Note from Fia
As a pediatric speech-language pathologist, and a mommy myself, I understand how exciting it is when your child starts to communicate, says his or her first words, takes his or her first steps, or reaches a developmental milestone. I also understand how hard it can be to watch your child struggle and have difficulty communicating his or her wants and needs. My job is to help a child communicate in the most effective way possible, which helps alleviate stress and frustration for the family unit as a whole. As a mindfulness teacher, I also incorporate many of these strategies into my sessions, which helps both the child and family alike communicate with a greater sense of presence and self-awareness.
I absolutely love what I do. I understand that each child is unique and learns differently. What works for one child does not necessarily work for another. I think being a good therapist means being adaptable and flexible while making each session fun! Working with families and empowering them to play an active role is an essential part of the therapy process. No one can help a child more than his or her parents, and together we can help your child become the best communicator he or she can be!
Testimonials
From loving parents...
When Fia started working with our son, he was almost four years old and could not say any of his consonants other than “p” or “b” on occasion. No one could understand him outside of the immediate family. My son did not want to work with a speech therapist, as he had bad experiences before. However, Fia was patient, kind, animated, and so much fun. My son took to her right away. She “hid” the work in games and books he loved so he never really felt like he was “doing speech.” A few months later, teachers and family friends were able to understand him. He was so proud of his speech. We have Fia to thank for the amazing progress he has made!" – Kate and Peter
"Fia has helped my daughter, Ali, for almost a year. I hired Fia because my daughter had some articulation issues that needed fixing, but what I didn’t realize was that my daughter also had a slight language delay that Fia caught almost immediately. She worked on her language at the same time that she worked on my daughter’s articulation needs. Fia also introduced mindfulness practices into our speech sessions. This helped my daughter become more confident and self-aware. Fia was kind and patient, and really wanted my daughter to succeed. My daughter was always excited when Fia was coming because she was able to make therapy fun. I am hoping my younger son does not need speech, but if he does, Fia will definitely be working with him!" - Lisa
"When my daughter began working with Fia at age 5, she was really struggling with articulation and presented an open mouth posture making it difficult to produce multiple sounds correctly. Right from the start, Fia gained Ava’s respect and taught her that learning can be fun. Fia helped redirect her attention often to focus on the speech therapy and we saw great progress throughout the year. Speech with Fia was not only successful and fun, but my daughter also gained confidence, which helped her greatly in school". – Hallie
"I was so lucky that Fia was the speech therapist for my twins. They progressed so quickly and exceeded their goals. Fia was great about keeping me in the loop with their progress and what they accomplished in each session. She took the time to go over exercises that I could do with my kids at home. Most importantly my twins LOVED Fia and thought their sessions were so much fun that they asked if Fia could come over everyday to help with their speech!" - Margaret R.
"Fia started helping my son after his teacher recommended speech therapy because he was “not understood by his peers and getting frustrated.” Fia always kept me updated on each session and really allowed me to be a part of the process so I could reinforce what he was learning with her. We saw so much progress and within months my son was much more easily understood! Her work with my son even improved my relationship with him. Fia taught us breathing exercises that we could use as a family to keep us all calm and grounded, which was an unexpected bonus! She cares so much and is so amazing at what she does. I would recommend Fia to any family". - Rebecca
"Fia has worked with my two sons for over a year. She created a program and goals for each one and thanks to her hard work and dedication they met each goal set for them. She worked with them in our home, but took the time to visit them in their school and kept contact with their teachers on the items they were working on. Fia is extremely smart, reliable, warm, caring and goes out of her way to integrate their interests into her work. They have each grown and improved so much. She is a rare find and we are so happy we met her!" - Allison
