Beyond Words Therapy Services

05/18/2025

A big shout out to all my fellow SLPs…you are all doing amazing work whether in the schools, nursing homes, hospitals, EI, or home-health. Your dedication, compassion, and long hours do not go unnoticed.

05/14/2025

04/16/2025

Emily Howell is a Speech and Language Pathologist with a Bachelor of Science in Early Childhood Education and a Masters of Science in Communication Disorders and Sciences, both from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. She holds a Certificate of Clinical Competence from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) and is licensed as a Speech-Language Pathologist in Illinois.

With twelve years of experience, Emily has worked in a variety of settings: adult rehabilitation, public schools, private practice. She recently received her Early Intervention credential. She has experience with brain injury, developmental delay, autism, Down Syndrome, apraxia, language delay, articulation delay, and speech generating devices (SGD).

As a mom of seven who has been homeschooling her children for the last three years, Emily knows the pivotal role parents play in their child's success. She empowers parents to take an active role in their child's therapy to maximize gains. Every child has a voice and Emily strives to help them be heard.

In her down time, Emily enjoys spending time with her kids, family, and friends. She is often hiking, camping, reading a book, crafting, or adventuring with her children. She enjoys cooking, baking, gardening and preserving food. Emily grew up in Franklin County on a farm and still resides locally in Williamson County. She looks forward to giving children and their families the tools they need to communicate.

04/11/2025

Sydney Spiller is a Speech and Language Pathologist with a Bachelor and Masters of Science in Communication Disorders and Sciences from Southern Illinois University Carbondale. She holds a Certificate of Clinical Competency from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) and is licensed as a Speech-Language Pathologist by the States of Illinois. Since obtaining her degree, Sydney has provided services in the public school system, Early Intervention, as well as private services where she has had the opportunity to work with infants and children with developmental delays, feeding difficulties, Down Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, Autism, language delays, stuttering, and articulation and phonological delays.

Sydney wanted to become an SLP because she has a strong desire to help and serve others. Since beginning her career, the passion she has for this field has only grown. She desires to build trusting relationships with clients and families while providing individualized therapy for the best quality of life possible. Sydney wants people to feel confident in communication, while also feeling heard, important, and accepted.

Sydney is a Southern IL native and a mom to three kids. She understands what it is like to be on the parent side of receiving Early Intervention services. Sydney and her husband are also foster/adoptive parents and understand the complex needs of our children who have experienced trauma and/or neglect. This has given her a passion for meeting families where they are and to come alongside to support them in areas to grow and develop with compassion and care. She loves advocating for children and families and incorporates whole-child approaches with trauma-informed care into her sessions. In her free time, she loves reading, enjoying a hot cup of tea, and walks with her family. Sydney is looking forward to providing speech-language services to her community.

04/07/2025

Meet Ann Unger, M.S., CCC-SLP
Ann Unger is a dedicated and experienced Speech-Language Pathologist with a passion for supporting children and families on their communication journey. She holds both a Bachelor of Science and a Master’s Degree in Communication Disorders and Sciences from Southern Illinois University. With over 16 years of experience, Ann has provided speech and language services in Early Intervention (birth to 3), school-based settings (ages 3-21), and private therapy.
Ann holds the following professional credentials:
✔ Certificate of Clinical Competence (CCC-SLP) from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA)
✔ Illinois Professional Educator License (SLP-Teaching)
✔ Illinois State License as a Speech-Language Pathologist
✔ Illinois Department of Human Services Early Intervention Specialist/Evaluation Credential
✔ Natural Language Acquisition (NLA) Trained Clinician
Her therapy approach is child-led, sensory-supported, and naturally occurring, meeting each child at their unique stage of language development. She has extensive experience working with children with developmental delays, Autism, Apraxia of Speech, Deaf/Hard of hearing, language delays, fluency disorders, and articulation/phonological delays.
As both a professional and a parent of a child with a hearing impairment, Ann deeply understands the challenges families may face. She believes that with the right support and a strong community, every child can find their voice.
When Ann is not working, she enjoys spending time with family and friends, being outdoors, and camping. She has three adult children, several grandchildren, and has proudly called Southern Illinois home for the past 33 years.

04/02/2025

Libby McKinzie is a speech-language pathologist with a Bachelor's and Master's degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale. Originally from Northern Illinois, she fell in love with the southern part of the state while studying here in college. Libby currently works in an elementary school, focusing primarily on preschool-aged children. She is deeply passionate about speech-language pathology and feels grateful to be able to help others communicate more effectively. When she is not working, you can find her crafting, kayaking, or out for a run.

03/27/2025

Cassie Cohen is a Speech and Language Pathologist with a Bachelor of Science from Middle Tennessee State University of Murfreesboro, Tennessee and a Masters of Science in Communication Disorders from St. Xavior University of Chicago, Illinois. She holds a Certificate of Clinical Competency from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) and is licensed as a Speech-Language Pathologist by the States of Illinois.

In her seventeen years of experience, Cassie has worked in home-based Early Intervention (birth-3 years-old), the school setting, and nursing homes, along with providing private services. Cassie has had the opportunity to work professionally with infants and children with developmental delays, feeding and swallowing difficulties, oral motor disorders, Down Syndrome, Autism, Childhood Apraxia, language delays, fluency or stuttering disorders, and articulation and phonological delays. She has also had experience in working with adults with neurological deficits, brain injuries, and strokes. Cassie believes it is not primarily about the diagnosis, but about the individual, and meeting the individual’s and their family’s needs through creative and fun therapy, and family support. Cassie strives to build positive and strong relationships with each and every family she works with and believes that every individual has the potential to make meaningful connections through communication.

When Cassie is not working, she enjoys spending time with her family and friends. Cassie lives in Jonesboro, Illinois with her three children. She enjoys the outdoors, including hiking and swimming. Cassie is a native of Union County and looks forward to providing speech and language and feeding services to the people in her community.

03/17/2025

✨Summer break is always fun and full of excitement. However it is also NOT often including recurring help for your child’s feeding support & communication needs!

With this in mind Beyond Words Therapy Services is now registering for Summer Services to continue meeting the needs of your child during the break.

Locations are the following counties: Union, Jackson, Johnson, Massac, and Williamson.

Register soon as there are limited spaces available. We can’t wait to see you and to serve your child this summer season! 🗣️✨