About Therapy
Wondering if you need a Speech Language Pathologist?
If you’re feeling any of the following or if you are a parent observing any of these behaviors in your child, speech therapy or accent modification is strongly recommended:
Frustration from not being able to convey your message clearly to your intended audience…
Repeating yourself frequently when others don’t understand…
Receiving puzzled or confused looks from the listener…
Giving up easily or not wanting to speak when others can’t understand you…
Anxiety or lack of self-confidence in social and/or professional situations…
Avoiding social situations…
Difficulties conversing on the phone…
Doubting your speaking skills during interviews, presentations in school, or important meetings…
In children, being teased by peers, throwing tantrums, extreme frustration.
Speech intelligibility matters in all areas of your life.
Many of my clients come to me in tears, because they don’t know how to help themselves. Guilt, dissatisfaction, and frustration are brought about because they can’t express themselves properly in their social, academic, or professional relationships.
When clients come to me, many have already experienced a negative experience in some way, whether it happened at work, school, or a party.
Clients have received negative responses and looks when they speak. Some are ignored because they are difficult to understand. Others reveal their sadness of not having close friends in their circle, because it’s just plain difficult to truly connect.
Working together toward transformation…
The work starts now.
I can help you change for the better. Once your speaking skills improve, a ripple effect happens. One new and improved speech change makes room for another and another. Before you know it, your speaking skills have evolved into something you never imagined possible.
We’ll meet weekly for 30-45-minute tele-sessions. A lot can be accomplished in that time, because we target your goals with sharp focus.
For my kiddos, we target those troublesome sounds that they can’t seem to master. An example of those pesky sounds (like R, S, and TH) are at the top of the list. Mastering these sounds immediately changes the quality of their speech from baby talk to sounding more mature and age appropriate. I am here to ensure that your child’s speech catches up to his peers and what is expected for his age.
For my adult clients, we work on speech sounds, stress, rhythm, and timing of the general American English dialect. When my adult clients come in, they want to soften a strong foreign or regional accent for professional reasons. They want to be understood and excel in their careers.
After working with me, adult clients will be able to command the attention of their audience with their strong speaking skills. A medical professional will be able to provide understandable spoken information to his patients. A university professor will be able to offer a comprehensible lecture to their students. Business executives can use coherent language in all their business transactions.
I try my best to make this fun!
Yes, there’s a little bit of required work. It’s kind of like going to the gym with a trainer – except we will focus on your articulation skills and strengthening those mouth muscles.
In my sessions, we do have to talk about the structures of your mouth. It’s not an in-depth anatomy class. But we must know about the basics of your tongue, palate, lips, teeth, and cheeks. From there, we’ll get into the details about mouth movements and the prosody of speech.
Bo-o-o-o-ring!! You said it was going to be fun!
Yes, it is fun! We have to talk to each other this whole time. But we can do it while playing card games or boardgames, using food items, or looking in a mirror to see the silly faces we’re making.
Convenient, flexible sessions…
Picture yourself at home lounging in your comfy clothes. You grab your phone or laptop, click on a link in your email, and you immediately share a screen with me on the other end.
No commute time in nonsensical traffic. No battling inclement weather. You’ve just saved an hour of your day from unnecessary driving – not to mention keeping more gas in your car.
Instead, your valuable time is spent improving yourself and learning new speaking skills. Your speech session is focused specifically on you. It is customized according to your needs.
This is your time to invest in yourself! Scheduling is very flexible, and we can determine your goals and plan of action at the very first session.
Putting you on the path to better speaking…
We will do a recording of your speaking skills at the beginning, middle, and end of your journey to see how far you’ve come. The length of services depends on your motivation and how often you practice. It will definitely take time and effort on your end to ensure a positive outcome.
But you know you’re going to put in the work. So, imagine yourself several months or years into the future…
You’ve nailed that job interview and are succeeding in your chosen career.
You’ve aced your presentation school or work presentation.
Your social life is thriving, and you’re enjoying mingling with new friends at gatherings and parties.
Your future looks BRIGHT!
It’s time to stop putting it off.
You can make immediate changes in your speech skills right away with the correct methods and strategies I offer.
Give your audience a fantastic first impression of who you are. Share your words knowing your listeners understand you right away. What a great confidence builder!
Call me today: (720) 808-0450.
About Me
This is how I got into this work (it started early)…
I was born and raised in the most isolated archipelago in the world: the magnificent Hawaiian Islands. Ironically, as secluded as my home state is, it is home not only to native Hawaiians, but also to a diverse population of people from all over the Asian-Pacific rim and the United States. Add millions of annual tourists from all over the world, and you get to hear a plethora of languages every single day.
Growing up, I was intrigued and entranced by languages, dialects, and accents. Encountering people with communication differences on a regular basis was fascinating. I loved the sounds of words and languages, tones, and inflections. It was melodious, and I loved it!
Who would have thought that my love of languages and words would end up in this incredible field where I get to work with kids and adults on their speaking skills? It’s a privilege to work with my clients who trust me in working with their innate gift of communication.
We all have words to say. It’s all about connection with others and expressing our individual selves with clarity and amazing confidence.
Education and professional background…
Throughout my schooling, my favorite classes always involved anything with language, words, and grammar. I aced my English classes, loved creative writing, and diagramming sentences. I am a true language and word geek at heart.
During my undergraduate years at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, I wanted to incorporate my interests into a fulfilling career. Within me, there was a passion to help people. In my college linguistics class, I met some students who were majoring in Speech Pathology, and that’s when I had an a-ha moment. I found my calling. I was going to help others with their communication skills. I eventually graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Speech Pathology.
After marrying my college sweetheart in Hawaii, we moved to Colorado. A couple of years later, I completed my Master’s degree in Communication Disorders from the University of Northern Colorado. I worked in the public schools for 10 years, and it was at this time I decided to move into private practice. This allowed me the flexibility I needed to care for my now family of six.
My childhood passion in dialects and accents still brewed within me. I still wanted to work with adults needing accent reduction training. My education in speech pathology made it possible for me to work in this specialized niche. I followed my interests and received my certification in the Compton P-ESL program for accent modification.
I enjoy working with adults needing help with their accents and pronunciation skills. Their drive and motivation to make improvements for themselves is inspiring. Many are hopeful and optimistic for their future.
When I’m not doing speech therapy…
I enjoy sunny days, solitude, long walks on the beach (really, I do!), books, and buttered bread. I love the sounds of laughter, the scent of coconut oil, Christmas, and a warm blanket on a cold night.
Family is everything to me! I have an awesome husband, four cool kids, and a sweet dog.
You can find us sharing a meal together, enjoying a movie, taking road trips together, and having a good time.
Life isn’t always perfect, but we love each other a lot.