Accolades AAC

Kellie Henkel really helped my son, with down syndrome, turned a corner with his speech. When we met, he was just three years old and had difficulty connecting with the rhythm and routine of our lives. He was often trying to express himself but was unable to form words and communicate his needs and wants. Despite having participated in speech therapy, we were not seeing much progress. Along came Kellie and totally flipped this trend on its head. She immediately connected with him and was able to reward his efforts at speech and communication immediately. This made all the difference. Suddenly, what had become a tiresome chore, became his most loved activity of the week. Kellie is fun and energetic, and really helped him understand the value of communicating, even at his young age. Additionally, Kellie was instrumental in helping us obtain a ‘talker’ device that has been a wonderful tool through his progress in speech and academics. Even after we moved, Kellie provided innovative, teletherapy sessions that he was just as excited to attend as in person. Kellie Henkel really understands what it is to not have a voice, and she advocates for her clients in a meaningful way. She helped me, as a parent, understand how I could reinforce good communication and understanding, and she has helped us immeasurably. I have asked for her assistance during the IEP process at school, as well as advice for securing services in our area. I value her opinion above all other professionals we have worked with.

As a parent of a non-verbal, special needs nine-year-old, Kellie Henkel has helped guide our journey with whole communication. Kellie joined our team as my son’s SLP and has been a consistent advocate for augmentative communication. She is not only incredibly knowledgeable in her craft and dedicated to your child’s success, but she is also a mother along the journey with you who is kind and compassionate. She continuously strives to hone her skills by taking additional courses in the educational arena. I highly recommend Kellie as not only an impressive speech pathologist but as an educational therapist that curtails interventions to your child’s needs.

Kellie has a great amount of patience and understanding of how to work with children who have learning challenges. She is methodical and organized in the use of specialized curriculum. Her ability to break through autism barriers is remarkable. She gained trust and respect from my child which culminated in many gains in speech, language, and academics while working with her. Very professional, responsive to individualized needs, and reliable.

Kellie did amazing work with my nonverbal son with severe autism and learning difficulties. She saw his potential and encouraged the use of AAC with him going above and beyond by helping us obtain a dedicated device for him. He is now able to speak two-word utterances on his “talker” and it has completely changed his life. Her knowledge goes beyond that of just her education…this is her passion. She will treat you as an individual, meet you on your level, and tailor goals that are reachable in a fun way. Truly a gem in the field. Highly recommend working with Kellie!

Kellie has helped my grandson Ryder with speech therapy quite a bit already, and we’ve only attended 3 sessions. I wish he could go every day! Ryder is autistic and was formally diagnosed at 3 as non-verbal. Not so! At 5 he is beginning to communicate with new words each day and Kellie is a powerful advocate for him. There are just such limited resources in this county for children with autism. That fact makes me more pleased to have found Kellie. Ryder loves going to his sessions and Kellie has given us hope for his future! I highly recommend her services.