Specialists in early intervention, behaviour support, and life skills programmes for autistic children or those experiencing other learning and behaviour differences.
Reach Children’s Services is a family-friendly, child-centered service here to help your child reach their full potential. Through meaningful assessment and ongoing communication, we work to understand your child’s existing abilities so that we can establish appropriate expectations for today, while constantly challenging them to reach beyond.
Our motto is ‘set up for success.’
We believe that intervention should celebrate the individual and be as natural as possible, especially if we are expecting families to be involved or follow plans at home. And we love to play. When it comes to our earliest learners, we believe that there’s no greater work than play. So all of our early intervention supports are embedded into play, while still adhering to the core values of our science.
We are available for home or school visits throughout much of Meath, Westmeath, Offaly, and Longford. We are also available to provide consultation and coaching remotely through all of Ireland and abroad.
Reach Children’s Services is led by:
Shannon Eidman is an Educational Psychologist and Chartered Psychologist with the Psychological Society of Ireland, and Board Certified Behaviour Analyst (BCBA). She has been supporting individuals with developmental disabilities across a range of settings for over 25 years and has presented in Ireland, the United States, and islands in the Caribbean on various topics related to behaviour support and designing effective learning supports.
Shannon began her career at the internationally renowned Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore, MD, in the United States. While working in the Division of Developmental and Behavioural Paediatrics, she treated behavioural difficulties in children diagnosed with a range of developmental and genetic conditions. She moved to Ireland and made it her home in 2008 to establish a special school for children with autism on behalf of a parent group. She has been providing training and behavioural support to families, schools, and service providers throughout Ireland since 2010.
Shannon has a strong interest in naturalistic and developmentally appropriate early intervention, positive behaviour supports to reduce challenges and improve well-being, and use of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) to support children who struggle with anxiety or emotion regulation.
As a parent to two adored teen boys, one of whom is autistic, she knows first-hand the challenges of parenting while trying to juggle a million other responsibilities. So she fully appreciates that parents need practical solutions that are sensitive to family needs and priorities.
Joeleen Lynch is a graduate of the National University of Ireland, Galway, having completed a Masters in Applied Behaviour Analysis, and is a Board Certified Behaviour Analyst (BCBA). She has worked in the field of Applied Behaviour Analysis since 2014, in a wide range of settings to include preschools, schools, the home and community providing training and individualized behaviour support to families and schools. She has a keen interest in early intervention and has completed the introductory workshop of the Early Start Denver Model (ESDM). Joeleen has extensive experience and strong interests in parent training and verbal behaviour.
The vast and comprehensive breadth of practical expertise enables Reach Children’s Services to offer truly personalized services to meet the unique needs of your child and family.
OUR EXTENDED TEAM
Mohan Gopal, CORU registered Occupational Therapist. Mohan graduated with a Bachelor Degree in Occupational Therapy from The Tn. Dr. MGR Medical University, Chennai, India and is presently completing a Masters Degree with Trinity College Dublin. He has worked in Ireland, Canada, the Caribbean islands, and India, supporting individuals across the entire lifespan who present with physical, sensory and intellectual disabilities. Mohan operates his own practice, SCOPE Therapy Services, where he provides a range of assessment and therapy services for children with varied movement and sensory disorders. Mohan has extensive experience in using sensorimotor strategies for gross and fine motor skill development for children with sensory processing difficulties. He has completed up to level 2 in Oral Placement Therapy (OPT), in intervention to support speech clarity and feeding difficulties. Mohan has completed training in administration of the Autism Diagnostic Observation Scale (ADOS-2) and assists the team at Reach with autism assessments.
Dr. Roberta Hines, BA, H.Dip Montessori, D.Psych.BAT, BCBA-D, M.Ps.S.I. Dr. Hines has over 20 years of experience in the field of Early Intervention and Early Childhood Education. She is the founder of Tiddlywinks & Scallywags Early Learning Centre where she specializes in creating enriched learning environments that foster the holistic growth of the child using the principles of Applied Behaviour Analysis and Montessori education. Roberta has received advanced training in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Mindfullness-based Interventions and has hosted related online and in-person training courses for childcare professionals as well as parents. Roberta has also completed training in the ADOS-2. At Reach, Dr. Hines assists with autism assessments and is available to provide online parent support.
Lisa-Ann Roche, CORU registered Speech and Language Therapist.
Learn more about Lisa-Ann Roche at www.athloneslt.com