We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Tia Javier. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Tia below.

Tia, appreciate you joining us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

The biggest risk I ever took was starting my own therapy practice — right in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The backstory is that I had earned a second master’s degree in communication sciences and disorders after my daughter inspired me to go into the field. In January 2020, while I was still working full-time as a Spanish professor and as a speech-language pathologist for another company, I decided to establish Bilinguatherapy. It was just an idea at that point — I didn’t yet know how big it would become.

By May 2020, I made the difficult choice to resign from my professor role so I could devote more energy to building my practice. Then in June, HR at my speech therapy job raised concerns about a potential conflict of interest because of having a private practice, and I was told I’d need to choose between continuing with them or pursuing my own business I chose my practice. That was an enormous risk! I had a family to support, the world was shutting down, and there was no guarantee families would even be able to come in for therapy.

But taking that leap catapulted me forward. By September 2020, I had signed my first brick-and-mortar lease. In June 2021, I hired my first clinician. By March 2022, I purchased my first building — on the very street where I grew up, which made it even more meaningful. And in January of this year, I bought a much larger medical facility to house our growing practice.

Since then, we’ve served over 1,000 children and families, and I’ve had the privilege of training more than 15 clinicians in bilingual therapy. We have expanded to offering occupational and physical therapy in addition to speech therapy. Looking back, the risk was terrifying, but it gave me not just a business, but a mission that impacts my community every day.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I’m Tia Javier, founder and clinical director of Bilinguatherapy, the first and only pediatric therapy practice in Richmond, Virginia that specializes in bilingual (Spanish-English) speech, occupational, and physical therapy.

My journey into this field began through personal experience. When my daughter needed speech therapy, I realized there were no Spanish-speaking speech-language pathologists available to serve families like ours. We speak Spanish at home, and I knew how important it was for her to receive therapy in the language she understood best. When I started researching, I discovered there were only 87 Spanish-speaking speech-language pathologists in the entire state of Virginia. That shocking number lit a fire in me to help change that.

This experience led me to pursue a second master’s degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders, with the goal of bridging the gap for bilingual families. In January 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, I launched Bilinguatherapy while working full-time as a Spanish professor and speech-language pathologist. My vision was to create a place where bilingual families could receive culturally responsive, high-quality therapy in their own language.

What began as a home-based venture quickly grew. By September 2020, I opened my first brick-and-mortar clinic. In June 2021, I hired my first clinician, and by March 2022, I purchased our first building on the same street where I grew up. In January 2025, I expanded again, acquiring a larger medical facility to accommodate our growth. To date, we’ve served over 1,000 children and families and trained more than 15 clinicians in bilingual service delivery.

At Bilinguatherapy, we support children with speech, language, feeding, sensory, and motor delays through play-based, family-centered intervention. We also provide bilingual evaluations, parent education, and caregiver coaching to empower families beyond the therapy room. Through our nonprofit, Bilinguatherapy Cares, we extend this mission by offering community outreach, bilingual education programs, and volunteer initiatives both locally and abroad.

What sets us apart is our deep understanding of language and culture. We don’t simply translate therapy; we tailor it to each child’s unique linguistic and cultural identity. We help families understand how to nurture both languages confidently and effectively.

I’m most proud that Bilinguatherapy has become more than a practice—it’s a movement. It’s a place where bilingual families feel seen, heard, and supported, and where clinicians are trained to serve with both skill and heart. My goal is to continue expanding access to bilingual therapy, training clinicians across the country, and building bridges between languages, cultures, and communities.

Other than training/knowledge, what do you think is most helpful for succeeding in your field?

Aside from training and knowledge, I believe the most important qualities for success in this field are love for what you do and love for people. You have to genuinely care about the children and families you serve. Compassion, understanding, empathy, and patience are essential because every child’s journey is unique, and progress doesn’t always look the same for everyone.

It’s also important to recognize that you won’t always have all the answers right away. What matters most is having an open mind, curiosity, and the drive to figure things out. As clinicians, we already have the foundational tools. We just have to be willing to keep learning, adapting, and growing alongside the families we serve. That mindset is what leads to real impact and lasting change.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

I think my reputation was built on authenticity, heart, and consistency. I’ve been helping people for as long as I can remember, so this business isn’t just something I do; it’s who I am. When I was 15, I was featured in the newspaper for spending my Saturdays teaching Hispanic immigrants how to speak English. That experience planted the seed for what would eventually become Bilinguatherapy.

I was born and raised in Richmond, and I’ve stayed here intentionally to give back to the same community that raised me, the one that watched me grow and helped shape me. Buying my first building on the very street I grew up on was symbolic of that. I deeply understand the people I serve, their stories, their challenges, and their hopes. In many ways, I understand them the same way I understand myself.

Many of my patients are the children of people who have known me throughout my life — friends, colleagues, and even former teachers — and that trust runs deep. For those who don’t know me personally, my work speaks for itself. My love for what I do is clear in the way I go above and beyond for my patients, my employees, and my community.

Through Bilinguatherapy, I feel like I am living in my purpose. I am doing the work I was meant to do, serving the people I was meant to serve, in the city that raised me. That authenticity and genuine connection to both my mission and my community is what truly built my reputation.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://bilinguatherapy.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bilinguatherapy2020/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bilinguatherapy
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tia-javier-m-a-m-s-ccc-slp-a6268aaa/