Today we’d like to introduce you to Shawnia Elder.
Shawnia, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I was primarily raised in Houston and my mother always taught us to love God and people. My parents welcomed many children into their homes throughout my childhood to care for and nurture them despite their family circumstances. I knew I wanted to one day impact children’s lives just as my mother had for so many years.
After graduating from college in 2001, I worked at a mortgage company and was completing home loan documents for three different speech-language pathologists in 2002. They each described their career and how rewarding they found the profession. Their stories were inspiring and after doing some research and applying to only one grad school, I was excited about attending the University of Texas at Dallas for the Communication Disorders program.
During graduate school, I met my first child on the Autism Spectrum disorder and his mother introduced me to their life and I became his lead ABA therapist. It was during those defining moments that I knew my faith and determination had led me to the right career. I have been a bilingual speech and language pathologist for 14 years, having worked in various settings, including schools, a pediatric rehab center, several private practices, and home health agencies. Last August, I began taking entrepreneurship classes with the Houston Area Urban League Small Business University program. It was there that I learned so much about owning a business, pitching, and networking. The resources and education really inspired me and helped me launch Elder Healthcare Consulting. I am currently still learning/growing my business and providing speech and language therapy to private patients as well as doing bilingual speech and language evaluations for various school systems. Every child that I am able to help communicate, socialize and understand the world around them is my greatest joy. Parent education and training is also my passion because it sets the stage for the child’s success in their natural environments.
Great, 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?
This rewarding journey still continues and has not been a cakewalk! Sometimes, just believing that I could do it was the challenge, that I had enough knowledge of what it means to start a business, but I learned that it’s a process–learn, develop and grow. Learning how to operate as a business, think like an owner, manage my time and access the right resources has been a challenge, but definitely worth the effort. The best part of it all is the freedom and flexibility to be available to my family and work my business.
Please tell us about Elder Healthcare Consulting – what should we know?
Elder Healthcare Consulting (EHC) evaluates, diagnoses and provides intervention for monolingual and bilingual children 12 months to 18 years of age. This includes those with communication disorders, developmental delays, and other syndromes/disorders. We specialize in language, articulation, sensory feeding, and behavior deficits. I am known for helping children with Autism Spectrum disorder significantly improve their communication, play, and behavior skills. Children can be serviced in their homes, schools or daycare programs, making treatment convenient for families. What sets EHC apart is using strategies to attend to the various dynamics of a child through language that may ease their anxieties, improve learning deficits and empower them to communicate in an effective manner. I am most proud that Elder Healthcare Consulting provides bilingual therapy with a customized treatment plan, behavior modification and parent training to help special needs children of varying abilities succeed!
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Understanding each pediatric client is critical to our success in therapy, as well as identifying their greatest need to decrease their highest frustration. Each family knows that when they leave the treatment setting, we are a team: the family, child and myself. My perseverance, compassion and education/training has afforded me the blessing in treating hundreds of children and helping each one grow leaps and bounds in their expression, comprehension, and interaction with others in and out of the treatment room.
Contact Info:
- Email: shawniaelder@gmail.com
Image Credit:
Karon Washington
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