I grew up in small town Texas and received a Bachelor’s degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders from Baylor University. I continued at Baylor to earn a Master’s in Speech Language Pathology. During this time, I gained experience in clinical, school and hospital settings and completed my clinical externship at Children’s Hospital Colorado in Colorado Springs. After graduating, I moved to Denver and began working at a pediatric private practice where I gained experience evaluating and treating children from pre-school to high school with articulation, literacy, social-communication, expressive and receptive language disorders. I have had the pleasure of leading a variety of groups including social skills groups where we targeted social communication and emotional regulation strategies. I also led Kindergarten readiness groups to teach introductory literacy and social skills to preschoolers. 

 

I am passionate about helping children of all ages feel confident in their communication and literacy skills. I love helping students develop self-advocacy and discover what learning style suits them best so they feel empowered and can have fun in a learning environment. Collaboration with parents and other professionals involved in a child’s care is very important to me. I want to ensure each child is supported and feels successful across all environments. 

 

Additional Trainings: Orton Gillingham, Social Thinking, Nancy Kaufman K-SLP Treatment Approach, Executive Functioning by Sarah Ward, Talk Tools feeding therapy a sensory motor approach.

My career in speech-language pathology came about from both a love of language and of working with children. I chose the University of Arizona in Tucson for my graduate degree where I had the privilege of being trained by some of the top specialists in their fields, like autism spectrum disorders, articulation, preschool language, social communication therapy, voice disorders, AAC, cochlear implants, school-age language disorders, and stuttering.

 

For the 13+ years that have followed, I have been able to expand my knowledge and experience of these speech and language difficulties while also gaining expertise in language-literacy struggles, executive functioning and social-pragmatic development and treatment. I have worked in specialized therapeutic schools, outpatient hospital clinics, and as a consultant into NYC public schools. In any setting, my goal is to provide the most efficacious and effective therapy to children while maintaining frequent collaboration with families and other professionals.

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Speech-language pathology is a passion of mine that I continually learn from, but what keeps me motivated and inspired is working with children and families. I know the tireless dedication and struggle it takes to make sure your child is developing on the right, "expected" path. At the same time, I want every child to know that they do not have problems that need to be fixed but rather so many strengths and charms that make them unique and equally as incredible as their peers.

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Additional trainings: Social Thinking, Sarah Ward's Executive Functioning, PROMPT, Hanen: It Takes Two to Talk (Caregiver training), Sequential Oral Sensory approach to feeding, SCERTS, PECS, The Hochman Method for Writing, Orton Gillingham

This Village Developmental Therapies grew from the desire to do intervention differently. I am continuously inspired, motivated and supported by my co-founders to implement the most effective, evidence based, and functional approaches for our children.

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Originally from Canada, I moved to Sydney, Australia in 2007 to obtain my masters in speech and language pathology. In Melbourne, Australia I worked as a pediatric speech pathologist across primary and secondary school settings as well as in private practice. Throughout my career I have found a particular passion for 

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• facilitating parent and teacher education/consultation

• advocating for access to school curriculum through modification

• helping children develop and maintain social skills through evidenced based programs

 

I believe strongly in a collaborative approach to intervention and the necessity to liaise with families, teachers, and other allied health professionals in order to help generalize skills and optimize outcomes. 

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Additional Trainings: Secret Agent Society, Talkabout social communication skills, Social Thinking, PECS, The Hanen Centre, Lidcombe Program, Orton Gillingham.

I grew up in Georgia and hold a B.S. in Occupational Therapy from the Medical College of Georgia as well as a Doctor of Occupational Therapy from Boston University.  Over the past 28 years, I have worked in a variety of pediatric settings in Georgia, New York, South Carolina, and Colorado.

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One of the great honors of my work in Colorado is to be personally mentored by Dr. Lucy Jane Miller and Dr. Sarah Schoen. 

These days, I split my time between clinical practice, content and course creation/instruction, and research. You can read my articles and learn more about my courses at www.carrieschmittotd.com.

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As a wife and mother to four children, one of my favorite things is coming alongside families to learn more about their child’s unique, individual strengths and challenges through family education and research-based intervention. 

 

Additional Trainings:  

• NDT trained in pediatrics by the Neurodevelopmental Treatment Association. 

• Completed STAR Institute Level 1 Mentorship, STAR Proficiency Level 1, and STAR Institute Level 2 Mentorship.

• Served on The STAR Institute Faculty from 2021-2024. 

• Certified Infant Massage Instructor (CIMI®)

• Unyte iLs certified; SSP certified

• Handwriting without Tears Handwriting Specialist

• AOTA Approved Provider of continuing education

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Publications: Interoception: A Multi-sensory Foundation of Participation in Life (Schmitt & Schoen, 2022)

Adolescents' and Adults' Perceptions of Sensory-Based Interventions: A Qualitative Analysis (Miller, Schoen, Schmitt, & Porter, 2023)

Making Sense Podcast: https://starinstitute.podbean.com/