- Falls Church (703) 685-1070
- Mon - Fri: 7:30 - 7:00
Openings in PEERS® group. Contact Melissa Friedberg – Openings in Feeding Group. Contact Jenifer Midili
PROMPT© Certified Instructor
Danielle has been a part of the CSLS family since 2008.
Danielle has over 25 years of experience working in the field of Speech Language Pathology. 10 of those years have been working at Children’s Speech and Language Services, Inc. Danielle became a PROMPT© Certified Instructor in 2012. In addition to teaching PROMPT© courses worldwide, she provides mentoring to clinicians on staff as well as therapists that wish to continue their PROMPT© journey. She’s worked within a variety of settings and had the opportunity to own and operate her own practice.
Danielle received her Master’s degree from University of Tennessee – Knoxville and Bachelors from James Madison University. Her clinical interest has been focused on children, adolescents and adults who have diagnosis in motor speech disorders, receptive-expressive language disorders, childhood apraxia of speech, developmental delay, sensory integration delays, oral-motor feeding disorders and a variety of genetic disorders.
She has trained with Sandra Holtzman in Orofacial Myology, Autumn Henning’s Tethered Oral Tissues (TOTs), and Kay Toomey’s SOS (Sequential Oral Sensory) approach to feeding. Danielle is part of the feeding team at our Falls Church office. In addition to the recent trainings, she’s taken courses in frenectomies and beyond: a modern approach to lasers, oral placement therapy, language acquisition through motor planning (LAMP), autism: de-escalating meltdowns and diffusing explosive behaviors and Orton-Gillingham:IMSE.
Danielle is a licensed a speech language pathologist in the state of Virginia and an active certified member of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA)
PROMPT© Certified Clinician
LAMP Certified Professional
Deena has been a part of the CSLS family since 2011.
Deena received her Masters degree in Speech-Language Pathology from the University of the District of Columbia. She became PROMPT Certified in 2013 and earned her LAMP (Language Acquisition through Motor Planning) Certification in 2018. Prior to becoming a speech-language pathologist, she taught in a private school for children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder and spent a year as a behavior therapist in a public elementary school in the Boston area.
She specializes in Augmentative Alternative Communication (AAC) and motor speech disorders. Deena has extensive experience working with the early intervention population, as well as elementary-aged children. She is driven to give every child a mode of communication and is thrilled and inspired each time she can witness one of her children communicating with his/her parents for the first time.
Deena enjoys running, traveling, spending time with family, and watching all New England sports. She lives in Falls Church with her husband and two young sons.
PROMPT© Certified Clinician
Melissa has been a part of the CSLS family since 2010.
Melissa Friedberg received her bachelor’s degree from Cornell University and her master’s degree from Emerson College. Melissa is an active member of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and a licensed speech-language pathologist in Virginia. Prior to joining our staff in 2010, Melissa worked with preschoolers and school-aged children in the Connecticut public schools as a speech-language pathologist.
Melissa runs the Social Skills Groups at our clinic. Melissa received her PROMPT© Certification in 2013. She has also received her certification in the PEERS® for Adolescents and PEERS® for Preschoolers programs. Melissa is trained in Orton-Gillingham: IMSE and has completed the Comprehensive course. She has also received training in Social Thinking, executive functioning and language acquisition through motor planning (LAMP).
Melissa’s clinical experiences include working with children who present with expressive and receptive language deficits and delays, autism spectrum disorder, language/literacy delays, articulation and motor speech disorders, disfluency, social communication disorders, voice disorders, cleft palate repair, executive functioning deficits and a variety of genetic disorders.
In her free time, Melissa enjoys reading, traveling and spending time with her friends and family.
Alona has been a part of the CSLS family since 2012.
Alona C. Ayer-Ziegler is originally from Greenwich, Connecticut. In 2012, she joined Children’s Speech and Language Services and completed the second level of PROMPT©training, Bridging PROMPT©: Technique to Intervention. She is an active, certified member of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) and a Virginia-licensed speech-language pathologist.
Alona received her M.S. in Speech-Language Pathology from the University of New Mexico in 2009. While pursuing her graduate degree in Albuquerque, she gained experience in a variety of settings, including: homes, nonprofit clinics, a public middle school, and a private practice that specialized in alternative and augmentative communication (AAC). Prior to joining Children’s Speech and Language Services, she worked in Washington, D.C at a public charter elementary school and a private school for children grades K-12 with multiple disabilities.
Alona has experience working with children with a wide variety of communication disorders, including: articulation and motor speech, auditory processing, dysfluency/stuttering, executive function, phonology, receptive and expressive language, and social pragmatics. She has also worked with children with: ADHD, autism spectrum disorder, developmental delays, Down syndrome, emotional disturbance, fetal alcohol spectrum disorders, and traumatic brain injury. She has a special interest in treating tongue thrust (a.k.a. reverse swallow or immature swallow).
Alona enjoys learning about her clients’ interests and incorporating those interests into therapy activities. She has attended continuing education seminars on auditory processing and executive function disorders.
Alona enjoys: photography, sailing, track days, traveling, and spending time with friends and family. She is also a color consultant and certified home stager.
PROMPT© Certified Clinician
Registered Yoga Teacher
Christie has been a part of the CSLS family since 2016.
Christie received her bachelor’s degree in Psychology Linguistics from Emory University and her master’s degree in Speech Language Pathology from University of Maryland. Christie is an active member of the American Speech-Language- Hearing Association and a licensed speech language pathologist in Virginia and Washington DC.
Anne has been a part of the CSLS family since 2016.
Anne received a Master’s of Education with an emphasis in Human Development and Psychology from Harvard Graduate School of Education before moving to Los Angeles to provide Pivotal Response Treatment to children with autism. During this time, she supervised clinicians and conducted training programs for parents and educators.
After several years, she returned to the East Coast and earned a Master’s of Science in Speech Language Pathology from Boston University. She is a certified member of the American Speech- Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) and a Virginia licensed speech pathologist. Anne has completed her second level of PROMPT© Training: Bridging PROMPT© Technique to Intervention. She also received training in Richard Solomon’s PLAY Project, Scott Yaruss’s fluency interventional approaches, Kay Toomey’s SOS (Sequential Oral Sensory) approach to feeding, Orton-Gillingham- Comprehensive and Intermediate Level, Language Acquisition through Motor Planning (LAMP) and the Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills (PEERS)- Preschoolers and Adolescents. Anne’s clinical experiences include working with children who present with expressive and receptive language deficits, social communication disorders, sensory processing disorders, articulation and motor speech disorders, attention deficit disorder, fluency disorders, literacy delays and autism spectrum disorder. Additionally, she teaches several social skills groups at the clinic.
Anne loves spending her free time with her husband and daughter. She also enjoys playing tennis, cooking and reading.
Qualified Orofacial Myologist
Kristen has been a part of the CSLS family since 2017.
Kristen has almost 20 years of experience working with children and adults. She is an active certified member of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) and a Virginia licensed speech pathologist. Kristen has completed her second level of PROMPT© training: Bridging PROMPT© Technique To Intervention.
Kristen has extensive experience in the area of feeding and swallowing disorders. She is trained in Kay Toomey’s SOS (Sequential Oral Sensory) approach to feeding and has experience with both individual and group treatment for medical and sensory based feeding disorders. Kristen also has Vital Stim and DPNS (Deep Pharyngeal Neuromuscular Stimulation) certifications. In 2021, she received her Qualified Orofacial Myologist (QOM) certification. Kristen frequently provides orofacial myofunctional evaluations and treatment for clients with orofacial myofunctional disorders (OMDs).
Kristen received her Master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology from James Madison University. She completed her Clinical Fellowship Year (CFY) and practiced speech therapy in the hospital setting with a focus on stroke and traumatic brain injury rehabilitation in adults and children at the acute care, inpatient rehabilitation and outpatient settings. She has worked at the Chambersburg Hospital in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, The National Rehabilitation Hospital in Washington, D.C. and INOVA Alexandria Hospital in Alexandria, Virginia. Kristen has participated on interdisciplinary teams and collaborated with other medical professionals. She also has experience working with medically fragile children ages birth to 18, evaluating and treating a wide variety of feeding, swallowing, and speech and language disorders.
In her free time, Kristen loves spending time with her husband, children and her dog.
Sophia has been a part of the CSLS family since 2021.
Sophia Guarracino 15 years of mostly pediatric-based therapy services, ranging from children, ages 1-21. She is an active certified member of the American Speech Language Hearing Association (ASHA), and is licensed to practice speech-language pathology in Virginia, Maryland, and New Jersey. She holds a SLP teaching Certificate for New Jersey.
Sophia received her Master’s degree from Bowling Green State University in 2008. She has worked extensively in both the regular and special education settings as a school-based SLP and in the private therapy setting, and has done Early Intervention in homes and daycares.
With the school-age population, Sophia has a wide range of experience working with children with articulation, phonological processes, oral motor difficulties, autism, learning disabilities, Down syndrome, stuttering, ADD/ADHD, and those in need of Augmentative or Alternative communication (AAC). In addition, she has run social skills groups. As a Student Intervention Team member, she has evaluated students and written and implemented Individual Education Plans (IEPs).
Sophia is a LAMP Certified Professional, a therapeutic approach that helps people with autism and other developmental disabilities develop independent communication, using AAC. She has completed her first level of PROMPT© training: Introduction to PROMPT© Technique. She is also trained in Movement Opportunities Via Education/Experiences, (MOVE) which assists children who are wheelchair bound participate in social routines, collaboration and push-in services in the schools, and Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS).
Amy has been a part of the CSLS family since 2016.
Amy Hsu is originally from Los Angeles, California. She earned her M.S. in Speech Language Pathology and Audiology at the University of Hawaii, Manoa in 2008. She is a certified member of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) and is licensed to practice speech therapy in the state of Virginia and California.
Amy’s clinical experience includes working with children with receptive and expressive language deficits and delays, speech sound disorders, apraxia, autism spectrum disorders, and social cognitive deficits. Amy has experience in early intervention, public schools, pediatric outpatient, and private clinic settings. She also worked as a high school English teacher in California before becoming a speech language pathologist. Her continuing education includes: Introduction to PROMPT, PROMPT Bridging, PROMPT Technique Refresher, Movement and Mindfulness by Move with Me, Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) Level 2, and The Kaufman Speech to Language Protocol.
In her free time, Amy enjoys spending time with her husband and two sons. Her hobbies include sewing, running and yoga.
Annis has been a part of the CSLS family since 2022.
Annis Bell earned her master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology from George Washington University and her Bachelor’s Degree at Ithaca College. Annis completed additional training through Georgetown University and received her certificate in Early Intervention in 2022. Annis is a PROMPT-trained clinician and has completed PROMPT© training: Introduction to PROMPT© Technique. She is also trained in Natural Language Acquisition and Gestalt Language Processing. She is a certified member of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) and a Virginia-licensed speech-language pathologist.
Annis joined Children’s Speech & Language Services, Inc. in 2022, and while working in private practice, Annis has worked with children of all ages and has experience working with autism, motor speech disorders, Down syndrome, developmental delays, and a range of language disorders including literacy and social communication disorders.
Annis also has experience working in the DC public school system with school-aged children from elementary to the end of high school.
Outside of work, Annis enjoys painting, reading, running, and exploring the city.
Lexie has been a part of the CSLS family since 2023.
Lexie Hennelly received her Master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology from George Washington University and her Bachelor’s degree in Communication Science Disorders from the University of Virginia. Lexie has experience working with a variety of ages in settings such as a pediatric private practice and an outpatient rehabilitation unit. She completed one of her internships during graduate school at Children’s Speech & Language Services, Inc., as well as her clinical fellowship. She is an active certified member of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) and a Virginia licensed speech-language pathologist.
Lexie has completed her first level of PROMPT© training: Introduction to PROMPT© Technique and has completed courses in AAC training, specifically for the program of Language Acquisition through Motor Planning™ (LAMP). She has interests in Gestalt Language and AAC, as well as working with clients who have motor speech disorders, developmental disorders, feeding challenges, and social language deficits. In her free time, Lexie likes to go to the beach, spend time with her friends and family, run, read, and explore the area.
Katie has been a part of the CSLS family since 2024.
Katie earned her Master’s degree in Speech Language Pathology from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and her Bachelor’s degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders and History from Syracuse University. She has over 17 years of experience working as a speech pathologist. Katie is an active certified member of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) and a Virginia licensed speech pathologist. She is a PROMPT-trained clinician having completed PROMPT© training: Introduction to PROMPT© Technique.
Katie completed her clinic fellowship training and practiced speech therapy for a total of 8 years in the outpatient and acute care hospital settings at Duke University Medical Center with a focus on oropharyngeal dysphagia in medically compromised infants and children.
During her career, Katie has worked with infants and children from extreme prematurity to adulthood. Within this age range, she has treated feeding deficits and dysphagia with implementation of objective swallow studies as needed, cognitive impairments of congenital and/or acquired natures, developmental speech and language disorders, literacy disorders, fluency disorders, motor speech disorders, nonverbal communicators with a dependence on augmentative and alternative communication, and aphonic individuals requiring PassyMuir speaking valves (PMV), and implemented Respiratory Muscle Training (RMT) programs as well as participated in research investigating RMT in degenerative patient populations.
Katie has experience treating pediatric populations with congenital and/or acquired neurologic disorders, acquired and/or traumatic brain injuries, head and neck cancer, tracheoesophageal fistulas, cleft lip and palate, cardiac and pulmonary/respiratory deficits with or without tracheostomy or ventilator support, solid organ and bone marrow transplant patients, congenital gastrointestinal diagnoses or diseases with or without anatomical abnormalities, and chronically ill and hospitalized children. She has served as part of an interdisciplinary team for the continued evaluation and treatment of these patients on both inpatient basis and in outpatient specialized clinics. She has also worked in outpatient clinic, daycare, and home-health settings in North Carolina, Florida, and Virginia.
Katie’s experience with adult and geriatric populations include but is not limited to treatment of functional communication deficits including augmentative-alternative communication needs, cognitive deficits, acquired language impairments, dysphagia, and feeding difficulties in patients with acquired and congenital cognitive impairments and brain injuries, neuromuscular and neurodegenerative disorders, head and neck cancer, head and neck injury, respiratory and pulmonary compromise resulting in tracheostomy or ventilator-dependence.
Outside of work, Katie enjoys spending time with her husband and two children.