Hearing and Speech of WNY

05/06/2026

Sandy Eichner and Cindy Stando were so excited to attend the Buffalo State College SLP Career Night. It was a night well spent talking with the grad students and staff!

04/14/2026

Meet Karen Hazel, SLP and our April spotlight therapist. Karen has been a Speech-Language Pathologist for 24 years and with HSWNY since 2011.

Karen shared with us “I enjoy providing speech and language therapy through the CPSE program at Hearing and Speech of WNY because it has given me the opportunity to work with a wide range of speech and language needs while connecting with families and educators in the community. I’m also grateful for the flexibility to create my own schedule, which allowed me to be home while I raised my 2 daughters.

In my free time, I enjoy spending time with my husband and two daughters, going on vacations, and being involved in my church community.”

Thank you for all you do Karen!

03/25/2026

03/18/2026

Meet Kim Alajko, SLP & our March therapist spotlight! Kim has been a speech therapist since 2019 and has been with H&S since 2022. Kim has worked with many different populations but says she has found a true love and passion for working with the early intervention and preschool population.

Kim is a mom of two- Joey is 2.5 and Anna is 7 months. Kim shared with us,
“Joey has a rare chromosome deletion on his 6q chromosome resulting in significant global delays. Being a mom of a child with special needs as well as a typically developing child has given me unique insight and perspective as a speech therapist. I love using my experiences with both my kiddos to help and support my clients and their families. I cherish the close relationships that I get to build with my clients and their families. I am able to celebrate the milestones big or small with them and that has been such a privilege. They truly become like family.”

Recently, Kim has found passion working on getting her clients augmentative and alternative devices when appropriate. “I love the process of teaching and implementing these devices and watching the kiddos grow in both receptive and expressive language.” Kim says, “Being a speech therapist at H&S is such a rewarding career. You get paid to be creative and play with wonderful children and make your own schedule.”

Outside of work, Kim loves to get involved with her church and to spend quality time with her children, husband, family and friends. We are so lucky to have you as partnof H&S of WNY Kim!

02/17/2026

Meet February therapist Spotlight... Emily Caban, SLP. Emily has been with H&S since December 2022, doing EI and CPSE evaluations. She began working as a therapist in 2004 in an integrated preschool classroom, where she worked for five years, then continued to work with EI and preschool-aged children in the community. "I enjoy working with families and helping them better understand their child’s speech and language needs. Building relationships and trust with families is so important to me," says Emily. "I love doing evaluations with H&S. The team members I work with are kind and supportive, and I’ve learned so much from the other disciplines." When she isn't working, Emily enjoys hiking and camping with her two dogs, Carly and Oscar, baking cookies, traveling with her husband, watching Buffalo team sports, and spending time with her family. You have been an incredible asset to the H&S evaluation program Emily and we are so glad you are here!

02/06/2026

Meet February Therapist SPOTLIGHT... Kara DeLotto, SLP! Kara has been been a licensed Speech-Language Pathologist since 2009 and began providing speech evaluations with the H&S of WNY team 3 years ago. "It has been a wonderful experience working with such a supportive and collaborative team! I love completing speech evaluations in the WNY community as it provides me with the opportunity to experience a diverse range of speech and language needs as well as the opportunity to meet so many amazing families within our community!" When she is not providing speech evaluations, Kara can be found spending time with her husband and their 4 very active kids! Kara - we are so glad that you joined out team 3 years ago and for wonderful and kindness you provide our families during their evaluations!

01/14/2026

Meet our January therapist Spotlight... Sarah Howard, PT! Sarah graduated from PT school in 2017 and began working in a skilled nursing facility and eventually started managing their outpatient rehab department. She stepped away to raise her growing family starting 2019 and returned to the workforce with a strong passion for working with children. Sarah started with HSWNY in 2024 and we are so glad she hasn't looked back! "I love being a part of a women-owned business full of women providers who are passionate about helping children reach their fullest potential", says Sarah. "In my spare time I enjoy outings with my kids, spending time in nature, cooking new recipes, and reading." We are so very lucky to have Sarah and her expertise and passion here at H&S of WNY! Thanks for all you do Sarah!

12/04/2025

Meet our therapist Spotlight for December...Isabel Buonopane, SLP! Isabel has been a pediatric speech therapist with H&S for two years and we are so happy to have her! Isabel is originally from Atlanta and moved to Buffalo a couple years ago. "I have been working as a speech language pathologist for four years (before that I worked as a teacher). I absolutely love being a speech therapist!", say Isabel. "It’s such a rewarding job. I love working with kids with a variety of complex speech and language needs. I am so grateful to be a part of the team at Hearing and Speech of WNY!" Isabel says she particularly enjoys providing EI and CPSE services because it gives her the opportunity to work closely with young children, their families, and their interdisciplinary teams. "It’s amazing to see the positive impact that early intervention and preschool services can have for each child." In her spare time, Isabel likes traveling, swimming, and spending time with friends and family. Thanks for being part of our team Isabel!

10/22/2025

We are so happy to say that today is the day that Leanne returned to work, the cookies reflect how we are all feeling today 😀

10/06/2025

Say hello to our October Therapist Spotlight - Ashley Pupovac, SLP! Ashley has been a licensed Speech-Language Pathologist with H&S of WNY for 4 years, starting off in 2020 as a clinical fellow and says, "I am so happy to be a part of the H&S team!" She loves providing speech and language therapy to EI and Preschool kiddos with a variety of speech and language needs, and disorders including autism. "Being a Speech-Language Pathologist is one of the best and most rewarding jobs in the world!", says Ashley. "I love helping kids find their voice and improve their communication skills to have better interactions with peers and adults. I love the connections I make with other teachers, professionals, and families." Ashley believes every kiddo deserves their voice to be heard and the opportunity to be effective communicators, and SLP’s are here to make that happen! In my spare time, I love to work out at the gym and spend time with my family." We are so happy to have you as a part of our team Ashley!

08/13/2025

Meet our next Spotlight therapist... Kristine Buscaglia, SEIT! Kristine has been with H&S since 2022 and has been been working with families of young children in their homes since 2004, first as a Family Educator for Early Head Start on Long Island, then finding the Early Intervention and CPSE world a few years later after moving to WNY. Kristine says, "I love making connections with new people of all ages and I love working with the community of professionals in this field to support families." Kristine provides Early Intervention and Preschool evaluations for H&S and has recently taken on SEIT therapy as well. Outside of work, she loves reading, yoga, listening to podcasts, and most of all - spending time with her family, garden, and animals on our farm. We are so happy you came to H&S Kristine! Thanks for all the great work you do for families.

08/11/2025

Happy happy birthday to the “baby” of our office… Sarah Stando!! As the infamous Betty White said: “My mother always used to say, 'The older you get, the better you get, unless you're a banana'." Cheers to getting better and better Sarah! 🎉 🎂