Why did you choose to pursue a career in Speech Therapy?
I always knew I wanted to work with children and originally had wanted to be a special needs teacher. After taking some intro courses in college, I discovered the field of Speech-Language Pathology and never looked back!!
Do you have any special areas of interest?
I really love language development, including expressive language, comprehension of language, and social language! I also have developed a strong interest in functional communication and finding effective methods for our clients to communicate their wants and needs. There is nothing more rewarding than helping a child find their “voice”!
What varied experience do you have in your field?
I worked for 1 year in a Skilled Nursing Facility with adult and geriatric patients. I worked with patients with Aphasia (language disorder following a stroke), Dysphagia (swallowing disorder), and with Cognitive deficits. It was very interesting and I really enjoyed that unique population. After my experience at the skilled nursing facility, I worked at the Cleveland Clinic Center for Autism for 5 years doing outpatient speech-language therapy. I participated on a multi-disciplinary evaluation team assisting in the process of the diagnosing Autism and other developmental delays in children, adolescents, and adults.
What degrees, licenses, certifications and/or special training do you hold?
What are you passionate about?
I’m passionate about building positive relationships with our clients and their families. I love learning about the clients interests and experiences and try to incorporate that into therapy. I enjoy working closely with family members to promote carryover of skills that we work on in therapy!
What do you enjoy most about working at Building Blocks Therapy?
I enjoy collaborating with all of the BCBA’s, RBT’s, OT and PT. I love learning from each discipline and putting the pieces together for each individual client. A comprehension, whole-child approach is so imporatnt! I also enjoy how positive and upbeat everyone is. We truly have such an amazing and dedicated team who put the clients first.