Deirdre A. Brownell

DEIRDRE A. BROWNELL, PH.D, VMT-R (USA) is a singer as well as a scholar and believes that music has a language all its own that anyone can understand somatically as well as spiritually, if not cognitively. She began assisting at Step One Early Intervention in Quincy, MA at age 13, and since she was too young to be paid, the staff - especially the PT and SLP - taught her, instead. She has a BA in Physical Education and Recreation from Whittier College, and a Masters and PH.D in Psychology from Meridian University where she received a strong grounding in Imaginal Psychology. After training in Voice Movement Therapy in South Africa, she interned there at a school for children with cognitive and psysical delays. While there, at their request, she created with Anne Brownell an instructional handbook entitled It's a Nice Day If It Doesn't Rain: A Guide for Using Voice Movement Therapy to Increase Communication and Socialization with Children Experiencing Developmental and Language Delays. Her dissertation is about healing the loss of the embodied voice in people with hidden learning differences. Deirdre is dedicated to working with anyone struggling with a difference from the norm which sets them apart and causes them to feel misunderstood and "voiceless," including transgendered youth. She loves to sing and has recorded one album, Evolution. She enjoys science fiction and attending "cons."