Karyn Lewis Searcy, M.A. CCC
Speech Language Therapist and Clinical Director
karynls2@crimsoncenter.com
The author of Here’s How to Do Early Intervention for Speech & Language: Empowering Parent (Plural Publishing, Inc.; 2011), Karyn initially founded Crimson Center for Speech & Language in March 2003. She earned her master’s of art degree in Speech-Language from the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana in 1976, and worked for several years in the hospital setting with patients dealing with both acute and chronic brain disorders and injuries. From 1977 through 1981, Karyn served as a member of the hospital pediatric neurology and child abuse teams. She later accepted the positions of clinic supervisor and assistant professor at Elmhurst College, in a suburb of Chicago, where she taught undergraduate courses including autism, language development and speech disorders.
Karyn moved to San Diego County in 1988. In addition to producing community theater there, she served as consultant for several treatment facilities, including school districts, adult day care centers and non-public agencies. She launched her private practice in Ramona, Poway and Imperial Beach, then founded the Crimson Center for Speech & Language with her goal to support families, as well as helping her staff identify and develop their individual specialty areas.
Throughout her more than 35 years in the field, Karyn has been trained in several treatment programs, with a strong focus on parent-child relationships. In 1979, she was certified by Dr. Ann Jernberg of Chicago’s THERAPLAY Institute, a program designed to facilitate parent-child interaction. She also completed PROMPT training, a program that teaches specific strategies for treatment of apraxia and related oral-motor speech disorders for both adults and children.
Karyn has worked on several formal and informal research projects, and served as co-principal investigator for SoCal BRIDGE Collaborative, which received 2009-2011 funding from the National Institute of Mental Health. In addition to her early intervention therapy book, she has co-written several journal articles including Parent and Multi-Disciplinary Provider Perspectives on Earliest Intervention for Children at-risk for Autism Spectrum Disorders. Infants and Young Children (Stahmer, Brookman-Frazee, Lee, Searcy, & Reed, 2011).
A former board member for the San Diego Chapter of the Autism Society of America, Karyn was awarded their 2010 Health Hero Award through CHADD. She has volunteered as a committee member of Involved Exceptional Parent’s Day since 2005, and is a board member of the San Diego Chapter of the Infant Development Association.
A national speaker for various organizations, Karyn has presented at the Mitochondrial National Conference (2007), California Speech and Hearing Association (2007, 2008 and 2011) the American Speech/Language Association National Convention, (1975, 1984, 2005, 2008, 2009 and 2011), Microcephaly Conference (2008), and LaPere, Michigan School District (2009), among numerous other national and state organizations.
Karyn taught an ASHA approved CEU course through Cross Country Education in various cities throughout the country on Early Intervention and Communication Disorders in Children from 2005-2010, and currently offers free staff trainings for daycare and private preschool centers throughout San Diego County. She has been a part time clinical supervisor for San Diego State University's Communicative Disorders Program fsince 2009.
Speech Language Therapist and Clinical Director
karynls2@crimsoncenter.com
The author of Here’s How to Do Early Intervention for Speech & Language: Empowering Parent (Plural Publishing, Inc.; 2011), Karyn initially founded Crimson Center for Speech & Language in March 2003. She earned her master’s of art degree in Speech-Language from the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana in 1976, and worked for several years in the hospital setting with patients dealing with both acute and chronic brain disorders and injuries. From 1977 through 1981, Karyn served as a member of the hospital pediatric neurology and child abuse teams. She later accepted the positions of clinic supervisor and assistant professor at Elmhurst College, in a suburb of Chicago, where she taught undergraduate courses including autism, language development and speech disorders.
Karyn moved to San Diego County in 1988. In addition to producing community theater there, she served as consultant for several treatment facilities, including school districts, adult day care centers and non-public agencies. She launched her private practice in Ramona, Poway and Imperial Beach, then founded the Crimson Center for Speech & Language with her goal to support families, as well as helping her staff identify and develop their individual specialty areas.
Throughout her more than 35 years in the field, Karyn has been trained in several treatment programs, with a strong focus on parent-child relationships. In 1979, she was certified by Dr. Ann Jernberg of Chicago’s THERAPLAY Institute, a program designed to facilitate parent-child interaction. She also completed PROMPT training, a program that teaches specific strategies for treatment of apraxia and related oral-motor speech disorders for both adults and children.
Karyn has worked on several formal and informal research projects, and served as co-principal investigator for SoCal BRIDGE Collaborative, which received 2009-2011 funding from the National Institute of Mental Health. In addition to her early intervention therapy book, she has co-written several journal articles including Parent and Multi-Disciplinary Provider Perspectives on Earliest Intervention for Children at-risk for Autism Spectrum Disorders. Infants and Young Children (Stahmer, Brookman-Frazee, Lee, Searcy, & Reed, 2011).
A former board member for the San Diego Chapter of the Autism Society of America, Karyn was awarded their 2010 Health Hero Award through CHADD. She has volunteered as a committee member of Involved Exceptional Parent’s Day since 2005, and is a board member of the San Diego Chapter of the Infant Development Association.
A national speaker for various organizations, Karyn has presented at the Mitochondrial National Conference (2007), California Speech and Hearing Association (2007, 2008 and 2011) the American Speech/Language Association National Convention, (1975, 1984, 2005, 2008, 2009 and 2011), Microcephaly Conference (2008), and LaPere, Michigan School District (2009), among numerous other national and state organizations.
Karyn taught an ASHA approved CEU course through Cross Country Education in various cities throughout the country on Early Intervention and Communication Disorders in Children from 2005-2010, and currently offers free staff trainings for daycare and private preschool centers throughout San Diego County. She has been a part time clinical supervisor for San Diego State University's Communicative Disorders Program fsince 2009.
