I help parents improve Communication and Connection skills through Consulting and Coaching - Online and In-home, speaking at events, writing, and on The Language Of Play podcast. 

As a 30-year Speech Language Pathologist in the public schools, I saw students leave the speech therapy classroom to carryover new skills – by themselves. Believing communication is learned in community, I wanted a better strategy for helping these kiddos with impairments. Along the way, I found that these strategies are effective for helping ALL students learn easier.  So, I shared the strategies in regular education classrooms.

I invited parents of children with disorders into my classroom and I taught them HOW to teach their children with speech and language delays, so they knew how to practice at home. Those students made amazing progress!

As parents learn to teach communication skills in their daily environment, they learn how to break down instructions, use visuals, understand how the developing brain works, how they impact their child energetically, and more.  An added bonus: communication with co-workers, family, and friends improves.  Joy and hope returns.

Disability or not, parents are the best experts on their children.  Parents know what can and will be practiced at home, and what the child is really interested in. Parents can reach their child in ways others cannot.

I love helping parents move from fear & doubt TO hope & joy through empowering and educating them on normal developmental topics, parenting strategies that work, and effective strategies that cause speech sound growth, language expansion, and listening skills to grow.  I also enjoy bringing hope and joy to those dealing with disabilities on the special education journey. 

I have a vision to create the common vocabulary that is used in all homes.  The Language of Play is not only the podcast title and a business name,  it is the attitude and mindset that helps people connect and open the doors for relational risk. The language of play represents what we all need - at all ages.  

I define “Play” with verbs like: exploration, discovery, enjoyment, fun, experimentation, laughter, curiosity, endeavor, practice, wonder, design…  When we approach people with this type of thinking, judgment stops and curiosity takes over.   This is how a child’s brain is wired.  We begin to use language that builds up and believes in one another, and children respond. This keeps hearts and minds open at all ages. 

I am focused on parents helping kids learn to communicate better. When I coach parents, they come thinking their child needs to learn “x,” but as those parents learn, they see deeper and their own transformation is key. The leader of the family is the parent. Let’s build up and support parents to become great parents they long to be so that they can provide the steps to growth their children need.
Merging these ideas gave me the multifaceted title: The Language Of Play.  Every assumption of the meaning that I came up with was correct in ONE facet!