Communication Crossroads

Emily Rubin, MS, CCC-SLP

Speech-Language Pathologist
Director, Communication Crossroads, Carmel, CA

Emily Rubin, MS, CCC-SLP is the director of Communication Crossroads, a private practice in Carmel, California. She is a speech-language pathologist specializing in autism, Asperger's Syndrome, and related social learning disabilities. As an adjunct faculty member and lecturer at Yale University, she has served as a member of their Autism and Developmental Disabilities Clinic. She has also served as an instructor for the Communication Sciences and Disorders Department of Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts where she has developed courses to prepare graduate level students for addressing the needs of children with autism and their families. Her publications have focused on early identification of autism, contemporary intervention models, and programming guidelines for high functioning autism and Asperger's Syndrome. She is also a co-author of the clinical manual for the SCERTS Model, a comprehensive educational approach for children with autism spectrum disorders. She recently participated as a member of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association's Ad Hoc Committee on Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), a committee charged with developing guidelines related to the role of speech-language pathologists in the diagnosis, assessment, and treatment of ASD. She lectures internationally and provides consultation to educational programs serving children and adolescents with autism and related developmental disorders.

Amy C. Laurent, Ed.M., OTR/L

Occupational Therapist
Private Practice Affiliate
Rhode Island

Amy Laurent, Ed.M., OTR/L is a pediatric occupational therapist who holds a Master's in Special Education. Currently in private practice, she is a New England affiliate of Communication Crossroads and of Childhood Communication Services. Amy specializes in the education of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and related developmental disabilities. Through her practice, she provides comprehensive assessments, direct therapeutic services, and consultations to educational programs for children with ASD. Her publications have focused on emotional regulation in children and adolescents with ASD and their impact on later social competence. She is also a co-author of the clinical manual for the SCERTS Model, a comprehensive educational approach for children with autism spectrum disorders. She lectures internationally on topics related to therapeutic and educational intervention for children with ASD. Her areas of clinical interest included therapeutic intervention as it relates to the development of self-regulation and social-adaptive functioning across contexts (e.g., school, home, and community settings). She also serves as an instructor for the Communication Disorders Department at the University of Rhode Island and for the Communication Sciences and Disorders Department at Emerson College in Boston, MA. She has worked with Communication Crossroads since 1999 and continues to provide educational workshops and caregiver education programs.

Kylinn Merriman, M.A. CCC-SLP

Speech-Language Pathologist Communication Crossroads,
Carmel, CA

Kylinn Merriman, M.A. CCC-SLP, received her master's degree in speech language pathology from California State University, Chico. She has experience working with children and adults with social communication needs in a broad variety of settings including acute and outpatient hospital clinics, elementary school classrooms, Head Start, child development preschools, and within client's homes and the community. Her clinical interests have included autism spectrum disorders (ASD), phonological disorders, dyspraxia, feeding disorders, language-based developmental delays, adult neurogenic disorders such as apraxia, aphasia, dysphagia and executive function impairments that occur with traumatic brain injury. Her clinical focus has been on helping others to facilitate social independence within their community in order to develop and maintain a strong sense of self through improvement in communication skills. Kylinn recently joined Communication Crossroads as a team member in the social communication assessment clinic. She is also affiliated with Central Coast Language and Learning Center, a private practice in Monterey, CA that serves individuals with learning differences, language learning disabilities, and autism spectrum disorders.

Communication Crossroads

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