Meet Our Staff
From Our Founder
I’m Erin Bernett, MS, CCC-SLP, and I founded Monkey Mouths because I wanted to do what I love in a people-centered environment that fosters growth throughout the therapy team in children, parents, therapists, and families. My incredible staff and I are honored to serve families in the greater Dallas/Ft. Worth area, improving families’ lives through support and collaboration.
When I left my position in a pediatric hospital setting in 2003, I had a vision — and a desire for big changes in my work life. Monkey Mouths started as a small team of dedicated therapists, and we strive to preserve our ‘families first’ culture as we grow and expand our scope of pediatric care. My “why” behind what I do has always been family and faith: together with my son Carter and my husband Matt, we work with In My Image Ministry, a faith-based organization dedicated to special needs children and their families.
We also partner with Alas De Dios ~ a non profit 501 C (3) corporation formed to impact the lives of the poorest and most marginalized children in Nicaragua by caring for their physical, spiritual, and educational needs.
As a therapist for over 20 years, I have training and specialization in the following:
Language:
Applied Verbal Behavior Analysis with Vincent Carbone PhD, BCBA
Michelle Garcia Winner’s Social Thinking
Visualizing and Verbalizing/Seeing Stars/LIPS by Lindamood Bell
Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS)
Tamera Kasper Sign to Talk
Apraxia/Articulation:
Sound Card System: Developer/Presenter
PROMPT therapy/Advanced PROMPT Bridging
Talk Tools Oral Placement Therapy
Kaufman Apraxia System
Dynamic Temporal and Tactile Cueing (DTTC) with Edyth Strand PhD, CCC-SLP
Feeding/Dysphagia:
Pediatric Vital Stim
Langmore Fiberoptic Endoscopic Evaluation of Swallowing (FEES)
Myofascial Release Therapy
S.O.S. Feeding Therapy
Lori Overland Feeding Therapy
Beckman Oral-Motor Therapy
CAN-EAT Approach to feeding
Oralfacial Myofunctional Therapy (OMT):
Coarsework through: AOMT , IAOM, Simon Says
Tethered Oral Tissues (TOTS trained)
Functional Assessment and Remediation of TOTS/Talk Tools
Voice:
Presenter for Vocal Cord Dysfunction (VCD)
UT Southwestern Singer’s Symposium
If you’ve been to any of our locations, you already know that our therapists are the heartbeat of our practice. Monkey Mouths was created with families in mind, and we strive to create environments and experiences for children that inspire growth and unlock their potential.
Welcome!
Nikki Wensel Rustad, M.A., CCC-SLP
Provider Type: SLP, Assistant Director, Monkey U Lead
Location: Fort Worth
Patricia Gurinsky, M.A., CCC-SLP
Provider Type: Speech-Language Pathologist, Oral Myofunctional Therapist Fort Worth Clinical Director
Location: Fort Worth
Deborah Mode, M.S., CCC-SLP
Provider Type: Bilingual Speech-Language Pathologist, Oral-Myofunctional Therapist Coppell Clinical Director
Location: Coppell
Emma Pate, M.S., CCC-SLP
Provider Type: Speech-Language Pathologist, Southlake Clinical Director
Location: Southlake
Randi Thomas, M.S., CCC-SLP, Hurst Clinical Director
Provider Type: Speech-Language Pathologist, Oral-Myofunctional Therapist, Hurst Clinical Director
Location: Hurst
Mary Brezik, M.S., CCC-SLP
Provider Type: Speech-Language Pathologist, Lead FEES Therapist/Fort Worth
Location: Fort Worth
Danielle Darragh, M.S., CCC-SLP
Provider Type: Speech-Language Pathologist
Location: Fort Worth
Paige Faulder, M.S., CCC-SLP, LSLS Cert. AVT
Provider Type: Speech-Language Pathologist, Certified Auditory-Verbal Therapist
Location: Fort Worth
Kristen Gaffney, M.S., CCC-SLP
Provider Type: Speech-Language Pathologist
Location: Fort Worth
Blair McClatchy, M.S., CCC-SLP
Provider Type: Speech-Language Pathologist, Oral Myofunctional Therapist
Location: Southlake
Vanessa Parkinson BSc. Hons, CCC-SLP
Provider Type: Speech-Language Pathologist
Location: Hurst, Southlake
Ashley Partridge, MOTR/L, CNT, NTMTC
Provider Type: Occupational Therapist
Location: Hurst, Southlake
Karen Pieters, M.S., CCC-SLP
Provider Type: Speech-Language Pathologist, Oral Myofunctional Therapist
Location: Hurst
Kristi Erhart Rollins, M.A., CCC-SLP
Provider Type: Speech-Language Pathologist, Oral Myofunctional Therapist
Location: Southlake
Rebecca Lamke Sas, M.S., CCC-SLP
Provider Type: AAC Specialist, Speech-Language Pathologist
Location: Hurst, Fort Worth
Megan Sordini, M.S., CCC-SLP
Provider Type: Speech-Language Pathologist, Oral Myofunctional Therapist
Location: Fort Worth
Jonathan Suarez, M.S., CCC-SLP
Provider Type: Bilingual Speech-Language Pathologist
Location: Hurst
