Lillian M. Díaz-Bras

Lillian M. Díaz-Bras is a speech language pathologist certified by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), a certified Montessori Dementia Care Professional, certified by the International Council of Certified Dementia Practitioners (ICCDP), and the first Montessori Guide for Ageing and Dementia in Puerto Rico certified by the American Montessori Internationale (AMI).

For the past 16 years Lillian has been helping take care of her stepfather who lives with Early Onset Alzheimer’s. It is her stepfather’s ongoing battle with dementia that has driven her search for techniques and treatments to improve the quality of life of these patients. This also drove Lillian to become a Certified Montessori Dementia Care Professional, the first AMI guide for this population in Puerto Rico, and continues to drive her to educate herself to be able to provide patients with the most vanguard strategies and tools in therapy. As a speech-language pathologist, she is always looking for research-based techniques and treatments that will improve performance in daily functions.

Lillian completed her undergraduate degree at the American University in Washington DC and thereafter her master’s degree, in Speech-Language Pathology, at the George Washington University in Washington, D.C. Soon thereafter she obtained her certification from ASHA and worked at the Arlington Public Schools System providing speech and language pathology services. In 2005 she moved back to Puerto Rico, where she worked as a speech language pathologist in her private practice focusing on children and adults. Later on, she moved on to being a speech language pathologist at one of Puerto Rico’s leading hospitals.

Early in life, while providing extensive hours of service for many years at a home for the elderly, Lillian developed a special interest in the struggles this population faces daily. It was later, while pursuing her master’s degree that she gained a better understanding of senile dementia, Alzheimer’s dementia, and other types of dementia, as well as Mild Cognitive Impairment. Throughout her career, and as a stepdaughter of someone who lives with dementia, she has experienced first-hand the cognitive and language challenges, among others, that patients with dementia face daily. She knows once the dementia diagnosis is given, the patients and the family members feel powerless and need a strong support system. Using her expertise, Lillian likes to provide the patient and family members with tools to improve their daily lives.