We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Michelle White a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Michelle, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Setting up an independent practice is a daunting endeavor. Can you talk to us about what it was like for you – what were some of the main steps, challenges, etc.

When I opened my pediatric speech therapy clinic twenty years ago, I was one of the only private clinics between downtown and Galveston area. People thought I was crazy opening a clinic on the south side of town as opposed to the more affluent areas where more people could ‘afford” therapy. It was important to me to establish a practice within the community I lived in and I vowed to never let the idea that someone couldn’t afford therapy keep them from getting help for their kids. I wanted to build a community where families could feel at home and comfortable in a setting that allowed their child to thrive. I was never known for doing things the conventional way, so I bought a little old house ( in fact one of the first houses built in the area) under some giant oak trees on an acre of land and built my dream. Here we are twenty years later with an additional building, servicing 150-200 kids a week, and offering a multitude of services to help children and the community-truly my dream come true. For young professionals starting out – don’t be afraid to be a visionary and don’t listen to other people, they will just distract you. Make your own path in the world and dream big.

Michelle, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Michelle White Speech Language and Academic Services is a pediatric speech therapy clinic located in Deer Park Texas. We are a facility that offers individual speech therapy, occupational therapy, music therapy and academic tutoring services to children ages 2-18years old. In addition to our individual therapy services, we also offer The Bridges dyslexia intervention program for students with a structured curriculum for intensive dyslexia remediation. We strive to offer services in a comfortable family atmosphere and focus on approaches that look at the whole child, as we work side by side with families to support the growth of their child. While I am very proud of all that we do here, my biggest accomplishment has been the recent addition of developing a nonprofit group for young adults with disabilities which furthers our mission of encompassing support that goes beyond just those early years.

Do you think you’d choose a different profession or specialty if you were starting now?

I absolutely love my career. Being a speech pathologist has allowed me to reach out and touch the lives of so many children. I never take for granted that when parents ask me to help their child, they are trusting me with their most precious possession. Every day I get the opportunity to impact the life of a child in a way that will make a significant difference in their foundational growth and that is an incredible blessing. I love my job so much that my daughter will be graduating in May with her Masters in Speech Pathology so she can follow in my footsteps. She has grown up seeing the way in which this profession gives you a chance to change the world for the better. If I could go back I would absolutely choose it again.

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

I am blessed to have the most incredible staff!! The majority of my staff has been with me for ten years or more and I appreciate them all so very much. When managing a team I have learned that if you step back and give people room to grow they almost always surprise you. Take a chance on people and always pay attention to their true motivation for being there. I have high expectations, but I don’t micromanage. Believe in people, be sincere and make sure they know they are part of your team- they will represent you well.

Contact Info:

• Facebook: Michelle White Speech Language and Academic Services also The Wisteria Project (our nonprofit group)