Journal of Psychological Abnormalities

Biography

Dr. Thomas Layton received his Ph.D. in Speech-Language Pathology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1976. Currently, he is President/Owner of a private speech-language Center, Talk and Total Communication, and is an Adjunct Professor at North Carolina Central University. Dr. Layton has worked more than40 years as a professor, clinician, and teacher. Dr. Layton has authored and edited three textbooks, three tests, and more than 50 articles on children with communication disorders. He has also presented locally, nationally, and internationally on more than 150 different topics on communication and learning in low achieving children. Dr. Layton has served as Departmental Chair of the Department of Communication Disorders at North Carolina Central University and the Director of Graduate Studies in the Division of Speech and Hearing Sciences at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Dr. Layton has been awarded the “Clinical Achievement Award” by the North Carolina Speech-Hearing-Language Association, a Fellow of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, and Special Recognition Honor from the Triangle Down syndrome Network. He has served on many boards and professional organizations. These include: 1) President of the North Carolina Speech-Hearing-Language Association, 2) School Board member of School in the Community Charter School, 3) Co-chair Advisory Board for Parent Support Network of North Carolina, 4) Advisory Board Member for Parent Network of Orange, Durham and Chatham Counties, 5) Member of Durham Public Schools Steering Committee for Continuous Improvement Monitoring, 6) Consultant to the Ministry of Education in the Bahamas, 7) Consultant to Medical University of South Carolina and 8) Project Potential at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. He served as a member of the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction Study Team that assessed eligibility of services for students with specific learning disabilities. He also served as a Board member of the Triangle Down Syndrome Network. Dr. Layton has been as an invited Reviewer for Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, since 1984. He also is the founder of a non-profit Corporation, Extraordinary Learning Institute that develops innovative teaching materials, literacy materials, technology videos and programs, to enhance literacy and communication for children and adults with extraordinary learning needs, especially children with Autism and Down syndrome. He is a member of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association Member and the North Carolina Speech, Language and Hearing Association Member.