About Me
I received my bachelor’s degree in communication disorders and education from the University of Wisconsin in Madison (GO BADGERS). I then returned to my home state of Maryland to receive my master’s degree in speech pathology from George Washington University in Washington, DC.
For the first 7 years of my career, I worked in a variety of settings with the adult neurogenic population to include acute care, inpatient rehabilitation, outpatient services, and transitional rehabilitation programs. After starting a family, I started Simon Says, a private practice based in Rockville, MD. Working with stroke survivors and their families has been a passion of mine since graduate school. There are few things more rewarding than striving to help clients improve their communication skills, and return to a life they enjoyed before their stroke. I began Aphasia Book clubs called Reading for Life in 2002 and they still exist today.
Serendipitously, I was at my orthodontist's office and saw many children and adults struggling to see permanent changes with their expensive orthodontic investment. After researching and conferring with orofacial myofunctional therapists, orthodontists, and dentists, I found a new professional direction in the field speech pathology.
Starting in 2009, I attended multiple myofunctional therapy training seminars and ultimately developed my own OMT programs made for the speech therapist in mind. Since many SLP's are not taught about this niche market in our field, I now travel around the country teaching other SLP's about Myofunctional disorders and how to implement or start their own practice in OMT. These programs include: Tongue Tips: An Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy Program, Thumbs Up!: A 30 Day Oral Habit Elimination Program, and Tiny Tongue Tips: An Early Intervention Program. I've also had a ton of fun developing educational materials for therapists to use with their clients to facilitate success in their treatment plans.
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Association of Orofacial Myology (IAOM) (2010)
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​This 28 hour, four day pre-certification course provided an overview of orofacial myofunctional disorders including history, anataomy, physiology, etiologies, signs an symptoms and how to build an interdisciplinary team for comprehensive treatment.
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Association of Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy (AOMT) (2016)
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​This 28 hour introductory workshop on Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy was designed to share how to incorporate orofacial myofunctional therapy into speech practice. Course content included Assessment of OMD, Anatomy and Physiology of the Orofacial Complex, therapy techniques, habit elimination, and marketing and administrative issues related to private practice.
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Buteyko Breathing Re-Education Program (2016)
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​This 28 hour course provides key additional training to re-educate breathing plus further knowledge of the airway, key morbidities such as sleep disorders, allergies, and asthma and further grounding in working in an interdisciplinary teams.
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Advanced Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy (2018)
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​This 2 day workshop is an advanced course for practioners already diagnosing and treating OMDs. The focus is to move beyond a series of exercises to understanding how structure, function, and behavior contribute to OMDs and success in therapy.
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