Welcome!
Welcome to Speak Easy RVA speech therapy! We provide speech and language therapy services to children in the Richmond area. Our therapists have experience working with children in early intervention, preschool, private and public school systems, and Autism programs. We partner with outside organizations as children transition from early intervention to school-based services. We understand how to make speech therapy services adapt and grow with the child and their communication needs.
We are committed to providing individualized speech therapy including family support and teacher collaboration. Our goal is to make therapy “easy” on children and their families by providing therapy at home, daycare, or in school.
"Play is our brain's favorite way of learning."
-Diane Ackerman
THERAPY SERVICES
LANGUAGE
-
Limited words or vocabulary
-
Difficulty following directions
-
Trouble asking/answering questions
-
Difficulty combining words into phrases​
-
Gestalt Language Processing
SPEECH
-
Speech that is hard to understand
-
Difficulty saying certain sounds
-
Leaving sounds off the end or beginning of words
-
Limited repertoire of sounds
-
Apraxia (Motor Speech Disorder)
FLUENCY
-
whole-word repetitions (e.g., “Why-why-why did you do that?”),
-
part-word or sound/syllable repetitions (e.g., “I saw the b-b-boy”),
-
production of words with an excess of physical tension or struggle.
SOCIAL SKILLS
-
understanding, expressing, and regulating emotions
-
play skills (e.g.parallel, interactive, make believe
-
participating in conversation
-
developing personal relationships
Evaluations
The evaluation process is important in developing a treatment plan. Evaluations may include observation, parent interview, informal assessment, or standardized assessment. Evaluations can be tailored to fit each family's needs. Results can be provided via consultation or written report.
Therapy
We believe a child-centered approach makes therapy engaging and effective. Young children learn best during play. We use each child's preferences and interactive, hands-on activities to guide therapy sessions. Parents are an important part of the therapy process. We will provide strategies, tips, and tools to practice at home.
ABOUT
Our therapists maintain national ASHA certification and are licensed in the state of Virginia. They have experience working with a variety of disorders and are part of the Meaningful Speech NLA trained clinician registry to support gestalt language learners. They have additional training in Dynamic Temporal and Tactile Cueing (DTTC), TEACHH Autism program, Deborah Beckman Oral Motor Assessment and Intervention, Apraxia, and Social Thinking.
Amanda Belding, M. A, CCC-SLP is a Speech-language Pathologist specializing in pediatrics with over 12 years of experience. She began her career working with adults with developmental disabilities before discovering her passion for working with children. Amanda has worked in a variety of settings including private schools, home health, outpatient pediatric clinics, and public school systems. She especially loves helping preschoolers and young school-age children improve their communication skills and showcase their personalities. She feels that young children are honest, hilarious, and full of potential. As a mother of three children, Amanda realizes how important it is for a child to feel supported and self-confident.
Karen Ward, M.S., CCC-SLP is a Speech Language pathologist with over 15 years of pediatric experience. Karen originally got into the Speech Therapy field because her mother suffered a massive stroke when she was a young child. She knew she wanted to help others and be a part of rehabilitation to those suffering from neurological trauma. Her post graduate path led her to the school system and she soon realized that she wanted to work with children. Karen has experience in the public school, private clinic, and Early Intervention. She especially enjoys working with preschool aged children. She likes collaborating with parents, teachers, and caregivers to help children reach their full potential.
Carrie Brannock, M.A. CCC-SLP is a Speech-Language Pathologist with over 20 years of experience. She is originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and has lived in Richmond, Virginia since 2005. Her career path has focused exclusively on the pediatric population, serving children in a variety of settings including daycares, preschools, homes, private and public schools before joining Speak Easy RVA in 2022. Carrie has a passion for working with young children and has a particular interest in preschool early intervention for treatment of receptive and expressive language delays and articulation/phonological disorders. She enjoys praising kids for every stride they make towards goals and encouraging them to reach their full potential. Carrie welcomes the opportunity to work with you and your child and looks forward to helping kids and families reach their speech and language goals!
Becky Lower, M.Ed., CCC-SLP is a speech-language pathologist with over 30 years of experience in pediatrics. Becky has worked in a variety of settings, including children’s healthcare, early intervention, K-12 schools, and in university clinics, training graduate student clinicians. Becky’s favorite things about being a speech-language pathologist are building relationships with children and their families and helping find creative solutions to the communication challenges they are experiencing. She is comfortable serving children of all ages and collaborating with teachers and parents. Becky loves having a role in facilitating the emergence of new articulation, language, literacy, and social skills and the increase in confidence that comes with that.
Anna Vicari, M.Ed. CCC-SLP is a Speech-Language Pathologist with over 15 years of experience. She has always had an interest in helping others since she was in high school, which inspired a career as a Speech Language Pathologist. Anna has worked with students in preschool, k-12 schools, and adults in the home health care setting. She has primarily worked with the pediatric population, including a preschool diagnostic team for the past decade working with other therapists and educators on how to treat developmental and communication delays. After years of working, Anna has developed a specific interest in working with preschool and younger school-aged children to treat their communication delays and disorders since young children tend to keep things fun and exciting every day. As a mother of two, she also enjoys working with families, teachers, and other professionals on how best to help the child feel more confident with their communication skills.
Lauren is a passionate and dedicated speech-language pathologist with extensive experience supporting children from 18 months through high school. She specializes in receptive and expressive language development, Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), executive functioning, Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS), and early literacy and phonological awareness. Her approach is rooted in child-led, play-based therapy, and she values building strong, collaborative relationships with families, caregivers, and educators.
In her work Lauren places a special emphasis on supporting gestalt language processors and has received advanced training as a Natural Language Acquisition (NLA) trained clinician. She also brings expertise in providing individualized support for children with social/pragmatic language needs, utilizing strategies from the Social Thinking® framework and the Hanen: More Than Words® program. Lauren is certified in PROMPT and DTTC approaches for motor speech disorders and is committed to helping each child find their voice through a warm, strengths-based, and neurodiversity-affirming lens.
FAQS
Why choose private therapy?
-
We are able to treat children who do not meet eligibility requirements in the school setting.
-
Sessions and length of services are determined by parents.
-
Individual sessions promote effective progress. School therapists often have to provide therapy in groups due to high case loads.
-
Therapy is tailored for a child's individual needs, not a group.
-
Flexibility-Parents and therapist can work together to develop appropriate treatment and delivery.
-
Parent training and education.
-
Therapy does not stop in the summer.
​
We are happy to collaborate with school-based teams to provide a continuum of treatment.
Is an evaluation required prior to services beginning?
All new clients must be evaluated prior to treatment unless an evaluation has occurred in the last six months in the areas of concern. Evaluations are a very important part of the treatment process as they allow us to determine the underlying cause of a child's challenges. This can be done informally, or a formal written evaluation can be completed.
Where are services provided?
We provide therapy wherever is most comfortable and convenient for you! We offer in-home and community-based (preschools, daycares, library, etc.) therapy for clients in the Richmond, Virginia area. Online therapy is available for any client in the state of Virginia and is a great option for families who are social distancing or live outside of our coverage area.
​
​
What types of payment do you accept?
We accept private pay options (cash, check, credit card).While we do not accept insurance at this time, we will provide you a superbill upon request.
What is Gestalt Language Processing?
Gestalt Language Processing: a form of language development that moves from whole, memorized phrases to single words. These scripts or gestalts come from movies, videos, and things overheard and memorized. A style of language development with predictable stages that begins with production of multi-word “gestalt forms” and ends with production of novel utterances. The end goal is for the child to be able to use creative and spontaneous utterances for communication purposes. (ASHA 2021)
Step 1
CONTACT US
Step 2
SPEECH AND LANGUAGE EVALUATION
Step 3
THERAPY BEGINS
Attend your first session, where we will begin with an evaluation to understand your child's abilities, preferences, and challenges. Evaluations may include parent interviews, a speech-language sample, observation, standardized assessments, and therapist-client interaction. Following the evaluation we will review the results and collaborate to develop a treatment plan and therapy goals.
We encourage parents to be an active part of our sessions. We can provide you with strategies to use at home to help your child improve their communication. Together we will ensure your child is achieving their goals!
