“There is no substitute for experience.”
— Marilyn L. Rice

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Meet our Registered Psychologists

Florence Strang is a Registered Psychologist with 35 years of experience in assessment, 28 of which she worked in the school system as an Educational Psychologist.   Her clinic, Mindful Matters, was the first in the province to offer private team assessments for autism. Mindful Matters also prides itself on being the only private clinic in the province to provide traveling clinics to Labrador.  Florence is also the mother of a young autistic adult, and her lived experience allows her to relate to her clients on a more personal level. 

Melissa Squires is a Registered Psychologist who has worked in the field of Educational Psychology for 14 years.  She has been doing autism team assessments at Mindful Matters since 2021 with a focus on adult assessments.

Michleen Power Elliott is a Registered Psychologist who has been working in the school system in the field of Educational Psychology since 1998. With 14 years of assessment experience, she has a vast knowledge of diagnosis and treatment of neurodevelopmental disorders. Although she is new to the autism diagnostic team at Mindful Matters, she brings with her a vast experience of working with people on the autism spectrum in the school system.

Andrew Pike is a Registered Psychologist who has worked in the field of Educational Psychology for 10 years. He has been completing autism team assessments at Mindful Matters since 2021.  Previous to his role as a Registered Psychologist, Andrew worked with Eastern Health for several years as a Child Management Specialist. Here he gained experience working with neurodivergent children, providing in-home teaching and training programs for families. Through these positions Andrew developed an interest and passion for working with neurodivergent children and their families.

Dr. Jessica Spurrell is Registered Psychologist who has been practicing in the field of child/adolescent mental health for five years. She has experience working with families and individuals on the autism spectrum in various capacities prior to completing her doctorate.  Since 2020, Dr. Spurrell has been working as part of the autism assessment team at Mindful Matters and providing comprehensive assessments across the lifespan. 

Meet our SLPs/Autism Consultants

Lori Penny is a Registered SLP with 30 years of experience and a specialized interest in the area of autism. She has developed an expertise in neuro-affirming assessment and practices through her work as an SLP, a school-based Autism Itinerant, and more recently, a Provincial Program Development and Policy Specialist at the Department of Education. Lori has been a part of the Mindful Matters assessment team since its incorporation in 2019.

Stephanie Sills Smith is a Registered Speech-Language Pathologist with 23 years of experience.  She has worked in both the education system and in private practice providing assessment, consultation, and intervention to children with speech, language, and communication needs.  Stephanie worked extensively in assessing autistic children in diagnostic classrooms in Ontario.  In her private practice in St. John's, Speech-Language Pathology at Home, she strives to use a neurodiverse affirming approach to supporting her autistic clients, accommodating those with sensory needs, and working with AAC users and gestalt language learners.  Stephanie has been working as part of the autism assessment team at Mindful Matters since 2022.

Kim French is a Registered Speech-Language Pathologist with 11 years of experience in private practice. She has been a member of the Mindful Matters autism assessment team since its inception in 2019. Kim never felt like the behaviour-based approaches she was taught in grad school were a good fit for her and always felt we could do better by our autistic clients. As a result, she has been passionate about learning more about autism and neurodiversity affirming approaches to intervention and assessments throughout her career. She is also the owner and operator of Kim French & Associates, a private speech therapy clinic. Kim and her amazing team of therapists strive to create a welcoming environment for all where all neurotypes and forms of communication are accepted and uplifted.

Meet our Occupational Therapist

Christine Riggs is a Registered Occupational Therapist and C.C.C. who has 29 years of clinical experience in occupational therapy and mental health counselling. Her unique skill set brings the O.T. lens to the autism assessment team at Mindful Matters.