Today we’d like to introduce you to Kristin Al-Atrash.
Hi Kristin, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I loved working with children as a speech pathologist in both public and private schools for several years before having my own kids. When I stepped away to stay home and raise my family, I enjoyed using my expertise to help their speech and language skills develop. Knowing the importance of joint attention—when a caregiver and child focus on something together—meant prioritizing books and activities that were genuinely enjoyable for both my kids and me. Listening to music, playing, reading, going on outings, and even watching shows together gave us so much to talk about. We were having fun while making linguistic connections between our favorite stories, characters, games, toys, and places, and my children’s vocabulary, grammar, reading, and social skills were flourishing.
As my children got older, the time came to return to working in schools part-time. There were some challenging students on my new caseload who had not been making much progress in speech therapy. Not only were they not progressing, but they also weren’t very interested in coming to therapy. I enjoyed the challenge of finding activities that would spark their interest and make them want to pay attention and use their expressive language. Once again, it became clear that when children are having fun, they engage more fully. This engagement resulted in the students wanting to talk about the fun they were having and being willing to modify their communication (use new vocabulary, better articulation, social skills, etc.) to make requests and express themselves during speech activities. It was thrilling for me to watch these children begin to love coming to speech therapy and improve their communication!
That experience planted the seed for a private practice built around fun, creativity, and connection, but I had no idea where to start. One day while listening to a favorite podcast, they began interviewing a fellow speech pathologist teaching how to start a private practice. I remember sitting in my car with a notepad writing down everything she said and thinking: I can do this! In 2024, that idea became reality with the launch of Speaking of Fun!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Venturing into the business world was all new to me. Setting everything up properly and learning how to market a new practice felt overwhelming at times. During those moments, I would think of the mantra “Just keep swimming” from <i>Finding Nemo </i>. Progress came from working through a checklist, focusing on one step at a time, and resisting the urge to overthink or strive for perfection. Talking to people about the business, even before having clients, helped build my confidence and it became clear that this work was something special.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Speaking of Fun, PLLC?
Located in Pearland, Texas, Speaking of Fun, PLLC provides individual speech therapy for articulation, phonological/sound disorders, language disorders/delays, and stuttering, as well as group language enrichment, which centers around stories and story retell. In language enrichment groups, children explore the same story over multiple sessions, using pretend play to act out scenes, stay engaged, and practice new language skills, while strengthening comprehension. Stories are carefully chosen to be highly interesting to each age group, and by the end of each unit, children are excited to go home and share the stories with their family using the new vocabulary and language concepts they have learned. Periodically, I give each child a copy of the book to take home and keep. Parents tell me how excited their children are to share the story using their expanded language skills, and it gives them an opportunity to see what their children have been doing in the group while helping them bring the new skills into their home environment.
I love the creative freedom I have by owning my own business. Coming up with new themes that tie books, music, and play together to bring language to life and encourage listening, comprehension, and expressive communication skills is exciting to me.! Seeing children having fun while improving their speech and language is incredibly rewarding work.
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
It was a risk for me to invest time and money setting up a new business all on my own, but I believed in myself and my ideas. The greater risk would have been not trying something so exciting and fulfilling. It took vulnerability to put myself out there and share something that was my creation, to receive feedback, and to pivot or recreate when something wasn’t working. But taking the leap opened the door to doing valuable work that changes lives with joy, creativity, and connection.
Contact Info:
- Website: speakingoffun.com
- Email: [email protected]
