About Speech, Swallowing, & Myofunctional Therapy

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, also 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 45-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 Therapist

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What are people saying about Christina?

 

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"I learned more from Ms. Christina about my child's potential diagnosis than all 3 years he's been in speech therapy. She's so well versed in her field. She came well recommended by my neighbors!!!"

ParenT after a 15-minute "set up a time to talk" 

 

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"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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"As a speech therapist newly trained in orofacial myofunctional therapy, I found Christina's mentorship to be essential. Christina is an expert in the area, and offered support in learning practical therapy techniques. She always carefully explained her rationale behind her treatment choices with evidence based methods and her clinical experience.

I observed Christina working with myo clients and developed a better understanding of what to look for, which myo exercises to choose and why, and how to build a better myo team.

I've also attended a lecture presented by Christina on assessing and diagnosing myofunctional disorders, which was a missing piece of the puzzle for so many of us in graduate school.

If you're a clinician who is new to myofunctional therapy, I highly recommend working with Christina as your mentor. You'll feel more confident in your own practice after doing so!"

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

 

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"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

M.S., CCC-SLP

I often say that speech-language pathology 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, including endocrine and autoimmune disorders. I have had to become my own fierce advocate to access the care I need. I approach speech 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 Edmonton, Canada, in 2012 with an M.S. in Speech-Language Pathology, and am currently working on my clinical doctorate at Northwestern. I hold a certificate of clinical competence (CCC-SLP) from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA). I 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. 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 myofunctional disorders. 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, 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. The 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 practice. I am proud to be an advisor to the American Sleep Apnea Association. Select speaking engagements:

Communication is indeed part of who we are! Swallowing is 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 can't wait to start working with you!

Christina (she/her/hers)

Select professional development experiences

 

Employment opportunities

Would you define yourself as great with technology? Are you interested in research and myofunctional disorders? Persons from all genders, races, religions, and abilities are actively encouraged to apply. 

  • Communication Sciences and Disorders Interns (no university placements, supplemental observation hours may be available): Are you an enrolled in communication sciences and disorders program and are looking for more experience? If you’re the right fit, we’ll design a position that matches with what makes you exceptional. Possible options include but are not limited to the following: 
    • Research Assistant: Tasks may include
      • Observation hours with data collection
      • Formatting presentations
      • Literature reviews
      • Analyzing new research against requested criteria (e.g., CONSORT checklist)
      • Data base management 
      • Assisting with research projects
      • Anything else you love? 
    • Virtual Assistant: Tasks may include 
      • Observation hours with data collection
      • On-boarding and off-boarding clients or learners 
      • Scheduling mentorship meetings with learners  
      • Compiling documents for analysis 
      • Formatting presentations or client documents
      • Anything else between!
    • Marketing Assistant: Tasks may include 
      • Observation hours with data collection
      • Editing course videos
      • Formatting workbooks or presentations 
      • Creation of marketing materials (e.g., social media templates)
      • Proof reading or formatting social media content 
      • Scheduling posts, advertisements, and email campaigns
      • Review analytics and recommend improvements for future engagement 
      • What are your skills? Show me what you can do, and let's do it 🙂 
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