About Katie
I have been a practicing speech-language pathologist for 14 years. I specialize in a range of communication disorders including articulation disorders, stuttering, receptive and expressive language delays, and pragmatic deficits. I have worked with preschool and school-aged children across a range of settings with varying language deficits. In therapy, I use a variety of formal, semi-formal and play-based activities to address targeted communication skills. I also offer parent training and assistance with creating home-based plans to address the needs and priorities of families.
Focus |
I have specific areas of focus in the areas of language literacy difficulties and social communication deficits associated with autism spectrum disorder. Language literacy refers to the impact of underlying language delays on children's reading and writing abilities.
I have extensive experience working with children who are struggling with reading comprehension and writing tasks, specifically as they enter the later elementary and middle school grades. As text and writing demands increase through the school years, a child's language deficits, that may have gone unnoticed previously, become more distinguished and problematic. In therapy, I work specifically on building the syntactic, semantic and pragmatic skills needed to be successful with reading and writing tasks. Another area of focus has been autism spectrum disorder. I provide therapy across a range of functional abilities, including pragmatic skills for high functioning children with autism. In therapy, I work towards building the social cognitive skills necessary for children with autism to have meaningful relationships with family, friends and their community. With non-verbal children with autism, therapy focuses on creating meaningful outcomes for children and families. I provide both direct therapy of targeted language objectives and parent training/support for families. The focus on parent training is to improve daily life through the use of caregiver strategies that promote language. Additionally, I assist with setting up an environmental structure, which includes visual supports, and promotes meaningful communication opportunities and curbs behavior. |
Background |
1I received my M.A. degree in Speech-Language Pathology at the University of Kansas, considered one of the best programs for speech-language pathology nationally. I originally practiced in the San Francisco Unified School District as part of the preschool intake team. During this time, I became specialized in bilingual speech-language assessments. I worked in Portland, Oregon for 14 years both in the public school setting and privately. I worked with specialized programs for children with high functioning autism for 8 years. I have worked with children and families in their homes as well as in private schools around the area. I recently relocated to Bigfork Montana with my family to run an old school motor lodge on Flathead Lake. During the day I provide speech/language services to kids and their families and during the evenings we meet visitors from all over the world.
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