About Me and the Way I Work
Love Being and Working with Me When I Am the Most Difficult to Be With and to Work with, Because That’s When I Really Need It
The above is the motto that moves me in my practice. I borrowed the idea from a Swedish proverb, which I truly believe should move us all through life and keep us together: Love me when I least deserve it, because that’s when I really need it. I am Dani Dimitrova – just Dani for the kids and their parents.
Professional Qualifications:
University Master’s Degrees as:
- Speech and Language Pathologist
- Philologist (linguist)
- Educator
- Journalist
Certified Specialist in Childhood Neurodevelopmental Disorders at the Interdisciplinary Association of Functional Neurosciences and Rehabilitation (after taking Dr. Robert Melillo’s 10-module course involving theory and practice for examination, evaluation and treatment of those disorders)
Certified iLS therapist for all Integrated Listening Systems programs:
- Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP) – Stephen Porges’ intervention program based on his Polyvagal theory
- Focus System (FS)
- VoicePro
Certified Interactive Metronome (IM) therapist
Certified education in Neuroscience at the University of Chicago, USA
Certificates obtained after successfully completing the following courses at the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association for professional development:
- Certificate for successfully completing the curse Cranial Nerve Examination for the SLP
- Certificate for successfully completing the curse Enhancing Pretend Play Skills in
- Preschoolers with Autism Spectrum Disorders
- Certificate for successfully completing the curse Identifying, Assessing, and Treating Dyslexia: What SLPs Need to Know
- Certificate for successfully completing the curse Neurobiology of Language
- Certificate for successfully completing the curse Neurobiology of Language
- Certificate for successfully completing the curse Pediatric Feeding Assessments and Interventions
- Certificate for successfully completing the curse Peer-Mediated Interventions for Preschool and School-Age Children With ASD
- Certificate for successfully completing the curse Specific Language Impairment in Special Populations
- Certificate for successfully completing the curse The How and Why of Executive Functions: Impacts on Language and Learning
- Certificate for successfully completing the curse Unilateral Neglect and Awareness Deficits After Right Hemisphere Brain Damage
Certificate for successfully completing the Toilet Training Course By Nanette Botha (BEd), Director of AIMS Global at Autism Parenting Summit
Certificate for completing the requirements of the Rezzimax Therapeutics Institute
Author and leading therapist of the Integra Master Program®– The Integrative Approach to Communication Disorders
ONGOING EDUCATION AND TRAINING:
- Nutrition Therapist Course at The School Of Health, UK
- Anatomy and Physiology for Nutrition Course at The School Of Health, UK
- Medical Neuroscience Course at Duke University, USA
MEMBERSHIP AT THE FOLLOWING PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS:
- The Society for the Neurobiology of Language
- The Society for the Scientific Study of Reading
- TheAmerican Speech-Language-Hearing Association
- The British Dyslexia Association
RESEARCH AREAS OF INTEREST:
- Neurobiological bases of speech and language and respectively neurobiological bases of speech and language disorders
- The effectiveness of the neuroscience-based interventions as part of the therapies for developmental disorders
My Master’s Degree thesis was Assessment of the Hemispheric Lateralization In Children with Dyslexia. My plans for a PhD Program are towards assessing the effectiveness of some neuromodulation interventions.
MY WAY:
I have integrated all my knowledge, expertise, skills and experience into a unique intensive motor, multisensory, speech&language, cognitive and educational program – Integra Master Program® – The Integrative Approach to Communication Disorders. Each individual holistic intervention schedule is developed after comprehensive assessments of child’s neuropsychological status and it is implemented at least 5 days per week in 2 or 4-hour-long sessions, with a home program for the off days. Neuroscience has proven long ago that the brain is plastic and it can really change and rewire at any age, but to achieve that requires not only adequate but also daily stimulations.
The children I work with are not only Bulgarians. I am proficient in the English and Spanish languages, which allows an effective therapeutic and educational process with English and Spanish speaking kids (online or in-person).
As the president of the Association for Children with Developmental Problems BONITATIS, personally and through our public activities, I am in constant touch with parents and professionals in the field from all over the world to exchange knowledge and experience.
Working with kids on the Autism Spectrum Disorders and kids with ADD, ADHD, Speech and Language Disorders, Specific (Dyslexia) and Non-specific reading impairments or other Learning Disabilities is not only a job for me, but it is the cause of my life. I am committed to it with all my heart and mind and the reason is deeply personal – I am a mother of a boy with autism myself. My beautiful angel has taught me more than all the courses I’ve taken until now. I am following him through this difficult but exciting journey and I am continuing to learn every single day from him and from all the kids I work with.
