Our Therapists

Chrissy Thompson, MA, CCC-SLP

Director of PlayTalkGrow

Chrissy has a Master’s degree in Communication Disorders. Her career has focused on supporting autistic people and children with severe motor speech disorders. Her knowledge over the years has continuously focused on the most up to date research and methodology.  Her current patient work is with minimally and unreliably speaking autistic individuals using the Spelling to Communicate (S2C) method. In this method, she focuses on motor, regulation, and communication so people can express their real thoughts and ideas.

Caroline Baumgartner, CCC-SLP

Therapist

Hi! I’m Caroline! I graduated from Appalachian State University with my Bachelor’s in Communication Sciences and Disorders and my Master’s in Speech Language Pathology from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. After graduate school, I decided to pack up and move to the mountains in 2021.

I have worked with a variety of patients, including early intervention, communication for hard of hearing children, Tongue Thrust, Social Communication Disorders, and Speech Sound Disorders.

My passion for therapy is working with children with articulation disorders, specifically the R sound! I love helping kids see and reach their potential – while having as much fun as possible.

When I’m outside the clinic, I enjoy exploring Asheville with my husband and family. Chances are you will catch us at a brewery or restaurant around town. I love being outside walking at the park, at a cycle class, or painting in my spare time. I love to bring my creative side to therapy as well.

A few things to know about me: I believe in ..

  • Progress over Perfection
  • Neuroaffirming care
  • Play based instruction

Julie Wood, CCC-SLP

Therapist

Hi! I’m Julie Wood. I am excited to be a part of the team at PlayTalk&Grow. I am an ASHA certified speech-language pathologist with a passion for helping children find their voice. I have a love for the mountains and received both my Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Communication Disorders at Appalachian State University in Boone, NC. After moving to the Asheville area in 2002, I spent the first five years of my career working in a local school system. After having my first child, I made a change to the private setting. I love the private setting as it provides a better opportunity to build relationships with not only my clients, but their families.

I have experience working with children in early intervention and school-age with speech-sound disorders, receptive-expressive language delays and disorders, autism, and stuttering/fluency disorders. The field of speech-language pathology is dynamic and I enjoy keeping up with the research to provide evidence based therapy practices that are motivational and functional.

When I’m not at the office, I enjoy spending time with my husband and two daughters, walking with our dog, cooking/baking, and camping. 

Carole Soucaze, CCC-SLP

Therapist

I am fueled by the core belief that every voice deserves to be heard. I have worked with children ranging in age from minutes-old to high schoolers in almost every setting where speech and language services can be provided (schools, clinics, hospitals, and homes). I earned my M.S. in Speech-Language Pathology (SLP) from Vanderbilt University and my B.S. in SLP from Rutgers University. The critical nature of understanding the whole child – mind, body and spirit motivated me to continue my education and I completed an Ed.S. in Human Development from Vanderbilt. However, I am shown time and time again that the finest, most impactful education I can get comes from the children and families I work with, especially my own two daughters.

I am deeply passionate about providing quality services for all and strive to improve outcomes through research, innovation, and technology. In the 1980s I became the Founder and Director of High Hopes Development Center. High Hopes became middle Tennessee’s first inclusive preschool and therapy clinic. The center remains a one-of kind non-profit service provider today, having served over 1,000 families in 2022 alone.

Since leaving High Hopes, I took a special interest in understanding the pervasive effects of early complex trauma on children and families and how to minimize that impact. I have presented at multiple state and national conferences on this topic. My other focus area has been working with children who have auditory processing deficits and the language-based learning differences that often accompany them. I am a long-time provider of Fast ForWord, a uniquely individualized program tor children with language disorders. And 12 years ago, I became Board Certified in Neurofeedback. My therapy practices are rooted in science, mixed with play, hope, and an unyielding belief that where there’s a will, there is a way.

Work aside, I can be found (usually outdoors) spending time with family, consuming the latest brain research, swimming, perfecting my love for practical jokes, and caring for animal friends, because their voices deserve to be heard too.

Erica Berkeley, CCC-SLP

Therapist

Becoming a speech therapist was a second career for me, after a long one in writing and editing. I figure the way they overlap is in my love for language, oral or written. After receiving my BA (a long time ago!) from Bates College in Maine, I (much later) earned my master’s degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders from Western Carolina University.

I became interested in speech therapy, especially for very young children, when my son received speech therapy as a toddler for a speech delay. After observing the creative ways his speech therapist worked with him, and all the progress he made, I decided I wanted to help other children like him. I have provided early-intervention speech services in daycares, preschools, and families’ homes to toddlers and preschoolers. I have also provided speech services in a school setting for students in kindergarten through 8th grade, addressing a wide range of needs, from articulation disorders to severe autism and intellectual disabilities.

When not working as a speech therapist, I still work occasionally as an editor and proofreader. And when not doing that, I am sometimes in Pisgah or DuPont Forests hiking trails and searching for swimming holes with my family, sometimes in my vegetable garden, and more often driving my son around to his various basketball exploits.

Anna Garvey, CFY-SLP

Therapist

Hi, I’m Anna! I attended Appalachian State University for my Bachelor’s degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders with a minor in ASL. My boyfriend, our animals, and I then moved to Waynesville, NC, to get my master’s degree at Western Carolina University. During my time at these universities, I gained valuable experience treating clients at private clinics, elementary schools, daycares, and Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNF).

Ever since I was asked to volunteer in my elementary school’s special education classroom as a 10-year-old, I have had a passion for working with diverse populations. I continued following this passion by interning in my high school’s special education classroom, and was absolutely mesmerized when I saw students communicating with AAC devices. Ever since witnessing the impact AAC systems had on those students’ lives, I have continued working to be a SLP who can advocate for the communication and autonomy of all individuals. More specifically, I have spent the majority of my clinical hours working with clients who use AAC devices as well as providing educational training to parents. I am so excited to bring these passions into my work with the clients at Play, Talk, and Grow by presuming competence, advocating for their strengths, and honoring autonomous communication.

Although AAC is my area of special interest in speech pathology, I enjoy treating all types of speech and language disorders in children. I have attended and completed training on LAMP (Language Acquisition through Motor Plan), MBSS (Modified Barium Swallow Study student training), ACES (Adverse Childhood Experiences), and have received recognition for my work with acquired fluency disorders. I am currently attending a training for Gestalt Language Processing (GLP), and cannot wait to continue learning more as new opportunities present themselves!

When I am not practicing speech therapy, I spend my time puzzling, fostering animals from our local shelters, and trying new foods. I have fostered up to 20 cats and 15 dogs at this point, and am lucky to have a boyfriend that says yes whenever I ask to bring a new one home!

Lauren Abernethy, CCC-SLP

Therapist

Hi! I’m Lauren. I graduated from the University of Florida with my Bachelor’s degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders and my Master’s degree in Speech Language Pathology. I began working as a speech-language pathologist in 2013 and worked in public schools, providing group-based therapy to students ages three through eighteen. In 2017, I began working for a private practice and provided services in private schools, daycares, PPECs and clinics. I love working in the private setting, as it allows me to have one-on-one time with my patients and gives me the chance to work with parents and caregivers more directly, which all leads to more progress! I have worked with children of all ages in treating speech sound disorders, fluency disorders, feeding disorders, literacy disorders, social communication disorders, receptive-expressive language delays, as well as introducing and utilizing AAC. While I enjoy treating and growing my skill set in all areas of speech-language development, I particularly enjoy treating literacy and articulation disorders.

In 2025, my family moved to Asheville and we have been enjoying exploring our new city’s restaurants, breweries, hiking trails, and concert venues.

Cassandra Russo, CCC-SLP

Therapist

Biography coming soon….

Derek Taylor, CCC-SLP

Therapist

I grew up as a child who stuttered. I know first hand the struggles that can accompany communication disorders. The inability to speak freely is a burden that no one should have to live with. I received speech therapy in public schools until I was a teen. I was fortunate enough to meet a professor at a university who stuttered and he taught the stuttering class in the communication sciences and disorders program. This was a pivotal point in my life. I thought, how can a person who’s stutters teacher others how to control their stuttering? Come to find out, personal experience may be the best indicator of successful treatment. I have dedicated my career to helping others who stutter. I have worked with children, adolescents, and adults who stutter since 2011. I attended the Western Carolina University where I studied under the the same professor that help me with my stuttering as a teen. I conducted stuttering research in graduate school and presented at state and national conferences. I know that stuttering is unique to individuals. I have learned how to tailor stuttering treatment for people that focus on strengths to meet needs. Some children may grow out of their stuttering, but why leave that to chance? With early treatment children can learn how to modify their speech and reduce stuttering. Many children can learn strategies and change behaviors that eliminate stuttering. Others can learn how to control their stuttering. For older children, adolescents and adults who continue to stutter, therapy can give them the tools to be able to communicate effectively. By addressing the affective, behavioral and cognitives aspects of stuttering one may learn how to speak freely. Fluency shaping, stuttering modification and cognitive behavioral therapies are tools I use to individualize stuttering therapy.

Presenter, North Carolina Speech, Language and Hearing Association Conference (2013)

Van Riperian Stuttering Modification with an Adolescent

Presenter, American Speech-Language-Hearing Association Annual Conference (2012)

Individualized Stuttering Therapy with a School-Age Child

Presenter, Western Carolina University Graduate Research Symposium (2012)

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