In-home speech therapy in the greater Kalamazoo area - fostering authentic expression and joyful connection.

Individualized, relationship-based speech therapy to support autistic learners on their communication journey.

Services

  • Elemental Speech Therapy aims to provide neuro-affirming support and emphasizes relationship-based, child-led or client-centered speech therapy that values connection over compliance and honors all forms of communication, including spoken words, AAC, gestures, and body language. Autistic individuals and their families/caregivers can expect individualized, functional and personally meaningful speech therapy sessions that help move them toward greater independence and self expression.

  • AAC (augmentative and alternative communication) helps people who may not be able to rely on spoken language alone to meet their daily communication needs. This includes those who are non speaking, minimally speaking, difficult to understand, or are otherwise unable to access spoken language at a given time. If this sounds like you or your child, an AAC evaluation with a speech therapist may be the right fit for you. After a comprehensive speech-language evaluation is completed to determine current communication strengths and needs, clients work closely with a speech therapist to complete an AAC evaluation and trial period to help determine a system and access method that best fits the user’s needs.

  • Learning to use AAC can feel like learning a new language, and it truly takes a village to be successful. A speech therapist is essential in supporting not only the AAC user but their communication partners as well. Communication partners can include parents, caregivers, siblings, extended family…anyone who the AAC user communicates with. During the AAC journey, a speech therapist works closely with the AAC user and their communication partners to help ensure everyone feels supported and meaningful progress is made, with the end goal of greater independence, connection, and self expression.

  • Gestalt language processors learn language in “chunks.” This may look like memorized scripts from movies or YouTube videos, or repeating words or phrases they previously heard someone say. Gestalt language processors benefit from speech therapy to help those scripts get “unstuck", with the ultimate end goal of an improved ability to express oneself and connect with others.

Contact Us

Meet Paula

Paula Nagy is a licensed, ASHA certified speech-language pathologist and owner of Elemental Speech Therapy. She has experience helping individuals with complex communication needs move toward greater communicative independence. Paula is passionate about fostering genuine, self-generated language in the learners she works with, and has done a variety of certifications and trainings to further her knowledge. She is a certified Hanen More Than Words practitioner and an NLA (natural language acquisition) Trained Clinician, and has completed coursework in DIR Floortime.

In her free time, Paula can likely be found hanging out with her husband and two cats, Otho and Delia. She also likes reading good books, going on long walks, watching scary movies, and doing artsy-craftsy things like collage and crochet.