Speech-language therapy helps individuals with cognitive-communication deficits by addressing changes in memory, attention, executive functioning, processing speed, language, and communication following a concussion or brain injury. These difficulties can affect conversations, relationships, daily routines, medical management, work, school, and a person’s ability to function independently.
Treatment may address attention, memory, organization, planning, problem-solving, word retrieval, verbal expression, comprehension, cognitive fatigue, and self-awareness. The goal is not simply to improve performance on structured exercises, but to help patients communicate more effectively, manage everyday responsibilities, and participate more confidently at home, at work, at school, and in the community.
If someone is experiencing concerns about short-term and long-term memory loss, misplacing items, forgetting the reason for entering a room, struggling to recall ongoing conversations, facing difficulties in new learning, encountering challenges with following directions and completing tasks, and having trouble remembering appointments, medications, and bills, it's essential to address these cognitive issues promptly.
If someone is facing challenges in maintaining engagement during a conversation, experiencing difficulty in staying focused, sensing a scattered train of thought, having a diminished attention span, initiating tasks but ending up with many unfinished ones due to distractibility, and encountering issues with multitasking.
If an individual is experiencing challenges with daily routines, such as planning, organizing, initiating tasks, prioritizing, making decisions, slower processing speed, emotional regulation, self-awareness, flexible thinking, motivation, and inhibiting inappropriate behavior, these difficulties may indicate deficits in executive functioning skills. Executive functioning deficits can impact an individual's ability to manage time, set goals, adapt to changing circumstances and feel accomplished.
If someone is having difficulty with word finding/word retrieval, challenges following directions, tangential discourse, reduced vocabulary, needing to start phrases over again due to forgetting what one wanted to say, stuttering, difficulty with comprehending language simple or complex, difficulty with writing and spelling, knows what one wants to say but cannot say it.
In general feeling overwhelmed with all the demands and duties required of the day and not feeling like anything is being efficiently accomplished, disruption of their ability to fulfill their educational or vocational roles, including potential loss of employment or poor academic performance. We are committed to identifying the underlying reasons and providing tailored solutions to foster healing and enhance overall well-being.
I am a medical Speech-Language Pathologist, Certified Brain Injury Specialist, and Functional Medicine Certified Health Coach specializing in cognitive-communication rehabilitation following concussion and traumatic brain injury.
My approach in therapy is individualized, functional, and grounded in everyday life. I help patients understand their symptoms, develop practical strategies, and apply those strategies to meaningful activities such as managing their homes, returning to work or school, and communicating more confidently. My training in functional medicine also informs my whole-person understanding of how sleep, nutrition, stress, gut-brain health, nervous-system regulation, pain, movement, and daily routines may influence recovery.
Outside of work, I enjoy traveling with my husband, baking, moving my body through yoga/pilates/dancing, spending time outdoors with my dog, Beverly, and learning anything I can about the brain. My curiosity about the connection between the brain, body, environment, and lived experience continues to shape how I support each person through recovery.
Licensed Speech-Language Pathologist with Certificate of Clinical Competence (CCC-SLP)
Texas, Colorado, New York, Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah
Certified Brain Injury Specialist (CBIS)
Brain Injury Association of America
Functional Medicine Certified Health Coach (FMCHC)
Institute of Functional Medicine/Functional Medicine Coaching Academy
Master of Arts in Communication Sciences and Disorders
University of Houston — Houston, Texas
Bachelor of Arts in Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences
San Diego State University — San Diego, California