Our Mission
Our mission at Help Me Speak, LLC is to help people of all ages to speak, eat, sign, learn, and play and to make a difference—in quality and quantity— in the life of each one. Progress comes in all forms—small steps and large leaps. We will be there to help the whole client (client & family) to learn to speak, eat, sign, learn, and/or play. Since maximal progress in speech, language, eating therapy occurs in an environment of optimal nutrition and reduced stress, we are dedicated to helping our clients & their families achieve a healthy lifestyle.
Help Me Speak, LLC.
In 1998, Barbara Taylor, M.S., CCC-SLP founded, Help Me Speak, LLC, a Speech-Language and Oral Motor Therapy private practice located in Marriottsville in Howard County, Maryland. Help Me Speak, LLC is a comprehensive private practice that accepts private pay clients by appointment only. Individual & group therapy sessions are offered in our clinic location.
Help Me Speak, LLC develops an individually tailored approach to best meet each client’s specific needs. Because we are experts in a wide variety of therapy techniques, we are uniquely qualified to develop and utilize an optimal treatment plan for each client to allow for maximum progress.
Help Me Speak, LLC & Associates are trained in the following techniques/methods: PROMPT, Interactive Metronome (IM), REI (Rhythmic Entrainment Intervention), Food Chaining, Toomey’s Sequential Oral Sensory (SOS) approach to feeding, Talk Tools hierarchies (Sara R. Johnson), Beckman stretches, Kaufman techniques, Fast ForWord, T.E.A.C.C.H., Suzanne Evans Morris Mealtime strategies, A.E.I.O.U., and other traditional methods. Mrs. Taylor and her associates each have their Master’s Degrees, are licensed by the State of Maryland, and have their Certificate of Clinical Competence (CCC) from the American Speech-Language Hearing Association (ASHA). Help Me Speak & Associates offers traditional speech & language therapy as well as a variety of other pediatric and adult treatment approaches. Help Me Speak, LLC provides their clients with individualized therapy sessions in a structured, yet comfortable environment.
The Starfish Story (condensed)
A visitor was walking along the beach at sunset. He saw a native man in the distance who was leaning down, picking something up, and throwing back into the ocean. As the visitor approached, he noticed that the native man was picking up starfish on the beach one at a time and throwing them back into the ocean. The visitor was puzzled and asked “What are you doing?”. The native replied, “I am throwing these starfish back into the ocean. It is low tide and they have washed onto the beach. If I don’t throw them back they will die from lack of oxygen.” The visitor replied “I understand but I am confused. There must be thousands of starfish along this beach. You can’t possibly get to all of them. And there are many beaches along the coast. You can’t possibly make a difference.” The native bent down, picked up a starfish, threw it back in the ocean, smiled and said, “I made a difference to that one.”
Barbara A. Taylor, M.S., CCC-SLP, COM
®
Owner, Help Me Speak
Driven by her desire to help others become more proficient and confident in their communication & swallowing skills, she opened her private practice, Help Me Speak, LLC, 20 years ago in December 1998. Today, Help Me Speak, LLC is Howard County’s premier speech, language, & swallowing private practice located in Marriottsville, MD.
Barbara received her Bachelor of Science (1990) and Master of Arts (1991) degrees from Loyola University in Baltimore, MD. For more than 28 years as an Speech-Language Pathologist, Barbara has been helping people of all ages overcome their speech, feeding, eating, swallowing, & language challenges. She was trained by the IAOM in Orofacial Myology in 2013 and a Certified Orofacial Myologist (COM®) in 2016. She is licensed in Maryland and Virginia.
Barbara has a love of learning in order to help her clients! She has earned 11 consecutive ACEs (Award for Continuing Education=70+ contact hours over a 3 year period) from ASHA (American Speech-Language Hearing Association).
Barbara has achieved specialty training in the following techniques & methods:
IAOM Certified Orofacial Myologist (COM®), TOTs (Tethered Oral Tissues), Advanced Lightwire Functional (ALF) appliance level 1 by Drs. Bronson of the ALF Educational Institute, PROMPT Bridging level 2, Beckman Level 1 & 2 Oral Motor Advanced protocols, Voice Gym, Upledger’s Cranial Sacral Therapy levels 1-2, Myofascial Release (CIAO), Rosenfeld-Johnson’s Talk Tools hierarchies, Lori Overland’s Pre/Feeding approach, Kaufman’s word approximation techniques, Food Chaining, Toomey's Advanced Sequential Oral Sensory (SOS) approach to feeding, Suzanne Evans Morris' Mealtime strategies, Fast ForWord, Wilson reading, Michele Garcia Winner’s Social Thinking methods, Interactive Metronome, T.E.A.C.C.H, A.E.I.O.U. (Johanason), and a variety of other methods.
She evaluates and treats clients from birth to adults with the following diagnoses: Autism spectrum disorders, Apraxia, Tongue tie, ADHD, Stuttering, Down syndrome, Cerebral palsy, Genetic diagnoses, Congenital diagnoses, Complex medical diagnoses, Picky/challenging eating, Feeding, & Swallowing (Dysphagia), Language-Based Learning Disability, Specific Language Impairment, Auditory/ Language Processing, Sound Errors/ Articulation, & other diagnoses. As a COM®, she treats & balances the orofacial muscles involved in TMD, OSA, &/or UARS.
Help Me Speak, LLC accepts BCBS, Kaiser, pediatric Maryland Medicaid, & private pay.
During her extensive career, Barbara has worked in the following settings: the Kennedy Krieger School (lower, middle, & extended day high school), Skilled Nursing facilities, Greater Baltimore Hospital Center (formerly North Arundel Hospital), acute care, subacute rehab, outpatient clinics, Mt Washington Pediatric home care, Adventist Home Health Care (adults), VNA Home Care (pediatrics/adults), Howard County Public Schools, & Loyola University (Clinical Supervisor & Adjunct Faculty).
Professional Associations:
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American Speech -Language Hearing Association (ASHA)
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International Association of Orofacial Myology (IAOM)
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American Academy of Private Practitioners in Speech Pathology & Audiology (AAPPSPA)