- Guided Reminiscing Openness Understanding Neuro-Diversity affirming
We Help Clients Throughthis Approach
GROUNDed is a neurodiversity-affirming speech and language therapy practice supporting children, teens, and adults in developing communication and connection across the Unites States. At GROUNDed we specialize in teaching social learning, language development, and communication skills through a neurodiverse-affirming, relationship-centered approach. Whether you’re seeking support for your child, teen, or adult, we honor each person’s unique way of thinking, communicating, and connecting.
We help clients
- Develop expressive and receptive language skills (vocabulary, grammar, pragmatic use)
- Strengthen social communication, including initiating, maintaining, and interpreting conversations and social cues
- Build meaningful relationships through social connection, turn-taking, nonverbal communication, and reciprocity
- Navigate social learning contexts, including play, school, work, peer groups, community
Our approach is grounded in evidence-based practices and rooted in family-centered care, autonomy, and choice. We believe communication is not just about words; it’s about connection, understanding, and belonging
Helping You Through Programs & Services
Evaluation
Conduct detailed assessments to understand social cognitive and communication (speech and language) profiles of children and adolescents.
Identify personal strengths and challenges to create a comprehensive plan to support social cognition, communication, and language skills.
Offer professional insight to guide individualized goals for growth and learning.
Provide clear recommendations that help inform families, educators, and caregivers.
Intervention
Deliver individualized strategies designed to strengthen social, emotional, language, and overall communication skills.
Use evidence-based social communication and language development methods that promote meaningful social engagement.
Tailor approaches to different ages, learning styles, and developmental levels.
Support progress through ongoing practice, feedback, and caregiver engagement.
Consultations
Offer one-time or ongoing guidance for parents, educators, and professionals seeking support.
Work collaboratively to identify social and language challenges and plan targeted solutions.
Provide practical strategies for school, home, and community environments.
Ensure continuous follow-up to monitor progress and adjust plans.
Caregiver Training
Teach practical communication tools that caregivers can apply in everyday interactions.
Provide individualized, hands-on approaches designed to fit your family's unique lifestyle.
Strengthen caregiver confidence in supporting social and communication skills.
Promote positive family relationships through naturalistic and easy-to-use approaches.
Evaluation
Conduct detailed assessments to understand social cognitive and communication (speech and language) profiles of children and adolescents.
Identify personal strengths and challenges to create a comprehensive plan to support social cognition, communication, and language skills.
Offer professional insight to guide individualized goals for growth and learning.
Provide clear recommendations that help inform families, educators, and caregivers.
Intervention
Deliver individualized strategies designed to strengthen social, emotional, language, and overall communication skills.
Use evidence-based social communication and language development methods that promote meaningful social engagement.
Tailor approaches to different ages, learning styles, and developmental levels.
Support progress through ongoing practice, feedback, and caregiver engagement.
Consultations
Offer one-time or ongoing guidance for parents, educators, and professionals seeking support.
Work collaboratively to identify social and language challenges and plan targeted solutions.
Provide practical strategies for school, home, and community environments.
Ensure continuous follow-up to monitor progress and adjust plans.
Caregiver Training
Teach practical communication tools that caregivers can apply in everyday interactions.
Provide individualized, hands-on approaches designed to fit your family's unique lifestyle.
Strengthen caregiver confidence in supporting social and communication skills.
Promote positive family relationships through naturalistic and easy-to-use approaches.
Evaluation
Conduct detailed assessments to understand social cognitive and communication (speech and language) profiles of children and adolescents.
Identify personal strengths and challenges to create a comprehensive plan to support social cognition, communication, and language skills.
Offer professional insight to guide individualized goals for growth and learning.
Provide clear recommendations that help inform families, educators, and caregivers.
Intervention
Deliver individualized strategies designed to strengthen social, emotional, language, and overall communication skills.
Use evidence-based social communication and language development methods that promote meaningful social engagement.
Tailor approaches to different ages, learning styles, and developmental levels.
Support progress through ongoing practice, feedback, and caregiver engagement.
Consultations
Offer one-time or ongoing guidance for parents, educators, and professionals seeking support.
Work collaboratively to identify social and language challenges and plan targeted solutions.
Provide practical strategies for school, home, and community environments.
Ensure continuous follow-up to monitor progress and adjust plans.
Caregiver Training
Teach practical communication tools that caregivers can apply in everyday interactions.
Provide individualized, hands-on approaches designed to fit your family's unique lifestyle.
Strengthen caregiver confidence in supporting social and communication skills.
Promote positive family relationships through naturalistic and easy-to-use approaches.
Evaluation
Conduct detailed assessments to understand social cognitive and communication (speech and language) profiles of children and adolescents.
Identify personal strengths and challenges to create a comprehensive plan to support social cognition, communication, and language skills.
Offer professional insight to guide individualized goals for growth and learning.
Provide clear recommendations that help inform families, educators, and caregivers.
Intervention
Deliver individualized strategies designed to strengthen social, emotional, language, and overall communication skills.
Use evidence-based social communication and language development methods that promote meaningful social engagement.
Tailor approaches to different ages, learning styles, and developmental levels.
Support progress through ongoing practice, feedback, and caregiver engagement.
Consultations
Offer one-time or ongoing guidance for parents, educators, and professionals seeking support.
Work collaboratively to identify social and language challenges and plan targeted solutions.
Provide practical strategies for school, home, and community environments.
Ensure continuous follow-up to monitor progress and adjust plans.
Caregiver Training
Teach practical communication tools that caregivers can apply in everyday interactions.
Provide individualized, hands-on approaches designed to fit your family's unique lifestyle.
Strengthen caregiver confidence in supporting social and communication skills.
Promote positive family relationships through naturalistic and easy-to-use approaches.
Evaluation
Conduct detailed assessments to understand social cognitive and communication (speech and language) profiles of children and adolescents.
Identify personal strengths and challenges to create a comprehensive plan to support social cognition, communication, and language skills.
Offer professional insight to guide individualized goals for growth and learning.
Provide clear recommendations that help inform families, educators, and caregivers.
Intervention
Deliver individualized strategies designed to strengthen social, emotional, language, and overall communication skills.
Use evidence-based social communication and language development methods that promote meaningful social engagement.
Tailor approaches to different ages, learning styles, and developmental levels.
Support progress through ongoing practice, feedback, and caregiver engagement.
Consultations
Offer one-time or ongoing guidance for parents, educators, and professionals seeking support.
Work collaboratively to identify social and language challenges and plan targeted solutions.
Provide practical strategies for school, home, and community environments.
Ensure continuous follow-up to monitor progress and adjust plans.
Caregiver Training
Teach practical communication tools that caregivers can apply in everyday interactions.
Provide individualized, hands-on approaches designed to fit your family's unique lifestyle.
Strengthen caregiver confidence in supporting social and communication skills.
Promote positive family relationships through naturalistic and easy-to-use approaches.
Evaluation
Conduct detailed assessments to understand social cognitive and communication (speech and language) profiles of children and adolescents.
Identify personal strengths and challenges to create a comprehensive plan to support social cognition, communication, and language skills.
Offer professional insight to guide individualized goals for growth and learning.
Provide clear recommendations that help inform families, educators, and caregivers.
Intervention
Deliver individualized strategies designed to strengthen social, emotional, language, and overall communication skills.
Use evidence-based social communication and language development methods that promote meaningful social engagement.
Tailor approaches to different ages, learning styles, and developmental levels.
Support progress through ongoing practice, feedback, and caregiver engagement.
Consultations
Offer one-time or ongoing guidance for parents, educators, and professionals seeking support.
Work collaboratively to identify social and language challenges and plan targeted solutions.
Provide practical strategies for school, home, and community environments.
Ensure continuous follow-up to monitor progress and adjust plans.
Caregiver Training
Teach practical communication tools that caregivers can apply in everyday interactions.
Provide individualized, hands-on approaches designed to fit your family's unique lifestyle.
Strengthen caregiver confidence in supporting social and communication skills.
Promote positive family relationships through naturalistic and easy-to-use approaches.
Evaluation
Conduct detailed assessments to understand social cognitive and communication (speech and language) profiles of children and adolescents.
Identify personal strengths and challenges to create a comprehensive plan to support social cognition, communication, and language skills.
Offer professional insight to guide individualized goals for growth and learning.
Provide clear recommendations that help inform families, educators, and caregivers.
Intervention
Deliver individualized strategies designed to strengthen social, emotional, language, and overall communication skills.
Use evidence-based social communication and language development methods that promote meaningful social engagement.
Tailor approaches to different ages, learning styles, and developmental levels.
Support progress through ongoing practice, feedback, and caregiver engagement.
Consultations
Offer one-time or ongoing guidance for parents, educators, and professionals seeking support.
Work collaboratively to identify social and language challenges and plan targeted solutions.
Provide practical strategies for school, home, and community environments.
Ensure continuous follow-up to monitor progress and adjust plans.
Caregiver Training
Teach practical communication tools that caregivers can apply in everyday interactions.
Provide individualized, hands-on approaches designed to fit your family's unique lifestyle.
Strengthen caregiver confidence in supporting social and communication skills.
Promote positive family relationships through naturalistic and easy-to-use approaches.
Evaluation
Conduct detailed assessments to understand social cognitive and communication (speech and language) profiles of children and adolescents.
Identify personal strengths and challenges to create a comprehensive plan to support social cognition, communication, and language skills.
Offer professional insight to guide individualized goals for growth and learning.
Provide clear recommendations that help inform families, educators, and caregivers.
Intervention
Deliver individualized strategies designed to strengthen social, emotional, language, and overall communication skills.
Use evidence-based social communication and language development methods that promote meaningful social engagement.
Tailor approaches to different ages, learning styles, and developmental levels.
Support progress through ongoing practice, feedback, and caregiver engagement.
Consultations
Offer one-time or ongoing guidance for parents, educators, and professionals seeking support.
Work collaboratively to identify social and language challenges and plan targeted solutions.
Provide practical strategies for school, home, and community environments.
Ensure continuous follow-up to monitor progress and adjust plans.
Caregiver Training
Teach practical communication tools that caregivers can apply in everyday interactions.
Provide individualized, hands-on approaches designed to fit your family's unique lifestyle.
Strengthen caregiver confidence in supporting social and communication skills.
Promote positive family relationships through naturalistic and easy-to-use approaches.
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For over twelve years, I've worked tirelessly to develop a safe autism cure. My innovative, personalized approach helps children overcome autism challenges.
Book YourConsultation
Ashley Brien, Ph.D., CCC-SLP
An ASHA-certified Speech Language Pathologist with extensive experience in supporting the langauge and communicaiton skills of children and their families.
Services & Booking
- 1. Evaluations
- 2. Intervention
- 3. Consultations
- 4. Caregiver training
- 5. Social Learning Course
Frequently Asked Question
No, we do not currently offer in-person services for most areas. Clients in Northern Vermont may request in-person services.
Our online services for individuals with communication challenges, inlcuding autism spectrum disorders, use digital platforms to deliver therapy and support remotely. These services include video consultations, virtual therapy sessions, and online resources. They offer flexibility and convenience, allowing families to access expert guidance and support without geographical constraints, ensuring consistent care. After years of doing both in-person and online therapy, we have found that everything that can be done in-person can also be done online, saving valuable time and resources for families.
Absolutely! Family (e.g., caregiver, sibling, spouse) involvement in speech and language services for children, as well as social learning therapy for neurodivergent chilren, teens, and adults is highly encouraged. Family participation enhances the therapeutic process, providing a supportive network for the client. By engaging in therapy sessions, family members can learn strategies to reinforce learning and support the child’s development in everyday environments. In our work, some parents choose to attend every session and provide situations / examples of how this particular social concept shows up in their child’s life. Other parents are less involved and model language that they’ve heard used in session throughout the week. Each family chooses the level of parent involvement that works best for their life!
The time required to meet a child’s goals depends on the goals, as well as a child’s individual needs and unique abilities! Some clients / families who are working on social learning skills choose to meticulously go through each of the domains of social cognition and participate in therapy for a few years. Others come with a specific set of speech, language, or communication skills that are impacting them at school or at home and once they have learned how to integrate these skills in their life, they choose to discontinue with therapy after a few months. Each client and family is different, and so our approach is tailored to the individual needs of the family. Regardless, regular speech, langauge, and communication assessments and adjustments to intervention plans ensure that goals remain appropriate and relevant, promoting continuous social and language development.
To help a child generalize learned speech, language, and social skills, families can practice these skills in varied settings and situations outside of the session. Consistent reinforcement and encouragement across different environments can enhance learning and application of the learned skill. In fact, the most successful clients are those who practice the skills we’ve talked about in session at home / school / in the community.
We offer a free 15-minute consultation service on our website. You can book this consultation through the calendar in the “Book Your Consultation” section. My availability is shown there, and once you book, a confirmation email with the meeting link will be sent to your email address. Many of our clients find this initial meeting very helpful, and it will help us guide you in choosing the right service.
Ready toGet Started?
Let’s begin your journey toward stronger, more confident social communication and meaningful connection