Our team is committed and dedicated to what we do at the Selective Mutism Research Institute. Our staff is the foundation of this institute and are passionate about understanding those with Selective Mutism and discovering more about the disorder itself.
Many of our Research Assistants are graduate students at La Salle University. We are so grateful to have this connection to such a wonderful institution and we thank them for their continued support and enthusiasm.
Dr. Elisa Shipon Blum, D.O.
Dr. Shipon-Blum lectures throughout the country on the topic of Selective Mutism, performs school evaluations and trainings for treatment professionals, educators, and parents, and is considered one of the world’s leading experts in the treatment and understanding of Selective Mutism. She has been a featured expert on national television programs such as 20/20, CNN, Inside Edition, and Good Morning America, as well as other local, national, and international television and radio broadcasts. In addition, she has been featured in TIME Magazine, People Magazine and has interviewed with newspapers such as the New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Boston Globe, San Diego Tribune, Philadelphia Inquirer, and Palm Beach Post.
In addition to her research she has written numerous articles and books on Selective Mutism and anxiety and has also produced numerous DVDs on the topics of treatment and assessment of Selective Mutism and the development of school accommodations and interventions for mute children. Notably, she is also the mother of a child, Sophie, who suffered from and overcame Selective Mutism and is the inspiration for the work she does each day.
Rosemarie Manfredi, Psy.D.
Jenna Blum is currently a master’s level clinician. She graduated with honors from Muhlenberg College where she received her Bachelor of Arts degree and majored in Psychology and minored in Creative Writing. Jenna was a member of the Psychology National Honor Society (Psi Chi). Jenna is continuing her education by pursuing a doctorate in the field of Clinical Psychology at Chestnut Hill College. Jenna has years of experience working at the SMart Center. Over the years, she has developed a passion for this community. She explained that her favorite part about working at the SMart Center is the rewarding feeling that she gets every time she reads a story from a patient located anywhere in the world who has found a voice from the comfort and confidence that they have gained at the center.
Jenna treats children and teens at the SMart Center, currently trains on S-CAT® and is the CommuniCamp counselor superviser and lead CommuniCamp™ Counselor. Jenna helped to develop our Virtual CommuniCamp programs and has been a Lead counselor at CommuniCamp since the camp originated and enjoys meeting families from all over the world. Her favorite part of CommuniCamp™ is watching children and teens from various sides of the world come together for one weekend to find their voices together. She explained that it is so powerful to watch children act as leaders and helpers to other campers. She stated, “Every child walks out of CommuniCamp™ as a new, confident, and inspired young individual and feels encouraged and proud of the person that they have become.”
Sharon Armstrong, Ph.D.
Sharon Armstrong, Ph.D. is a Associate Professor of Psychology and Director of PsyD Research and Dissertations at La Salle University. She is Associate Faculty Member at Rutgers University Center for Cognitive Science, Adjunct Scientist at Moss Rehabilitation Research Institute, and Research Coordinator at the Selective Mutism Research Institute (SMRI). Dr. Armstrong’s specializations within Cognitive Science are psycholinguistics, concepts/categorization, reasoning, decision-making, and metacognition. Her research has investigated these topics in typical and special populations (e.g., children or adults with autism, selective mutism, schizophrenia, depression). She is a member of the Psychonomic Society, Selective Mutism Group, Association for Psychological Science, American Psychological Association (Experimental Psychology Division), Anxiety & Depression Association of America. She is a consulting editor for The Journal of General Psychology.
Evelyn Klein, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, BCS-CL
Evelyn Klein, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, BCS-CL is a Professor of Communication Sciences and Disorders at La Salle University and a licensed and certified speech-language pathologist and licensed psychologist in Pennsylvania with post-doctoral training in neuropsychology. She is a Board Certified Specialist in Child Language from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) and became an ASHA Fellow in 2009. Dr. Klein holds supervisory certification in special education from the Pennsylvania Department of Education. In 2011 she received the Lindback Distinguished Teaching Award from La Salle University and in 2012 was awarded the Pennsylvania Clinical Achievement Award from the Pennsylvania Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Dr. Klein teaches, supervises, and advises undergraduate and graduate students pursuing a degree in speech-language pathology. Her areas of specialization include selective mutism, autism spectrum disorders, language-learning differences, acquired language disorders, stuttering, and counseling for communicative disorders. Recent research includes assessment practices and treatment efficacy for selective mutism, early literacy, and treatment for people who stutter. She is also an editorial reviewer for Contemporary Issues in Communication Sciences and Disorders and the Journal of Fluency Disorders and has published numerous articles and professional products in the field. As a practicing clinician, Dr. Klein continues to evaluate and treat individuals with communication disorders and investigates speech and language skills in children with selective mutism. In addition to being a member of the Scientific Advisory Board for the Selective Mutism Association, she is a research consultant with the Selective Mutism Anxiety Research & Treatment Center (SMart Center) and the Selective Mutism Research Institute (SMRI).
Sophie Blum, B.A.
Sophie Blum, DO is a graduate of Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine and is pursuing family medicine/integrative medicine. Prior, she graduated from Franklin and Marshall College, where she studied neuroscience and psychology. Sophia had Selective Mutism herself at a young age and has helped to research Selective Mutism. Sophia is a founder of CommuniCamp where she helped to develop the intensive group treatment and parent education program modeled after the popular S-CAT® Program. In addition, Sophia has assisted in various projects at the Selective Mutism Research Institute, including Dr. Elisa Shipon-Blum’s S-CAT® treatment manual. She speaks at local and national conferences on her experience overcoming SM as well as her research on SM. She has authored the book, Unspoken Words; a book to help children/teens and others understand what a child with Selective Mutism is feeing when they are not able to express it themselves.
Lauren Steinbeck, M.A.
Lauren Steinbeck, M.A. graduated, with honors, from Lafayette College, earning a B.S. in Psychology. She is currently in the third year of her Psy.D. program at La Salle University, and she recently completed requirements for her M.A. in Clinical Psychology. Lauren has provided outpatient therapy for a variety of children, adolescents and their families, and currently works with students at a boarding school in Chester County. Lauren’s previous research experience includes an investigation of the relationship between caregiving stress and mental health outcomes among parents of children with special needs, as well as research in developmental psychology examining what and how 17 to 28-month-old children can learn from interactions using video chat technology. Currently, Lauren’s research at the Selective Mutism Anxiety Research & Treatment Center (SMart Center) focuses on the impact of sensory processing difficulties on children with Selective Mutism, and she was honored to be able to present her research at the 2016 American Psychological Association (APA) Convention in Denver, CO. Lauren’s main clinical interests include children and adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder, anxiety disorders and Selective Mutism. She is very excited to be a part of the SMart Center and SMRI team!
