Pediatric Speech Therapy

Melissa has over a decade of experience working with a broad range of communication difficulties. She has provided therapy to a diverse group of children including those with speech sound disorder, stuttering, developmental language disorder, autism spectrum disorder (ASD), hearing impairment, childhood apraxia of speech (CAS), attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), specific learning disability, intellectual disability (ID), repaired cleft palate, vocal fold paresis, Down Syndrome, emotional disturbance, and other unidentified disabilities. Melissa values cultural competency. She is comfortable providing therapy to children who come from multilingual backgrounds and who use English in addition to other languages. 

 

One of the most common populations of children Melissa has worked with include those with a speech sound disorder. A speech sound disorder can include difficulty producing the "R" sound, using a lisp when speaking, incorrect production of speech sounds, omission of speech sounds, and speech sound distortions. She can help your child use age- appropriate speech sounds to increase their intelligibility and successfully communicate. 

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Additionally, Melissa has experience working with non-speaking children and children who supplement their verbal communication using a total communication approach, including Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC). She has designed and implemented low- tech AAC systems, completed AAC evaluations, recommended high-tech AAC devices, programmed AAC devices, and trained caregivers regarding AAC. ​

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Melissa has helped children with social communication challenges. With Melissa, children have learned how to participate in conversation, read nonverbal cues, increase social inferencing skills, learn how to create and build friendships, and understand social rules.