WishFlower Speech Therapy started when I realized that what I wanted to do for my clients and families wasn’t always possible in the clinics and schools I had worked in previously. I wanted to take the time to deeply understand my clients. I wanted to understand their sensory profiles and take the important and necessary time to regulate their little bodies to move toward improved communication. I got stuck. I just didn’t have the time, and when I took the time, it felt like it wasn’t encouraged or approved.

I didn’t want to “fix” my autistic clients, but rather to learn how to better understand, appreciate and support them. I wanted the connections, the rapport and the sweet moments of play when their bodies felt safe and calm. Those were the moments when a little magic would happen. A new phrase. A first word. An independent thought that wasn’t drilled into them in a previous therapy. A high five and a giggle.

From there, I began studying Gestalt Language Learning and realized that this fit SO many of my kiddos. I loved that the approach was holistic and playful. That it was in child-preferred activities where the language grew, not in sitting at a desk with specific tasks that had to be completed before playtime.

After 9 years working in schools, and several different outpatient pediatric clinics, I decided it was time to set my own rules and dedicate my time and energy into a practice that fits my beliefs. Some wishes do come true!

~Jess Provost, MS, CCC-SLP