I’m Karen Pieters M.S., CCC-SLP, I joined Monkey Mouths in 2008 and I am the Clinical Director of the Hurst clinic.  I earned my undergraduate degree at Furman University and my master’s degree in speech therapy at UT Dallas. I also have graduate degree in school psychology from Georgia State University.

Before joining Monkey Mouths, I worked at a practice in Irving where I helped start the clinic’s feeding program.  I’ve also worked as a Licensed Specialist in School Psychology in Georgia and Texas and I presented “Rapidly Increase Intelligibility in Young Children” at the TSHA convention.  My experience in speech and psychology make me a great therapist for children who are experiencing speech/language issues that affect school learning.

I see parents as partners in the therapy process and enjoy giving families simple yet effective ideas for home carry-over. I am married and have one daughter.

As an SLP since 2001, I have training and specialization in the following:

Feeding/Dysphagia:

• Deborah Beckman, M.S., CCC-SLP Oral-Motor Therapy
• Sensory-Motor Feeding by Lori Overland, M.S., CCC-SLP
• CAN-EAT with Krisi Brackett
• Vital Stim

Apraxia/Articulation:

• PROMPT Therapy/Advanced PROMPT Bridging
• Sound Card System
• Kaufman Apraxia System
• Dynamic Temporal and Tactile Cueing/Edyth Strand PhD, CCC-SLP
• Talk Tools Oral-Motor Placement Therapy by Sara R. Johnson M.S., CCC-SLP

Sensory Integration:

• Sensory Integration with Kathryne Carnissa, OTR

Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy (OMT):

• Myofascial Release for dysphagia and voice
• Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy (OMT) Specialty Training by Mary Brezik, M.S., CCC-SLP/OMT
• Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy (OMT) Specialty Training by Patricia Gurinsky, M.S., CCC-SLP/OMT
• Tethered Oral Tissues (TOTS trained)

Voice:

• Vocal Cord Dysfunction (VCD)

Language:

• Tamara Kasper, M.S., CCC-SLP, BCBA
• Social Thinking with Michelle Garcia Winner M.S., CCC-SLP
• Visualizing and Verbalizing with Lindamood Bell

Augmentative Communications:

• Comprehensive Augmentative Communication Evaluations for Low-Tech and High-Tech Communication Devices
• Language Acquisition Through Motor Planning (LAMP} AAC Training by John D. Halloran, M.S., CCC-SLP
• Language Acquisition Through Motor Planning (LAMP} Moving Forward with LAMP Training by John D. Halloran, M.S., CCC-SLP

Reflex Integration:

• MNRI Dynamic and Postural Reflex Pattern Integration

Hearing Differences:

• Monkey Mouths Deaf and Hard of Hearing (D/HH) Team