Jennifer Branchini is a speech-language pathologist and the Founder of District Speech and Language Therapy. District Speech is a team of certified and licensed speech-language pathologists servicing all ages in diagnosing and treating communication disorders and physical impairments. Jennifer honed her expertise in craniofacial anomalies and cleft lip and palate while interning with the Shands Hospital craniofacial team while studying at the University of Florida. She also participated in a speech therapy camp in Ukraine, where she evaluated and treated children with speech impairments. 

Ama Teasdel is an educational consultant and curriculum designer. She’s a former middle school inclusion specialist at Two Rivers Public Charter School, which is part of a network of high-performing schools in the Washington, D.C. area. As an educator and analytical leader, Ama has coached teams of teachers, designed and facilitated professional development sessions, and served as a mentor teacher. She is also a thought leader in special education who has presented at national conferences.

In this episode…

Several misperceptions have been associated with speech pathology, including the erroneous belief that speech pathologists only work with individuals who have a lisp or stutter. In reality, speech therapists treat a broad spectrum of communication disorders.

Jennifer Branchini, a certified speech pathologist, says that speech therapy is about more than just speaking. Speech therapists treat people with oral problems including speech, language, and social and cognitive communication. Common conditions within these disorders include aphasia, dysphagia, voice disorders, and craniofacial disorders, such as cleft palate. Aphasia affects the way people communicate and is usually the result of a stroke. Dysphagia is the medical term for difficulty swallowing. A cleft palate is a developmental defect that affects children’s palates, causing them to be unable to articulate correctly. When treating cleft palate, therapists use articulation therapy techniques to help them speak clearly and effectively.

On today’s episode of EspecIallY "SpeciAl" SpeeCh?!, Chad Franzen of Rise25 interviews our hosts Jennifer Branchini, certified speech pathologist and Founder of District Speech and Language Therapy and Ama Teasdel, educational consultant and curriculum designer, about the misconceptions of speech pathology. Together, they discuss their experience in the education system, how speech therapy impacts children’s confidence, and their motivation for starting a podcast. Plus, Jennifer reveals her upcoming book, Imperfectly Perfect.