Across our clinics in San Diego, SmallTalk Pediatric Therapy team members from a variety of backgrounds bring their languages, cultures, and personal experiences into the work they do every day. From therapists supporting children in their home language to administrative staff helping families navigate scheduling, paperwork, and questions with greater ease, bilingual communication helps create a more welcoming and inclusive experience for everyone who walks through our doors.
Our bilingual team members each use their language skills in different ways depending on their role at SmallTalk, but they all share a common goal: helping families feel seen, supported, and connected. Below, several members of our team share their personal backgrounds, the languages they speak, and how bilingualism shapes the work they do at SmallTalk every day.
Fab, Speech-Language Pathologist
My therapy approach recognizes caregivers as key to achieving goals and supporting the carryover of skills across environments. I can hold sessions in both English and Spanish and use the same strategies in both languages. By collaborating with the parents I embed the strategies based on family values, schedule, and culture. I prioritize each family’s unique needs by collaboratively identifying meaningful, functional goals that fit into daily routines. Beyond helping children reach their goals, I aim to ensure parents feel confident in their ability to support their child’s language development through on parent involvement and coaching as the language strategies benefit children regardless of the primarily language spoken.
Alexis R., Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant
My therapy style focuses on creating a supportive, engaging environment where children feel motivated and confident to learn while partnering closely with parents through regular feedback and functional strategies to use at home. I also support any primary languages when applicable, recognizing that bilingual development can strengthen a child’s overall speech and communication skills.
Nathalie-Rose, Speech-Language Pathologist
Hi, my name is Nathalie-Rose, and I am a bilingual Speech-Language Pathologist! I speak both English and French. I am committed to providing child-centered, play-based, and neurodiversity-affirming therapy, and I enjoy building connections with my clients and their families. When working with children who speak French or have French-speaking family members, I incorporate this into my sessions by using French nursery rhyme songs, teaching vocabulary in both languages, and helping to facilitate communication. This approach helps eliminate language barriers during parent education, activity explanations, and overall treatment.
Danielle Pham, Occupational Therapist
I am a first-generation Vietnamese-American and grew up immersed in traditional Vietnamese culture. Growing up was a journey to understand my identity as a part of both cultures. I bring this background deeply into both my personal relationships and my clinical practice as an occupational therapist. I aim to provide client-centered, play-based, holistic therapy. My background has helped me to understand that each child is as much an individual as they are a part of their family, cultures, and friendships that impact how they react to their environment. Being bilingual has helped me support a child’s primary language and to better communicate with parents or older caregivers to promote continuation of care into the home setting.
Jennifer K., HR
I grew up in Sweden, so Swedish is my first language and what I still use with my family. I began learning English early in school, as it’s a core part of the Swedish education system, and became fully fluent after moving to the U.S. at 20 as an au pair, where I was immersed in an English-speaking home. Since then, I’ve continued to strengthen my English through earning my bachelor’s degree in San Diego and using it daily in both professional and personal settings. At SmallTalk, I support our team through my role in Human Resources, and I appreciate the opportunity to connect with Swedish-speaking families when it arises, it’s always meaningful to be able to communicate in a shared native language.