Sarah Gee, MS, CCC-SLP is the president and founder of Progressive Speech Therapy, LLC. She began her career in the Dallas Regional Day School Program for the Deaf (DRDSPD) through Dallas Independent School District where she gained valuable experience working with children who have auditory impairments and the professionals who serve them. Her focus was on improving the language skills of these children, but the longer she served them, the more aware she became that she and many of her fellow speech-language pathologists struggled to affect change in the areas of articulation and phonological disorders. Sarah attended many conferences and workshops on the topic but still did not feel adequately prepared to help her most severe cases. It was at this time that she began her quest for knowledge and training in how to correct severe articulation and phonological disorders.

Sarah left her beloved children in the DRDSPD and began training at a small, private practice that specialized in articulation, phonology, and childhood apraxia of speech. During her year and a half of training, she came across innumerable parents who were frustrated by the amount of time and money that had been wasted with ineffective treatments for their children and almost as many speech-language pathologists who were begging to be taught what to do with these difficult cases. It did not take long for her to realize that one, small, private practice could not serve the number of families in Dallas who needed this type of intervention, so she struck out on her own to help more families and train more professionals. And thus, Progressive Speech Therapy was established.

Sarah graduated magna cum laude from the University of Texas at Dallas with her Bachelor of Science degree in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology. She went on to earn her Master of Science degree in Communication Disorders from the same institution. She holds a speech-language pathology license from the great state of Texas and has collected her Certificate of Clinical Competence from the American Speech-Language Hearing Association. Sarah is an active member of the American Speech-Language Hearing Association (ASHA), the Texas Speech-Language Hearing Association (TSHA), and the Childhood Apraxia of Speech Association of North America (CASANA).

During her time at the DRDSPD, Sarah worked with preschool children at the Callier Center for Communication Disorders and elementary, middle, and high school students with auditory impairments. In addition to working on the speech and language skills of students, Sarah’s duties included traveling the state of Texas, training public school professionals (speech-language pathologists, teachers, audiologists, administrators, etc.) who work with children who have auditory impairments. Areas of training included evaluation techniques and materials, therapy techniques, technology, ethics, and an overall understanding of auditory impairment.

Sarah’s time in a private practice setting has been spent working with clients who have mild to severe articulation and/or phonological disorders, language disorders, childhood apraxia of speech, auditory impairments, and various other syndromes or disorders. She also trains parents to work with their children at home and other speech-language pathologists to work with these children in their own professional settings.

Sarah’s passions and professional goals are to give families the best services available for speech and language disorders and to consistently add to the knowledge base of her profession.

Erica Smith, MS, CCC-SLP  grew up in Houston, Texas and attended the University of Texas at Austin where she graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration. After a stint working in the business world, Erica quickly realized she was meant for a career as a Speech Language Pathologist. She attended The University of Texas at Dallas where she received hands on clinical experience working with both adults and children with various communication difficulties. Erica graduated with her Masters of Science in Communication Disorders in 2006. She holds a Texas state license in speech language pathology and a Certificate of Clinical Competence from the America Speech-Language and Hearing Association.

Erica began her career as a practicing speech language pathologist at Baylor Institute for Rehabilitation, in Dallas, Texas, where she worked with adults suffering from a wide range of neurologic disorders including stroke, traumatic brain injury, dementia, tumor resection, and organ transplant. As an SLP in the rehab setting, Erica played a vital role in helping patients regain their communication, cognition, and swallowing functions. Erica’s greatest passion in her job was serving as a member of the traumatic brain injury team. She considered it an honor to help the victims and families whose lives were shaken by traumatic events. In her time at Baylor, Erica served in various roles including coordinator of graduate student placements across six settings and coordinator of graduate student practicum for the inpatient rehab setting. She is trained in performing Modified Barium Swallow studies and is Vital Stimulation certified. Erica continues to provide therapy to adults in the home health setting.

Erica is thrilled and excited to become part of the Progressive Speech Therapy team, and looking forward to applying her years of experience toward s working with children. Now a mom herself, Erica understands even more the importance of early and effective intervention for children with communication delays or disorders, as well as the value of parent involvement in the continuum of care.

Erica lives in Dallas with her husband who is also her high school sweetheart. They have two wonderful kids and are active members of their church. When she is not working as mom or speech therapist, Erica loves to read, watch movies, and exercise .