Melanie holds nearly 20 years experience working one-on-one with children diagnosed with a wide variety of communication disorders. She specializes in childhood apraxia of speech, articulation disorders, language disorders, central auditory processing disorders, social language concerns and oral motor dysfunction which impacts intelligible communication and feeding skills.
She is licensed to treat clients online who live in the state of California.
“Melanie has a beautiful, calming energy that my 4 -year old and I look forward to on a regular basis. It has been so amazing to hear his oral improvements — hearing sounds he’d never known how to make before! The most rewarding part has been seeing the pride in his face when he starts to apply what he’s learned in class to his everyday speech. Melanie is great at making class fun (via Zoom) and also providing plenty of practice exercises, games, resources and ideas to gently nurture his growth at home.” – Priscilla: Mother of River
Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy helps clients by eliminating their oral habits, improving tongue position, improving lip seal, enhancing nasal breathing, repatterning muscle function and promoting proper chewing and swallowing. Children who may benefit from neurologic re-education of the oral-facial muscles include those who are diagnosed with mouth breathing, tongue thrust and ankyloglossia (tongue-tie).
“Melanie is so wonderful to work with. We started working with her after our son was diagnosed with mouth breathing and orofacial myofunctional issues due to a tongue-tie. In just a few short months of working with Melanie, not only did his speech, muscle memory and tongue placement improve but his confidence as well! Melanie knows how to make the “work” FUN, which kept our son excited, curious and engaged!” – Julie: Mother of Camden
Nature is one of our greatest teachers, and children need more time outside. Nature-based speech-language therapy cultivates receptive, expressive and social language development. Through exploration in nature, children naturally ask questions, produce spontaneous comments and develop an embodied understanding of their world. A variety of speech-language goals, including articulation, can be creatively targeted outside.
“My experience with Melanie has been exceptional. She has been working with my son for many years. The work she has done with him is making a huge difference in his life on so many levels. She is not your typical therapist that does the very basic or just good enough job. She goes far and beyond. She truly cares about her clients. Plus Melanie’s voice is so calming. She creates a very peaceful and safe environment for the kids she works with, and it is no surprise my son’s favorite therapist is Melanie. I know my son is in good hands when he is working with her, and I’m very happy to see what this means for my son’s future. Thank you Melanie!” -Roxy: Mother of Vincent
