Consulting
For over two decades Heather has treated a wide array of speech, language, pragmatic and feeding diagnoses, as well as medically-complex cases in hospitals, schools, and home care settings, as well as in community & institutional settings, and within a variety of out-patient clinic settings.
Heather is founder and creator of a private practice in Manhattan, New York. Her clinic, Chatty Child Speech, Occupational & Physical Therapy, PLLC, provides high quality speech, occupational, and physical therapy, as well as social groups and creative arts classes to the community. Heather is also co-creator of InterAct: Theatre and Therapy Lab ™ along with Gianna Cioffi, MS/ED, which is an inclusive therapist-led creative arts & therapy class offered at Chatty Child.
Heather is creator & founder of hum studios™ which is a meditation & creative arts infused speech therapy group class.
Heather is a specialist in Early Childhood Speech and Language Development who provides professional development courses to schools, has authored a children’s book: “Carrie the Colorful Chameleon,” and has developed educational toys that she has tested for use within her own therapeutic clinic.
Heather is available for consultations to families, other therapists, teachers, social workers, and allied medical health professionals, schools, companies and hospitals.
She provides lectures on Early Childhood Speech & Language Development, as well as consults on such topics as “how to create an inclusive learning environment for optimal growth and development for the neuro-diverse population.”
What Knowledge and Experiences Do I Bring to the Table?
- I bring a unique perspective to my consulting business. I am a person with a disability, who founded a pediatric therapeutic clinic to support patients and their families to help them to achieve their fullest potential.
- I have been treating a variety of speech, language and feeding disorders for 20 years. In addition, I have written a children’s book, given lectures and professional development courses, and advocated for and supported my clients in meeting their challenges by providing a network of support and creative pathways to learning.
- In my consulting business, I further support families, therapists,schools, medical professionals, companies, and hospitals to create a fully-inclusive environment for their children, students, and/or staff, while optimizing their unique strengths, abilities and interests to optimize growth and learning.
- I curate a selection of developmentally & age-appropriate activities, games and toys that are uniquely tailored to a child’s interests,motivations, strengths, and areas of need – while utilizing creative and inclusive pathways to communication.
How Can I help you find solutions?
How can I help you create a more inclusive home/school/work and/or community environment for the people in your life and communities with disabilities?
- I help people to find solutions to optimize a child’s learning environment through creative and InterActive Learning™ techniques. These techniques and solutions optimize growth across all learning environments including: home, school and within the child’s greater social community and network.
- I help to create a fully inclusive environment for a child, while optimizing their unique strengths, abilities and interests.
- I have created and utilized creative pathways and techniques to foster all forms of communication through InterActive Learning™ techniques, using various engaging language games and pretend play schemes. This is achieved while following a child’s creative motivations in conjunction with addressing each child’s unique combination of strengths and therapeutic needs to support all areas of development fully and holistically. This includes areas of development including: speech,language, motor, sensory, and/or social emotional development and learning.
- I regularly consult with families, schools, social institutions, and companies to create a unique set of supports for people of all ages with disabilities, so that each person may achieve their fullest potential, ultimately thriving in all areas of their lives.
- I consult with families, schools, institutions and companies to select age and developmentally-appropriate toys and books for those with and without disabilities, create extra-curricular activities to help to optimize his/her/their home and school and outside community environments for optimal learning, focus/attention, organization, self-motivation, engagement, and collaboration.
What Areas of Expertise Do I Have?
- Knowledge of Typical Early Childhood Speech & Language Development & Non-Linear Speech & Language Development.
- Creating Accessibility to Learning for Medically-Complex Populations
- Creating Communication Tools & Effective Strategies for Children with Childhood Apraxia of Speech & Motor Speech Disorders and Neuro Diverse Populations
- Implementation of Augmentative & Alternative Communication Tools (across all learning and communication environments)
- Knowledge of Normal & Non-Linear Oral Motor and Feeding Development
- Knowledge of Early Feeding Skills Acquisition
- Promoting and creating InterActive Learning™ experiences & techniques in young children to optimize inclusive learning in various environments, using a least restrictive environment model and various creative pathways to communication
- Creating a hum studio™ wellness program infusing a combination of meditation, breath work, yoga poses, creative art processes & creative story telling journeys.
Consulting with Families:
Heather Lynn Boerner, M.A.,CCC/SLP, TSHH consults, provides advice, and advocates with & for domestic and global based families on the following areas of concern below. Heather is available remotely or families can choose to travel locally, from other areas of the country or the globe to seek Heather’s expertise in person.
Heather is available remotely for consultative advice or families can choose to travel in-person to the Chatty Child Clinic in New York City for an in-person consultation and direct treatment sessions.
A fully-coded invoice can be provided for in-person treatment sessions for out-of-network reimbursement, following payment to Chatty Child. A list of nearby hotels, cultural institutions, and inclusive activities in the area can be provided upon request.
Areas of Support for Families:
- Advice on school placement
- Advice on gaining special needs support and navigating the system
- Preparation for private schools interviews and public speaking appearances
- Advice and planning on optimizing the child’s growth and learning
- in the least restrictive educational environment
- Therapeutic planning, support and implementation across all environments (school, home) for optimal growth and success
- Selection of developmentally-appropriate toys/games & learning activities based on a child’s age, abilities and unique interests, strengths, and needs
- Environmental modifications to improve engagement, collaboration, focus/attention, organization, and learning self-motivation for neuro-diverse populations
- Implementing AAC communication tools with both high-tech and lower-tech devices across all learning environments
- Consultation on feeding, transitioning through different food textures, and helpful environmental and positioning modifications
- Planning of extra-curricular and social activities to maximize learning, growth and inclusion
- Creating InterActive Learning™ Experiences to enhance areas of: speech and language development, and developing creative pathways to communication
- Creating a hum studios™ wellness program that includes mindfulness & breath work, yoga poses, creative arts & creative story telling journeys
- Creating a hum studios™ personalized wellness & learning program
- Consulting with a child’s school, teachers, and/or therapeutic team for collaborative problem solving ideas
Consulting with Schools, Institutions and Hospitals:
Heather frequently consults in-person with schools within New York State by:
- Performing screenings of entire classrooms & identifying children in need of speech, language, pragmatic or feeding therapy support (*only within New York State)
- Providing resources for quality special needs support and therapeutic management of complex cases.
Heather also consults with schools regionally & worldwide and with schools & institutions remotely to:
- Provide advice and support to provide an inclusive learning environment.
- Provide a reading of her book: “Carrie the Colorful Chameleon” for preschoolers with a Q&A for children and staff.
- Provides ideas for InterActive Learning Experiences™ “Developing Creative Pathways to communication” through inclusive learning activities and practices.
- Professional Developmental Lectures for Educators and Related Staff on Early Childhood Speech & Language Development.
- I can create a hum studios™ wellness & healing tool box that includes mindfulness & mediation exercises to foster community engagement & improve overall emotional and self regulation skills. (For both pediatric and adult sessions.)
Early Childhood Speech & Language Development for Preschools & Related Staff
Heather also provides professional development lectures for educators and related staff.
Lecture Topic:
Typical & Non-Linear Early Childhood Language Development and Ways to Facilitate Improved Speech and Language Development in the Classroom through creative pathways to communication. (A 3-hour Professional Development Course). Rate: $630 for three-hour presentation with included question & answer period for staff.
Consulting with Therapists, Teachers & Other Medical Health Professionals:
Heather consults with peer Speech Language Pathologists and other Allied Health Professionals on medically-complex or difficult or challenging cases.
She has 20-plus years experience working as a Speech-Language Pathologist. She has worked in a variety of settings including: hospitals, schools, sensory gyms, clinics, in-home care, and in her own private practice in New York City.
She leverages her own unique perspectives as a fellow Speech-Language Pathologist and as a person with a life-long disability. Consultation rates are prorated and no minimum is required.
Both in-person and remote options are available.
Consulting with Business Organizations:
Heather consults with companies servicing the special needs community including the following areas:
- Best Inclusion Practices and Providing Accessibility Modifications for People with Disabilities
- Assistance with Product Development & Design for Early Childhood Speech & Language Learning Toys & Games
- Creating an inclusive and supportive environment for people with disabilities and solutions to increase overall wellness & health for all employees
- Creating a hum studios™ wellness program that includes mindfulness exercises, breath & body work, as well as creative pathway to growth through creative arts, drama and story telling adventures
Consulting & Speaking Fee Rate:
Heather Lynn Boerner’s consulting & speaking fee rate is US$210 dollars per hour, prorated, with no minimum time required. Both in-person and remote options are available.
Rate includes: Professional time devoted to email and phone correspondence, documentation review, direct consulting time, and any incurred expenses.
Please note that consulting which involves direct hands-on treatments with families and schools on individual cases requires a New York State License and can only be performed within New York State.
Consultations that involve information that is therapist-to-therapist, or company-to- company or company-to-institution can be provided out-of-state. However, information provided and shared is for informational purposes only, and cannot be used as formal medical treatment or advice for a specific patient or student.
