as a Music Therapist for the Institute for Therapy through the Arts, primarily with children with special needs.

Alyson Hu, MA LSW DT

Alyson is a Developmental Therapist who earned her dual graduate degree in child development/social work from Loyola and Erikson Institute and she specializes in children and families. She has experience working in the public school system in elementary and preschool classrooms where she has developed curriculum and counseled children with special needs and children with Individualized Education Programs (IEP's). She has had extensive experience with parent support and student/classroom behavioral interventions.

Michelle Kendrick, MA LPC ATR

Michelle is a Registered Art Therapist and Licensed Counselor. She received her Master of Arts in Art Therapy from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She earned her BA in Fine Arts at Purdue University in 2001, with a minor in art history and psychology. During her graduate internship, she worked with homeless women suffering from mental illness and conducted art therapy with children ages 4-10 years old. She spent one year in an art therapy internship program working with adolescent girls and subsequently founded an after-school program called the Strong Girl Arts Club, an organization that helps foster self-esteem in adolescent girls through art making. On a more personal note, Michelle makes and sells jewelry through her company Recycled Rings in which she reconstructs old jewelry using fibers and embroidery techniques to create new, contemporary wearable pieces of art.

Elissa Laslo, MS DT

Elissa is Developmental Therapist and earned her MS in Child Development, with a specialization in Infant Studies, at Erikson Institute. During her graduate internship, Elissa worked with an Early Head Start home visiting program where she did prevention work with at-risk infants and their families. She also interned at a program that provides specialized early education and playgroups for children on the autistic spectrum, where she received extensive training in Greenspan's "Floor Time" therapeutic approach. Before Early Intervention, Elissa worked with children and families in the context of schools, a homeless shelter, and an urban community garden in a disadvantaged neighborhood.

Anne Lidgus, MS LCSW

Anne is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who specializes in children and families. She has experience working in various settings such as hospitals, community agencies, social services, and child welfare. She has experience in assessment and counseling, as well as being trained to facilitate parent groups focusing on anti-violence and has conducted them in the past. Anne uses various child friendly techniques such as play, books, and art and is conscious of the role that parents and family play in their child's life.

Anna O'Connell

Anna is a M.A. candidate in Dance Movement Therapy and Counseling at Columbia College. She earned a Graduate Certificate in Laban Movement Analysis from Columbia in 2008 and earned her B.A. in Psychology from University of Michigan/Ann Arbor. She has had experience with special needs children using movement and dance strategies in a variety of therapeutic and educational settings. In addition to her movement classes at the Learning through Play Center, she works as a preschool assistant at a center for infants to school age children in Chicago.

Stephanie Schlatter, MA BCBA

Stephanie is a board certified Behavior Analyst who specializes in behavioral therapy using Verbal Behavior and Language-based interventions as well as Applied Behavior Analysis therapy with individuals diagnosed with Autism and other developmental disabilities. She graduated with a BS in Psychology from Kansas State University and received her Master's in Applied Behavioral Analysis from the Chicago School of Professional Psychology. Stephanie has several years of experience developing behavioral interventions for children using verbal behavior tools and techniques. She conducts behavioral therapy both group and home-based settings, conducts functional behavioral assessments for children diagnosed with autism and other developmental disabilities, conducts ABA therapy in both school and home based settings, uses data collection systems to track clients' progress, and creates and implements parent and sibling training programs. Before joining the staff at EB Pediatric Resources, Stephanie worked as a private consultant and ABA Therapist, worked in the school system developing behavioral programs for children with Autism, and conducted various research projects focusing on psychological issues with adults and children.

Guest Speaker

Jennifer Tarle, SLP MA (Presenter, "Undercover Speech Therapist")

Jennifer is a Certified Speech Pathologist with over 12 years of experience in speech-related training and pathologies. Jennifer earned a BS degree and an MA degree in Speech Pathology. She is licensed in CA, IL, & OH, is certified with the State Boards of Education in IL and OH, certified by the IL early intervention system, holds the Certificate of Clinical Competence from the American Speech Language Hearing Association (ASHA), & has earned several AHSA ACE Awards for continuing education. Jennifer is trained and certified in the Hanen Program, Pyramid Approach, TEFL, PECS and Compton PESL. As a frequent guest speaker on Golden Opportunities, a television show for seniors, Jennifer spoke on age related communication and swallowing issues. She presented on coaching parents to provide language enrichment at the Easter Seals Metropolitan Chicago, Near South Side Preventative Initiative Program Symposium. Teacher and parent training classes are presented year round. Jennifer is also a guest lecturer at Columbia College in Chicago. Jennifer strives to help individuals and groups to improve their lives through better communication.