For 28 years, I have served Sonoma and Marin County. I have had the privilege of teaching, providing support, and advocating for my clients – so that they may experience the joy of enhanced communication and reading skills. Communication is how we share our lives, and reading is how we can shape our lives. How fortunate I have been to play a role in this process!
Why am I interested in Dyslexia and Accent Reduction? How am I qualified, as an SLP (Speech-Language Pathologist), to provide services in these areas? Why did I choose them?
First, as an SLP, I am an expert in understanding and analyzing the sounds of speech and the fluency of our language. What does that have to do with reading? Reading is the written representation of what we say, and the letter-sound association is what we blend to form words on the page. Teaching sounds – identifying and manipulating them, must be the first step in reading, before letters are even introduced. As a SLP, I not only have the knowledge about sounds and language, but about the concurrent language challenges that children with dyslexia possess (auditory processing, visual and auditory memory, executive function, dysgraphia, ADD/ADHD, language formulation).
As a certified Dyslexia Remediation Specialist, I have additional training in Edu-Therapeutics. This is a program which focuses on how children with learning challenges learn, how to teach to their strengths, and how to truly be a teacher who loves teaching, so that children love learning. Most importantly, it taught me something I hadn’t learned in all my years of education: you cannot overlay a skill (like reading) on top of an inefficient system (e.g.,underdeveloped sound recognition and discrimination). It’s like painting a wall without priming it first.
Second, for Accent Reduction, the overall sound of a language is the starting point for the goal of generating speech with greater clarity, precision, and confidence.
Why do accents exist? The reason is that every language has a “song” of its own – a melody, a rhythm. When we learn a new language, however, we speak it in the cultural style of our native language: its melody, sounds, and oral resonance (where we generate sounds in our mouth) weave through the new language. The result is accented speech.
I do an in-depth analysis of the sounds of my clients’ speech production, and teach them how to modify those sounds, teaching sounds that may not exist in their language, and provide guidance on the melody of American English – imperative for instructing others how to make their speech more understandable in the business environment or in social settings.
Third, before I was an SLP, I was an English major. Why? I loved analyzing those beautiful sounds of our language! Poetry was living inside me for as long as I can remember; I was always intrigued by a poet’s word choice and how the word’s sound could affect the meaning of a poem.
If this sounds like a journey you would like to take with me, call for a free consultation with your questions about your child’s learning needs, or to inquire about how Accent Reduction Training can significantly affect your professional or personal connection with others.
Barbara is a kind and compassionate reading teacher. She is patient with our daughter and makes her feel comfortable while improving her reading skills. She understands what our daughter needs to improve and has been a wonderful resource.
Marci M., parent
Barbara was a real gift for our family. She was always attentive with our daughter, she made learning fun, and it was always easy for me to work with her! Her teaching built a strong foundation for our daughter’s love of reading.
Jessica Rios, parent
A game changer? A life changer for sure. We love Barbara!
We met Barbara in 2013. Our son was 9 years old. He had been held back in kindergarten due to a speech impairment. He was stuttering, had ticks, OCD, and he was having a hard time learning how to read. The school offered a speech therapist, but that wasn’t enough. Plus, she pulled him out of class, so he missed what the class was doing and got further behind!
Barbara was a game changer. Her approach was wholesome. She embraced all of his issues and helped him blossom into who he is today. He can not only read but he can write and talk!
She made an effort to learn who he was, where he came from, what he liked, and what he didn’t like, what was hard and what was easy. She knew when he was having a bad day or a good day. She discovered his passion for Star Wars and animals, so she focused on those. She made sure to know more about those topics herself, so she could guide him and make our appointments more productive. Through that passion of teaching, our son was excited and gained momentum to want to learn. He he has NEVER EVER said he didn’t want to go to Speech with Ms. Barbara!
As he got older, his speech improved considerably. She helped him learn to focus in class and how to prepare and deliver his presentations. She gave him the tools on how to put onto paper what was in his head. She took him by the hand and guided him, asked about his teachers, taught him how to ask questions, gave us suggestions on school placement, and helped us strategize. She made it a point to get to know her student.
Our son is now 17 and has gone on to win several gold awards for his speeches and presentations. He has been in several plays, where they have to TALK or sing. He holds a couple of Board positions, where you have to read, talk, and listen!
Barbara’s therapy not only helped our son learn how to read and write, her approach helped him overall: we not only got a speech therapist, we got a high caliber teacher, tutor, counselor, and psychologist!
From a kid that could barely speak, and stuttered well through 2nd grade, whose OCD interfered with just about everything, who was teased and bullied – he is coming out ahead right now because of the help he received from Barbara.
Cecil, parent
You are the best part of my week!
Z.G., student
In 2019, my 11-year-old son could not read, write, or spell even the simplest of words. His self-esteem had been crushed at school and I worried for his future. Then we found Barbara, who worked miracles with my son, restoring confidence in his abilities, engaging with him to make learning fun, developing trust with him, encouraging his strengths, and speaking to his special interests. With kindness, compassion, and skillful expertise, she has provided a solid foundation for learning to unfold naturally. Barbara is highly trained in specialized methodologies and dyslexia interventions that have proven extremely effective for my son’s learning disabilities and special needs. She has given him strategies that have allowed him to express himself more fully through the written and spoken word, and although he still has the same challenges and disabilities, he has made tremendous progress with her guidance and tutoring. Barbara really “gets” my son. She understands how his brain works and what his unique challenges are, more than any other provider we’ve ever worked with. Above all, she is deeply committed to my son’s learning process. She is a shining star in our lives, and I cannot recommend her services highly enough!
Raven Gray, parent