At N.E.S.T. Developmental Center™ our hope is to nurture emotional and social skills therapeutically™ using evidenced-based intervention strategies. Our specialty is working with young children, ages 2-9, with social, emotional, and behavioral issues secondary to developmental differences such as high-functioning autism, communication delay, anxiety, and attentional issues.

We primarily work with children in small social skills playgroups focusing on nurturing the growth of emotional awareness and regulation, social connectedness, and communication skills. We also teach through family sessions and shadow children in their classroom environment. School observations are an important part of a treatment plan along with collaboration with other clinicians and disciplines such as teachers, speech and language therapists, occupational therapists, developmental pediatricians, neuropsychologists, and pediatric psychiatry.

Our N.E.S.T.™ team is led by Maria V. Hammond, Ph.D., licensed psychologist. Dr. Hammond has focused her training, research and clinical practice in the areas of communication delay, developmental differences, and parent-child relationships. Dr. Hammond specializes in working with young children who present with developmental disorders such as high-functioning autism, communication delay, and attentional issues. The team also includes, Lindsay McCann, licensed professional counselor, who has trained under Dr. Hammond for the past five years and graduated from University of St. Thomas. Our office manager is Holly Taussig, B.A., who has extensive experience with young children and working at N.E.S.T. Developmental Center™.