Owner & Speech-Language Pathologist

Renée founded Heyday because she believed there was a better way to do speech therapy, one that starts with your child's strengths instead of their deficits and treats families like partners rather than bystanders.

As a neurodivergent SLP herself (fellow ADHDers, hi), she brings a deeply personal understanding of what it means to move through the world differently. Her specialty is neurodiversity-affirming communication support, with particular expertise in autistic children, Gestalt Language Processing (GLP), and AAC. She doesn't do compliance-based approaches. Authentic communication is always the goal.

Before becoming an SLP, Renée spent four years as the caretaker of Mazama Lodge, a mountainside retreat for skiers and climbers on Mount Hood in Oregon. Her love of the outdoors eventually brought her to Utah, where she completed her Master's degree at the University of Utah. These days you'll find her camping, hiking, knitting, and sharing life with her husband and two cats in Cottonwood Heights.

Renée also offers consultations and trainings on neurodiversity-affirming practices for parents and professionals.

Areas of Interest:

• Autistic communication

• Gestalt Language Processing (GLP)

• Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC)

• Childhood Apraxia of Speech

• Neurodiversity-affirming care

• Parent and professional training

Certifications & Training:

• American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA)

• Certified Gestalt Language Processing provider (Meaningful Speech)

• Extensive training and expertise in Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC)

• Certified Advanced Training for Childhood Apraxia of Speech (DTTC approach)

• Training in Strengths-Based Approaches to Autism

• Training in Sensory Supports

• Certified NeuroAffirm Member

Speech-Language Pathologist

Nicole has been a certified, licensed SLP for almost 20 years, and she still loves it just as much as when she started. She has worked across school districts, private practice, and early intervention settings, bringing a breadth of experience that's hard to match.

She grew up in Utah, spent some years working in Southern California after graduate school, and eventually came back home. Her approach is driven by a genuine belief in meeting every child where they are and helping them grow from there. She's also a lifelong learner who takes continuing education seriously, because this field keeps evolving and so does she.

Nicole has been a certified, licensed SLP for 17 years, and she still loves it just as much as when she started. She has worked across school districts, private practice, and early intervention settings, bringing a breadth of experience that's hard to match.

She grew up in Utah, spent some years working in Southern California after graduate school, and eventually came back home. Her approach is driven by a genuine belief in meeting every child where they are and helping them grow from there. She's also a lifelong learner who takes continuing education seriously, because this field keeps evolving and so does she.

What really shaped Nicole as a clinician, though, is being a mother to her son, who has special needs. "He has taught me more in the last six years than I could have ever imagined," she says, "and has forever changed me as a therapist." That personal experience gives her a rare kind of empathy, the kind you can't learn in a classroom.

When she's not in the clinic, you can find Nicole baking, spending time with her family, and tending to her sourdough starter (which we hear is thriving).

Areas of Interest:

• Early speech and language delays

• Parent coaching

Certifications & Training:

• Hanen It Takes Two to Talk, a parent-implemented early language intervention program for children birth to 5

Speech Language Pathologist

Brynnly believes the best therapy happens when kids are engaged, having fun, and feel truly understood. She loves finding creative ways to build communication skills, from music to filmmaking, and her goal is always to make therapy meaningful, motivating, and built around each child's strengths and interests.

She earned her undergraduate degree in Child Life, where she built a strong foundation in child development, psychology, and play-based intervention, and went on to earn her Master's degree in Speech-Language Pathology from Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions.

During graduate school, Brynnly completed an externship in the public schools working with students who used AAC, then sought out additional training at Heyday Speech, an experience that deeply shaped her clinical approach. That's where she developed a strong interest in neurodiversity-affirming, child-led therapy and saw firsthand how powerful it is when sessions are built around connection, regulation, and a child's natural interests. After graduate school, she continued working in the public schools, supporting students with a wide range of communication needs and advocating for greater access to AAC devices and services at a Title I school.

Outside of her work as an SLP, Brynnly is also a singing teacher with a background in youth theatre, and those experiences show up in her sessions through music, storytelling, movement, and play. She also owned and operated a princess entertainment company for 13 years, volunteering with organizations including Make-A-Wish, Primary Children's Hospital, Millie's Princess Foundation, and Utah Foster Care.

When she's not working, Brynnly enjoys spending time with her husband and daughter, reading, doing needlepoint, working on puzzles, and performing in musicals whenever she gets the chance.

Areas of Interest:

• Child-led, neurodiversity-affirming therapy

• Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC)

• Music, storytelling, and creative approaches to language development

• Building confidence and communication through play

Certifications & Training:

• American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA)

• M.S., Speech-Language Pathology, Rocky Mountain University of Health Professions

• B.S., Child Life

• Externship training in AAC, public school setting

• Additional clinical training at Heyday Speech