Hilary helps individuals whose communication and cognition have been impacted negatively by injury or disease of the brain. She specializes in Parkinson's and other neurodegenerative illnesses, in addition to treating Stroke (CVA) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). Hilary is certified in the Lee Silverman Voice Technique (LSVT LOUD) which targets speech intelligibility. She helps to improve word-finding, voice, speech fluency, articulation, attention, concentration, memory, executive function, affect, and mood. Hilary leads a free, monthly Parkinson's support group at The Estuary in Old Saybrook.
Hilary helps school-aged children with expressive, receptive, and social language skills. She enjoys discovering and supporting each child's unique interests, and helping them to find their voice. She also provides parents and carers with communication strategies to connect with their child.
Hilary specializes in helping trans, non-binary, and gender diverse people of all ages communicate with greater authenticity and self confidence. She helps to explore and create desired changes in voice and speech using techniques to modify pitch, resonance, intonation, and prosody, as well as speech patterns and non-verbal communication, including body language. Hilary helps to discover and uncover one's authentic voice--the voice within that most fully and genuinely reflects them. This process is technical as much as it is intuitive, inwardly reflective, and highly individual, ensuring that one is not simply "putting on" or fabricating a voice, but they are accessing and expressing who they truly are.
Actors and other professional voice users have unique needs and challenges with voice and speech. Vocal projection, good vocal hygiene, speech articulation, accent/dialect modification, and the ability to express emotions clearly through the voice and face are skills that come in handy. Having trained and performed as an actor herself for many years, Hilary understands these needs and she enjoys serving a therapeutic role "behind the scenes". Hilary has been a guest instructor at Kimball Studio, an acting school in New York City, where she also trained.
Copyright © 2023 Hilary Speech Therapy - All Rights Reserved.