Hello!

Hi there! I am excited to share my extensive history and experiences as a speech-language pathologist for the past 20+ years. Here is some history and fun facts so you can get to know me better.

I am proud to have started successful woman owned and operated business in the Bay Area, and have learned so much from amazing clients and families over the years. Meeting thousands of exceptional children and adults has brought me much joy and keeps me loving my work.

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My parents graduated from UC Berkeley in the 1960's and went on to work for the Peace Corps in India, where they were married and lived for several years. They later traveled to work in Africa for a few years, and I was born in Ogbomosho, Nigeria! I share this because my unusual early years,  birth history, and stories from my unique past, have shaped a large part of who I am. My parents instilled in me their love of world travel, embracing diversity, cultural curiosity, and acceptance for differences.

 

I was raised in Oakland, California, where I attended the public schools and made friends with people of all different backgrounds and ethnicities. I went on to study child development and psychology for two years at Mills College in Oakland until I learned about the field of Communicative Disorders. I transferred to the University of the Pacific where I earned my Bachelor of Science degree in Communicative Disorders, and later earned my Master of Science degree in Communicative Disorders from San Francisco State University, graduating with high honors. I have attained the Certification of Clinical Competence (CCC) from the American Speech-Language Hearing Association, am a member of the California Speech, Language, and Hearing Association (CSHA), and am a licensed and certified SLP in California.

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My early experiences as a speech-language pathologist included working in a variety of settings to gain specialized experience and trainings, with the goal to one day opening my own practice. I built my skill sets in several areas of interest before venturing into private practice. I enjoyed working for Hayward Unified School District where I taught special education preschool classes. This solidified my love of working with the early intervention 1-3 age population with children on the autism spectrum, with hearing loss, and general speech and language delays. I also worked in the deaf and hard-of-hearing preschool and elementary school programs, and later a bilingual elementary school. There I worked daily with a Spanish speaking assistant, a diverse population of Spanish speaking children, and improved my Spanish skills.

 

I transitioned to the San Francisco Hearing and Speech Center due to my love of working with deaf and hard-of-hearing children and adults with hearing aids and cochlear implants. There I could use my American Sign Language skills daily to assist with language development. I became an expert providing aural rehabilitation for all ages, which I have continued to enjoy for over 20 years.

 

I have taught several courses in the Communicative Disorders Department at San Francisco State University (SFSU) and supervised students in the SFSU speech-language pathology student clinic. Since I became a speech pathologist I have loved teaching baby sign-language to my toddler clients and providing workshops for teachers and parents on identifying and preventing speech and language delays and catching "red flags." I have enjoyed specialized trainings for floor play, fluency/stuttering, the Compton P-ESL and other programs for accent modification and cochlear implants.

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After working with pediatric and adult populations in schools, clinics, and home-based programs, I decided I could reach a larger number of families and clients seeking services by opening my Word Works center in Oakland. It was evident that too many families were seeking speech therapy services and had a hard time accessing available professionals. My practice allowed access to a large number of speech-language pathologists who provided in-home and in-clinic services for clients of all ages. Early intervention and preschool social skills playgroups were specialties we provided. Over the years I hired a wonderful group of speech pathologists to assist me in providing quality services to Bay Area families while utilizing evidence-based standards.

 

I enjoyed being the clinic director and lead pathologist with a team of SLPs in my Oakland clinic for over 20 years. As the practice grew, we expanded to a second location, and eventually transitioned to one large center. Over the years I supervised and taught numerous new speech-language pathologists and graduate school interns in the field, accompanied them on early-intervention home-visits, and supported them as we worked with thousands of clients in my clinic. I had to make the difficult decision to close the center in the 2020 Covid-19 Pandemic. We made the transition to providing teletherapy at that time, and stayed connected with clients. 

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Working closely with Bay Area families and teachers brings me much happiness. I provide teacher trainings and screenings at local preschools and have extensive clinical experience with early intervention. I provide child-centered floor-play and therapy for articulation and phonological disorders, language delays and disorders, verbal apraxia, and oral/aural rehabilitation for deaf children and adults with cochlear implants. The past few years my work has continued to develop though telehealth on-line sessions and weekly consultations. I have recently been focusing on developing a program to work with adult professionals interested in accent modification and learning ways to change how they pronounce words in Standard American English. There is a high demand for this service in the Tri-Valley, and I am enjoying connecting with adults who are curious about learning to recognize differences in intonation, speech sounds, and grammatical patterns so they are more easily understood by others in the work place and daily activities.

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My therapy approach has developed into a consultative model. I typically work with clients for a period of 1-3 months and monitor their progress as needed. Sessions are individualized to meet their specific goals and needs. I am proficient in American Sign-Language, use a visual phonics cueing method, and use conversational Spanish in sessions as needed. I have specialized training in providing services for communication disorders associated with developmental delays, cerebral palsy, Down Syndrome, Autism Spectrum Disorder, and hearing loss, as well as training in programs for accent modification. My clients are seen at home, work, school, and via telehealth sessions. Place of service depends on my availability and proximity to me in Dublin.

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I consult with families through teletherapy across the Bay Area and Northern California. While I provide weekly screenings and identify toddlers with early speech and language delays, I also educate parents on in-home language activities and ideas. I review and supplement services for older children with Individual Education Plans (IEP) in elementary school and provide preschool training workshops for teachers and lead baby-sign groups for my early intervention clients. My adult clientele includes working with professionals on accent modification and providing aural rehabilitation for deaf adults learning to listen with a cochlear implant. It is a pleasure to work with so many different types of clients and to help them reach their goals.

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I was fortunate to be able to homeschool my children for 6+ years while working full-time, and am proud of their successes. The experience and learning about the process has helped me support and encourage other families to pursue this option when traditional schools are not meeting their family's needs. Feel free to ask me about this.

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In my free time I enjoy photography, gardening, attending concerts, eating at different cultural restaurants, playing the clarinet, walking my puppy, diving into a good book, visiting my daughter at college, and cheering on my son's high school baseball team and marching band. I seek global adventures with my husband and 2 teen children. We love to travel, explore new countries, and try new foods and experiences. I tend to have endless creativity and energy, and am always thinking about new therapy ideas, activities, and how I can best support and encourage my clients to ensure they have a positive experience with Word Works. I attend continuing education conferences and stay on top of the latest therapy research and techniques. Working with clients is rewarding and I love it! Now that you know so much about me, I cannot wait to learn about you!