Shirley Patterson, Author
Shirley Patterson, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, holds a master's degree in speech-language pathology and a Ph.D. in special education - learning disabilities from the University of Missouri at Columbia. During Dr. Patterson's career, she was a speech clinician in the public schools, an instructor at the University of Missouri at Columbia, a state agency administrator, a consultant, and an executive director of a nonprofit agency in Kansas City, MO, that served young children with disabilities. While in Kansas City, Dr. Patterson and colleagues wrote and piloted ELLC, recognized by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) as one of six curricula in the United States to be recommended to the federal government as a model (The ASHA Leader, 2002). Dr. Patterson served on the Asha legislative council for many years and in numerous offices in her state professional organization, including that of president. She was a member of the Speech-Language Pathology/Audiology Advisory Commission to the Missouri Board of Healing Arts. Dr. Patterson was appointed by Missouri Governor Mel Carnahan to the State Interagency Coordinating Council of Missouri and was appointed to the Missouri Coordinating Board for Early Childhood by Missouri Governor Jay Nixon. Among Dr. Patterson's awards are the Honors of the Missouri Speech-Language-Hearing Association and the award of Fellow of ASHA. Dr. Patterson retired in 2002 from her position as executive director of Children's Therapeutic Learning Center (TLC). Following retirement, on behalf of Children's TLC, Dr. Patterson wrote an early Reading First grant proposal that was designed to implement ELLC in preschool sites in the Kansas City area. The U.S. Department of Education awarded Children's TL a $2.6 million grant for a three-year time period, beginning in January 2003. Currently, Dr. Patterson resides in Columbia, MO, where she is a certified ELLC instructor and a consultant for nonprofit agencies, schools, and programs that serve young children.