We were lucky to catch up with Ruth recently and have shared our conversation below.

Ruth , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

I think the biggest risk that I’ve taken so far is starting my business! I didn’t know how it would pan out but I knew that I wanted to try to see if it would work out. Thankfully, my business has flourished and my private practice is thriving. It all started with investing in myself and deciding to purchase a course that would teach me how to start my private practice. It was worthwhile for me because it laid out all the steps that I would need to successfully start and learn how to run my practice. Before purchasing the course, I was nervous if the money would be worth it or if it would be a waste. I wondered if I had what it took to understand all the business side of things (since I didn’t go to business school). I just knew that I wanted to create something where I would be able to help kids communicate without all the red tape of dealing with insurances or a school district. I wanted a place where I could collaborate more openly with parents and where they could sit in on their child’s session to see what I was doing so they too could practice at home. I’m so glad that it’s turned into that and so much more. Throughout the 5 years that the practice has been in existence, we’ve been able to help so many families and have turned many kids into being “brave communicators.”

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I got into the field of speech-language pathology my senior year of high school. I have a cousin who is deaf and I considered being a sign language interpreter because I found it interesting but then that lead me to other similar careers and speech-language pathology was one of them. I declared it my major in undergrad and have never looked back! I started my private practice in the summer of 2020 and offer both evaluation and therapy services both for monolingual English and bilingual (Spanish-English) speakers. We also offer parent coaching services. I am trained in Hanen’s It Takes Two to Talk and my employee, has taken the Meaningful Speech course and is trained in Gestalt Language Processing for Autistic children. What sets us apart is that we offer a variety of treatment modalities – in clinic, in home, in private schools, and via Telehealth. We are also really passionate about early intervention and speech sound disorders. We are most proud of being able to serve many families within the North County San Diego area.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

I think the most effective strategy has to be providing excellent service to clients and their families and they will be my biggest marketers! I love it when I get word of mouth referrals. Happy clients will tell other families about their positive experiences with us and they will often come to us for that reason. Most people will often go to a business that they’ve heard good things about. The amount of 5-star goole reviews that the practice has also helps in setting us apart.

If you could go back, would you choose the same profession, specialty, etc.?

Most definitely! If I could go back and do it again, I would always choose the field of speech-language pathology. I have never regretted that this is my calling. I also knew since being in undergrad that I wanted to work with children. There’s something so special about being able to mold a child at such a young age. I love how malleable they are and how they soak up information like a sponge. Being able to coach families on how to incorporate speech and language into their everyday routines has been transformative for their day to day activities. I love “playing with kids” all while teaching them new vocabulary, how to write/say a grammatically correct sentence, and of course practicing difficult sounds like “R” or “TH”.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.bebravespeechtherapy.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bebravespeechtherapy/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bebravespeechtherapy
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruth-maldonado-212bb6239/