Melissa Feller is a PhD candidate at the MGH Institute of Health Professions under the research mentorship of Dr. Tiffany Hogan. She is also a Sr. Applied Learning Scientist for Zaner-Bloser, Inc, where she supports K-5 educational product development and the translation of research into educational curriculum design. She is a speech-language pathologist/literacy specialist with extensive clinical experience in the area of language-based learning disabilities and advanced training in structured literacy interventions.
She has worked in public school, private interdisciplinary practice, higher education, and educational technology settings, including as a clinical instructor and director of the literacy and language certificate of advanced study program in the MGH Institute's CSD department. Melissa spent a number of years working directly with pediatric clients with reading and writing difficulties, helping parents navigate the special education process, and supporting educators and administrators in improving implementation of evidence based practices in school settings. She is especially passionate about improving outcomes and educational experiences for individuals with dyslexia and developmental learning disorder. To this end, she has become particularly interested in the timely and accurate identification of learning disabilities in children. Melissa’s research interests include reading/spelling relationships, reading disabilities in multilingual populations, and systems-level translation of evidence-based literacy assessment practices in school settings. She's also a mom of 3 young children.
- BS, Speech-Language Pathology, Psychology, Towson University, Towson, MD
- MS, Communication Sciences & Disorders, MGH Institute of Health Professions, Boston, MA
Research Interests
- Reading and writing development and difficulty
- Identification of language-based learning disabilities in mono- and multilingual populations
- Spelling and writing assessment and intervention
Clinical expertise
- Literacy assessment and intervention
- Dyslexia, developmental language disorder, executive function difficulties
- Parent advocacy and support
Ms. Feller has published numerous papers - some titles are highlighted below. You can view a complete listing of Ms. Feller's publications on Google Scholar or in her CV.
Identifying Reading Disabilities: A Survey of Practitioners.
In addition, Ms. Feller regularly presents at conferences and industry events. Please see her CV for a complete list of presentations.
Spelling patterns among early adolescent students with and without relative decoding and spelling discrepancies at the Society for the Scientific Study of Reading (SSSR), Thirty-First Annual Meeting.
Addressing Early Literacy Through Partnerships with Educators at the ASHA’s Working Together in Schools: Whole Child, Whole Team online conference.
Oral Language and Its Relationship to Reading Difficulties at the Children’s Dyslexia Center Boston-North.
Language comprehension and developmental language disorder: Attending to the other side of the simple view of reading at The Reading League annual conference.
Supporting systems level translation and coordination for students with learning and developmental disabilities: Ideas and innovations at the Learning Disabilities Association of America Annual Conference.