Theresa has an Associate of Applied Science – Speech-Language Pathology Assistant Degree. She is registered through the State of North Carolina Board of Examiners for Speech and Language Pathologists and Audiologists.
Prior to becoming an SLP- Assistant Theresa spent many years as a retail manager. She wanted a career where she could interact with children, but was not certain what to do. She volunteered to work with children in various capacities: scout leader, team mom, Sunday school teacher, school volunteer and tutor. She was also employed as a substitute teacher. She feels that spending time with children brings joy and energy to her life. She found her career path when her own son was referred for speech therapy.
Theresa enjoys spending time with her family and volunteering at her son’s school. Her hobbies include reading, sewing, gardening and working on projects around her home. She is thrilled to be employed at Therapy Playground.
Theresa has recently attended the following CEU courses:
Conference Descriptions
Early Speech-Language Development: Taking Theory to the Floor.
“If you’ve struggled with designing effective treatment plans for your youngest clients (ages birth to 4), then this is the conference for you! We’ll be spending the entire day talking about TREATMENT strategies, and I’ll introduce you to my SIMPLE TREATMENT HIERARCHY complete with checklists and a whole day full of treatment strategies to encompass the entire gamut of your caseloads from non-verbal children with social communication disorders to toddlers who are ready to work on intelligibility issues.
How do you make treatment decisions, prioritize goals, and determine what techniques to use in sessions? How do you maximize a child’s participation in sessions AND your effectiveness as an early intervention professional? This course will help you clarify your position, your philosophy, and your overall approach as you provide services for your youngest clients. If you’re a seasoned professional (like me!) or a new grad, you’re sure to leave this conference with treatment guidelines to support your practice in your state’s early intervention program.”
Building Verbal Imitation in Toddlers
“Imitation is the core skill most late talkers haven’t yet mastered. In this fast-paced, half day conference, you’ll learn how to teach toddlers with developmental delays to talk using science-backed strategies which emphasize imitation as the KEY component.
This method delivers a practical framework for knowing where to begin work with a late talking child, provides ideas for what to try when a young child’s progress stalls, and can serve as your new approach when your standard methods don’t seem to be adequate for a particular child’s issues.
This course is essential information for all early intervention professionals who work in programs that emphasize family training. Laura’s simple, straight-forward approach is easy for therapists to teach parents to use during familiar play-based activities and daily routines at home. Often SLPs and other therapists aren’t sure how to explain what we do so that parents understand and are able to carry over successes. Laura’s practical style will fill in that gap so you’ll know what to say when you’re working with parents.
You’ll learn a step by step process for moving children forward with expressive language. More importantly, you’ll understand what prerequisite skills a child should have mastered before moving on to the next level. This will prevent a child from going weeks or months without seeing any measurable progress in expressive language. You’ll also receive suggestions for what to try when a child seems to be “stuck” at any particular point in therapy. “