A colorful speech therapy playroom corner with a yellow couch, a white storage unit filled with toys, artwork on the walls, and children's drawings pinned on a corkboard.

Pediatric Speech Therapy

At New Hope Healing, we provide high-quality, compassionate, and individualized care for children in need of speech therapy. Our approach is grounded in a neurodiversity-affirming philosophy, honoring each child's unique strengths and needs. We believe that all children deserve to be seen, heard, and valued as they are. Our services are designed to be child-led and play-based, using play as a powerful tool for learning and communication. We tailor each session to the child’s interests, pacing, and comfort to create a joyful, positive environment for communication growth

What Makes us unique

Neurodiversity Affirming

We respect and embrace each child’s natural ways of thinking, learning, and communicating. Our team values neurodiversity, recognizing that each brain is unique and that each child brings special strengths to the table. Our interventions are designed to support your child's needs without trying to "fix" or change who they are.

Child-Led Sessions

Children feel most motivated to learn when they are engaged in activities that feel safe and enjoyable. Our sessions follow the child’s lead, adapting to their interests and choices. We aim to foster a sense of empowerment and autonomy, allowing children to actively participate and direct their own learning.

Play-based Learning

Research shows that play is central to healthy childhood development. We integrate therapeutic techniques within the context of play, encouraging natural communication and social skills in a fun, relaxed way. Our play-based approach is designed to make therapy enjoyable, allowing children to learn and grow while having a great time.

Who can benefit

Our services are ideal for children experiencing:

  • Speech or language delays

  • Social communication challenges

  • Autism or ADHD-related communication needs

  • Apraxia or other speech sound disorders

  • Needs in alternative communication methods (AAC)

  • General support with social skills and peer interactions

A children's play area with a yellow sofa, white storage cube with toys and books, colorful wall art, and children's drawings on a bulletin board.
A white shelf with children toys, including a red barn, a magnetic puzzle, foam building blocks, and small figurines with expressive faces, surrounded by colored markers, tapes, and packaging boxes.
Indoor climbing wall with colorful handholds, ropes, and padded mats in a room with beige walls.
Indoor children's playroom with swings, slide, basketball hoop, various mats, and toys.
A woman and a young boy sitting on a blue mat inside a building next to a large window. The boy is sitting on a pink and purple swing, swinging gently indoors with a bright, sunny day visible outside.
Indoor children's play area with swings, slide, mat flooring, and large window providing natural light.
Portrait of a young woman with blonde hair, smiling, wearing a dark green shirt and a necklace, standing in a well-lit indoor setting.

A note from Allyssa Richards, SLP

“I received my Master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology from University of Texas at Dallas. I hold a Certificate of Clinical Competence (CCC) from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) and I am licensed to practice in Iowa.

Since starting my SLP career, I have worked in pediatric private practices. My passion is treating children ages 1-12 years old. I have experience in evaluation and treatment of children with childhood apraxia of speech, speech sound disorders, feeding disorders, fluency disorders, intellectual disabilities, expressive and receptive language disorders, pragmatic disorders, autism spectrum disorder, and Down syndrome. Additionally, I have experience with high- and low-tech Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) devices and working with children with hearing loss.” 

​Specific Trainings or Certifications:

  • DIR Floortime

  • PROMPT-trained

  • Responsive Feeding Therapy

  • Natural Language Acquisition Trained Clinician (Gestalt Language Processing) 

  • Neurodiversity-Affirming Goals