Meet Megan, she holds both a Bachelor’s and Master’s of Science in Speech-Language Pathology from Western Illinois University. Megan has extensive experience working with children of various age groups and abilities. Throughout her experience, she has found a love for working with the autistic population to provide neurodiversity-affirming therapy. To aid in this, she is a Natural Language Acquisition (NLA) trained therapist, after completing a training on Gestalt Language Processing (GLP). 

Megan also has a passion for working with AAC (augmentative and alternative communication). She enjoys every step of the process, from assessing a potential AAC user to determine the best system, to customizing the device or working with an AAC user who already has years of experience. She loves empowering those who cannot use verbal speech to meet all of their communication needs by providing them a voice. 

Outside of the therapy room, Megan enjoys spending time with family and friends, reading, and doing anything with arts and crafts. 

Meet Colleen, she holds both a Bachelor’s and Master’s of Science in Speech-Language Pathology from Northern Illinois University. Colleen has worked with individuals from birth through adulthood. She has experience in a variety of settings, from Early Intervention and school-based work, including therapeutic schools, to outpatient clinics for those experiencing traumatic brain injury (TBI). Throughout her experience, she focused her work on helping individuals with autism and their families develop systems of communication. Colleen is proficient in behavior management and pragmatic language development, as well as reading comprehension, with a focus on receptive and expressive vocabulary and language expansion.

Colleen is also well-versed in working with AAC (augmentative and alternative communication). She understands the importance of every individual having a way to share their voice and be heard. She is able to work with individuals to discover the best ways for them to access communication based on their needs and abilities. Colleen works with families to understand how AAC functions and guides them on how to carry over skills learned in therapy sessions into the home.

When she’s not working, Colleen enjoys spending time with her husband, children, and dogs.

Meet Grace, she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Sciences and Disorders from Augustana College, where she also pursued a double major in Psychology and a minor in Linguistics. She continued her education at the University of Wisconsin–Madison by obtaining a Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology.

Throughout her clinical practicum, Grace gained experience working with a wide variety of ages and abilities. In particular, she has found play-based pediatric speech and language therapy incredibly rewarding. Grace believes that communication is built upon human connections, engagement, and trust. She places a high value on seeing each client as an individual and examining the whole child in order to tailor services to each family’s unique needs. Her goal is to create a positive, safe, and inclusive environment for children that fosters an atmosphere of growth, learning, and development of communication skills.

Outside of the therapy room, you can find Grace spending time with friends and family, baking a new dessert, or exploring walking trails.

Meet Alyssa, she earned her Bachelor of Science in Communication Sciences and Disorders from Grand Valley State University, where she also pursued a minor in Spanish. She recently earned her Master of Arts in Speech-Language Pathology from Indiana University, where she also completed the Speech Therapy Education, Practicum, and Services (STEPS) program. This specialized training equipped her with the necessary skills for appropriate treatment and diagnostic practices for multilingual children, with a focus on serving Latine families. She also completed her medical externship here at Step Forward!

Throughout her clinical experience, Alyssa has assessed and treated a wide variety of communication disorders across the lifespan. She has a passion for working with children, particularly multilingual children. She works to make therapy sessions fun, creative, and meaningful for each client.

Outside of the clinic, you can find Alyssa spending time with family and friends, trying new recipes, and binging new tv shows.