Speech Therapy

Our pediatric speech language pathologists serve children and their families to address typical and atypical communication and feeding skills. Common treatment techniques may include oral motor strengthening and range of motion exercises, reciprocal interaction through modeling and play, training on the use of audio-visual aids, the use of assistive technology, and strategies to facilitate functional communication.

Who are your therapists?

Hollis Pass, Speech Department Lead, is a Speech and Language Pathologist licensed by the State of California; she has held the Certificate of Clinical Competence (CCC) from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association or the Canadian Association of Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists for 17 years.  Hollis received her undergraduate degree in Mathematics, with a minor in Physics, from Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia, and her Master of Science Degree in Speech-Language Pathology from the University of British Columbia.  She was a recipient of a prestigious scholarship from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.  Hollis also holds a Clinical or Rehabilitative Services Credential in Language, Speech, and Hearing in California.  She has worked in a wide variety of settings, including preschool clinics, schools, and private practice.  Hollis has helped hundreds of children and adults with mild to severe speech, language, social, or cognitive delays, tongue thrust, and/or accents improve their communication skills, as well as their overall quality of life.

Laurisa Schwer is a Speech and Language Pathologist licensed by the state of California and a holder of the Certificate of Clinical Competence (CCC) from the American Speech and Hearing Association for 15 years.  She received her undergraduate degree in Communicative Disorders from the University of Redlands and her Master of Science degree in Speech and Hearing Sciences from the University of Washington.  Laurisa specializes in early childhood, Autism, Down syndrome, fluency, Receptive and Expressive Language Disorders, and social skills disorders.  Laurisa’s motto is “turning fun and laughter into growth” as she believes that when treatment is presented in as fun a manner as possible learning and progress are maximized.  As an SLP, Laurisa is constantly striving to increase her knowledge by taking courses and collaborating with other SLPs to benefit the children that she serves and SLPAs she supervises. Laurisa is responsible for representing the speech therapy team in program planning. She also plays an advisory role to the other speech therapists.

Jeanne Nielsen is a Speech-Language Pathology Assistant licensed by the state of California.  She has been with us since January 2009 and loves working with the pediatric population.  Jeanne' has previously worked for a school district for 4 years before joining UCP.  She has worked with children of all ages such as; early start, preschool. elementary and middle school.  Jeanne' graduated from Cal State Long Beach in May 2008 with a BA in Communication Disorders and has been a member of CASHA since January 2009.  She has also been teaching swimming lessons for over 14 years to children and adults and loves spending time with friends and family.

Pati Skinner is a Speech-Language Pathology Assistant licensed by the state of California, and Child Development Specialist for UCP for 7 years.  Pati received her SLPA from Santa Ana College and  is a member of CSHA  (California Speech Language, Hearing  Association).  She has been in the medical field for 34 years as a Nurse, specializing in Dialysis, Pediatric Oncology, home care for children with ventilators, and Pediatric home care for terminally-ill children.  She is involved in the Special Olympics Program and volunteers in the local school district. As a nurse and SLPA she frequently takes classes to increase her knowledge to benefit the children that she is serving. Pati and her husband, Jim, enjoy traveling and keeping up with their 7 children and 10 grandchildren.