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

Emma's path to speech-language pathology is not exactly a straight line, and honestly, that's what makes her so interesting. She started her career as a professional vocalist and choral conductor in the UK, earning a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from the University of Chichester in 2016. She moved to Utah in 2019 and went back to school, completing her Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology at the University of Utah in 2023.

That background in voice and music isn't incidental. It shapes the way Emma listens, the way she thinks about communication, and the way she connects with children and families. Her clinical interests include autism spectrum disorder, speech sound disorders, early intervention, selective mutism, AAC, co-occurring speech and mental health diagnoses, and voice disorders. She brings a rare breadth to a relatively early career.

Emma completed her externships at a local elementary school, The Children's Center Utah, and Primary Children's Wasatch Behavioral Health. She's a member of both ASHA (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association) and USHA (Utah Speech-Language-Hearing Association).

Outside of work, Emma is happiest hiking with her spaniels, painting watercolors, playing board games, and spending time with friends.

Areas of Interest:

• Autism Spectrum Disorder

• Speech Sound Disorders

• Early Intervention

• Selective Mutism

• Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC)

• Co-occurring speech and mental health diagnoses

• Voice Disorders

Professional Memberships:

• American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA)

• Utah Speech-Language-Hearing Association (USHA)