About therapy for speech, swallowing, & orofacial myofunctional disorders

The goal of therapy is to set you or your child up for success inside and outside the session. The best therapy for speech is speaking. The best therapy for the swallow is swallowing. The best therapy for resting posture, is you guessed it, resting posture. Therapy will often look like reading, conversation, chewing, and eating! We will need to do a few other tasks along the way, and I will pull out evidence backed techniques to help you meet your goals. I will try to keep therapy as functional as possible; this is how we make real change, making your home program easier to incorporate into your busy life.

We always work just one little step ahead, moving you closer and closer to achieving your best. Therapy is typically 40-minute weekly sessions covering all or most goal areas. Each week in therapy, you should feel challenged but fully supported. As you progress in therapy, we will fade treatment, gradually reducing the frequency of sessions.

Any questions, please ask. Let me know how I can support you!

You can also learn more here:

Meet our Speech-Language Pathologist

Christina Semonick

What are people saying about Christina?

 

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"We worked with Christina Semonick for my 14 year old daughter who had many physical issues with regard to her mouth and eating. I couldn’t say enough good things about her. She was professional, prompt, knowledgeable, kind, funny and a very nice person. She really was a perfect fit for us. Best speech therapist I have come across for sure!"

ParenT after a block of therapy sessions

 

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

"Christina is absolutely amazing!! We live relatively far away and it's been a pleasure to make the trip to see her. She has phenomenal depth of experience/understanding and the best demeanor to work with."

Parent after a 90-minute "swallowing & oral mechanism assessmeNT"

 

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"There are not enough stars to express how exceptional Christina is! Several years ago I was undergoing myofunctional therapy with a provider in Canada and was unfortunately feeling overwhelmed and confused. An SLP colleague recommended that I reach out to Christina for guidance and support and I will forever be grateful that I did as the mentorship that Christina provided changed my life both personally and professionally. Her extensive knowledge and willingness to share her expertise allowed me to have a deeper understanding of my orofacial myofunctional disorder (OMD) and was instrumental in my treatment success and improved overall health and well-being. Her enthusiasm and passion for this field was contagious and with her encouragement, I sought out training myself and now run a private practice focusing on the assessment and treatment of OMD.

If you are an SLP interested in exploring this field, or are new to myofunctional therapy, I highly recommend connecting with Christina. You’ll be glad you did!"

client after a 60-minute "CLINICAL COACHING" session

 

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"Christina is an expert clinician and has been working with my son to help him get through some difficult problems. She always inspires him to try his best, which is not always easy with an adolescent. I cannot imagine his working with anyone else. Christina is terrific!"

Parent after a block of therapy sessions

 

 

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

"Christina is AMAZING!! Professional, creative, caring, thorough. I can't imagine there is a better speech therapist around."

client after a block of therapy sessions

Christina Semonick

SLPD, CCC-SLP

Christina (she/her)

I often say that speech therapy chose me! Some of my earliest childhood memories are playing "speech teacher" with my older sister. She is Autistic and is minimally verbal; it has been wonderful to see her embrace the fantastic advances in assistive technology and watch her find her voice! My father had Parkinson's disease. I witnessed as the disease progressed and impacted his voice and swallow and, in turn, his quality of life. Personally, I have multiple medical conditions. I have had to become my own fierce advocate to access the care I need. I approach speech/swallowing therapy from a place of strong empathy and realism for what is achievable in the context of your real life.

I graduated from the University of Alberta in Canada, in 2012 with an M.S. in Speech-Language Pathology, and more recently with my doctorate of Speech Language Pathology (SLPD) from Northwestern. I hold a certificate of clinical competence (CCC-SLP) from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), and am licensed by the state of California to practice Speech-Language Pathology. I am dedicated to ongoing professional development. Most of my time away from the clinic setting is spent either taking additional training, mentoring, or teaching. This dedication has earned me ASHA's Award for Continuing Education (ACE) every year since moving to the US. I previously worked as a lecturer: teaching coursework in communication sciences and disorders three terms per year at the University of Alberta. I am now working on my passion-project, developing a training program for Speech-Language Pathologists to learn more about orofacial pain and sleep disordered breathing. Look out for this in future!

Rehabilitation from injury and neurodegenerative disease was the passion that brought me to this wonderful profession, but I have been fortunate enough to work in a variety of settings. My experiences from university level education, schools, home health, and inpatient care have afforded me with a strong foundation in both educational and medical speech-language pathology.

Now an experienced clinician, I founded Clarity Speech Therapy to provide high-quality, specialized services where I can tailor the goals and the therapeutic experience to persons with orofacial pain and sleep disordered breathing. My mission is to educate clients and their families so that they can empower themselves to achieve their goals for clear communication and efficient swallowing to improve their quality of life.

I am a member of multiple professional organizations dedicated to client care and the advancement of science-based medicine.

I am devoted to sharing research and best practices. I am proud to be an advisor to the American Sleep Apnea Association. Select speaking engagements:

Communication, chewing and swallowing are taken for granted in our culture and social lives. I am truly blessed that my career allows me to improve the lives of others every day!

I look forward to working with you!

Select professional development experiences

 

Employment opportunities

NO FORMAL UNIVERSITY PLACEMENTS; however, supplemental observation hours may be available pending client consent. 

Would you define yourself as great with technology? Are you interested in research and orofacial myofunctional disorders? Are you planning to apply to a master's program and want to gain experience in a private practice? If you’re the right fit, we’ll design a position that matches what makes you exceptional. Persons from all genders, races, religions, and abilities are actively encouraged to apply.

Undergrad Communication Sciences & Disorders Intern: Tasks may include but are not limited to the following:

  • Observation hours with data collection
  • Literature reviews
  • Database management
  • Compiling documents or data for analysis
  • Assisting with research projects
  • Analyzing new research against requested criteria (e.g., CONSORT checklist)
  • Formatting presentations, workbooks, or other documents
  • Editing course videos
  • Creation of marketing materials (e.g., social media templates)
  • Formatting social media content
  • Scheduling posts, advertisements, and email campaigns
  • Review analytics for future improvements
  • On-boarding and off-boarding online learners
  • Scheduling mentorship meetings with online learners
  • Anything else between!

What are your skills? Show me what you can do, and let's do it 🙂

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