About Skyward Reach
Skyward Reach is a one-woman company, founded by a speech language therapist who couldn't stand to see students and clients falling through the cracks again and again. What's more, the results are blamed not on the lack of support, but on characteristics of the children themselves. If a child isn't succeeding in school or in therapy, it's blamed on the severity of the disorder, a lack of motivation, poor behavior, or even laziness. And that's not okay.
Skyward Reach exists to reach out and support those kids (and the adults they become), drawing on my years of experience in schools, home health, and clinic settings, and a genuine and deep passion for the field to do so.
I am happy to report that I am licensed to practice as a speech language pathologist in Florida and Virginia, and open to getting licensed in more states. Virtual services mean that if you move, so long as it's to a state I'm licensed in or you pay the licensure fee for a new state, I can follow you wherever you go!
My Background
I've been practicing officially for going on ten years now, though I started preparing for this career long before. My first job was in a public school dedicated exclusively to kids whose disabilities were "too severe to have their needs met even in the 'self contained' classes in their home schools", according to the school district. It really set the scene for the theme of my career ever since: serving those who have been let down by the system and repeatedly had others fail to meet their needs.
That's why my areas of specialty may seem a bit of a mixed bag to those who don't know my background. Some of my clients speak fluently while others can't speak at all. Some can barely move, while others can't be still. Some have visible medical struggles while others struggle with invisible disabilities. The common theme? These are all kids who go under-served. If a case seems intimidating to another clinician, such as one involving behavioral struggles or a medically fragile child, too often that clinician might not take the case, or give up quickly if their usual treatment methods don't work. And that's just unacceptable. So even though I work with other kids as well, I've specialized in working with under-served populations.
How does social communication play into this under-served group? Because far too many clinicians who do treat this area do so in a way that teaches them to mask their differences, which we have evidence is harmful to kids' mental health. It can be taught in a neuroaffirming way that empowers, but clinicians that do so are rare. So I made myself one of them.
Broad, deep experience with many conditions
Though we may only directly treat the communication disorders, understanding the underlying disabilities they originate from is absolutely critical for care. These are just some of the many conditions I already have experience working with.
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Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders
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Autism
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Traumatic brain injury / shaken baby syndrome
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Cerebral palsy
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Intellectual disability
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Cerebral visual impairment (CVI)
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Mental health disorders (anxiety, depression, OCD, bipolar, delusions, others)
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Children who have been diagnosed with opposition defiance disorder
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Those who fit a PDA (pervasive drive for autonomy) profile
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Children with degenerative disorders (variety)
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Rare genetic disorders
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Locked in syndrome
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Auditory processing disorder (specifically with a poor verbal working memory presentation)
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ADHD
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Rett syndrome
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Dyslexia
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PTSD and other effects of childhood trauma
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Down syndrome
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Seizure disorders
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Executive function disorders
Don't see a disability on here? I am passionate about my field and providing the absolute best care, so if your case presents me with a disability I'm not experienced with, I assure you I will throw myself into researching as much about it and treatment implications as I can.