It’s hard to believe, but Lotus Speech & Wellness, LLC has now been offering speech therapy services in Maine for a full year! In honor of this milestone, I thought I’d share some reflections about the first year of our Maine practice.
What Makes Our Practice Unique
Experience and Expertise
This first factor that makes our practice unique is experience and expertise. I earned my Master’s degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders in 2011 from the MGH Institute of Health Professions, and have been practicing as a speech-language pathologist (SLP) ever since. I have experience working in both inpatient and outpatient neurorehabilitation settings, and well as experience working in the public schools with children in grades K-12. In addition, I am a Certified Brain Injury Specialist, which signifies additional knowledge and experience working with people with brain injuries. I love learning about topics related to speech language pathology and the brain, whether it’s reading books, attending conferences and webinars, or connecting with fellow SLPs and other specialists.
Teletherapy & Accessibility
Lotus Speech & Wellness primarily offers speech-language pathology (SLP) services online via teletherapy. We use a HIPAA-compliant platform that is secure and easy to use. My clients have told me that they really appreciate the convenience of teletherapy: they can access our session right from their home, without having to deal with driving, traffic, and the extra travel time and costs. As their SLP, I find it beneficial that my clients are in their own homes while we are meeting, as it helps keep our therapy functional and personalized. It also makes it easy for their family to join sessions, either by sitting next to them at the computer, or signing in from wherever they live. Over the past year, I’ve supported people across the entire state of Maine!
Read our earlier blog posts to learn about what teletherapy is like and how teletherapy can make quality speech therapy practice more accessible.
Yoga, Mindfulness, & Wellness
Our yoga and mindfulness offerings, as well as cognitive wellness and executive function services, allow us to provide more comprehensive, holistic services. In the summer of 2020, shortly after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, I enrolled in a 200-hour yoga teacher training to become a certified yoga instructor. Through my own yoga practice, I had experienced first-hand the benefits of a regular yoga practice on my own body and mind, and I wanted to be able to share this with my SLP clients. I also participated in trainings with LoveYourBrain to learn how to best teach yoga and meditation to people with brain injuries, and have since become one of their volunteer Clinical Connectors.
I’d encourage you to check out the Yoga page on our website to explore our current offerings. We have a growing collection of on-demand yoga practices that you can rent individually or invest in a monthly subscription for unlimited access. I offer private, 1:1 online yoga sessions for those who’d like practices that are customized to them.
This fall (starting next Friday September 9 at 12pm EDT) I will be leading a monthly online group called “Aphasia and Wellness” through the National Aphasia Association. This will be a wonderful opportunity for people with aphasia, their caregivers, and providers to come together and converse about what we do to practice wellness and take care of ourselves. I plan to incorporate a short chair yoga and/or mindfulness practice into each session. If you or someone you know is interested in joining, you can sign up by filling out this form.
Benefits Of A Small Practice
There are a number of options for accessing speech therapy services throughout the state of Maine. However, as a small practice, we are able to offer a high quality of service and attention. As owner and SLP, you will be working directly with me throughout your experience: I am the one who answers the phone or responds to your email when you reach out to learn about our practice. I offer a free 15-minute phone or virtual consultation to help you learn about our services and answer any questions you might have before we even get started. I help you navigate your health insurance benefits so there are no surprise out-of-pocket costs. There is currently no waitlist for our services, so we are able to start working together soon after you first reach out.
I am so proud to be a small, women-owned business in Maine, and am so grateful to all of you who have helped my practice grow over this past year! I am especially grateful to Lotus Speech & Wellness co-owner Caitlin Chambers, who manages our Massachusetts practice!
Online Resources
Another aspect that makes our practice unique is our online and social media presence. If you’re reading this post, you’ve probably already checked out our blog, which we regularly update with posts on all sorts of topics about speech-language pathology, communication disorders, yoga and mindfulness, and wellness. We are also active on social media, especially Instagram and Facebook. If you haven’t already, please follow us there, as we post updates a few times a week.
Credentials and Affiliations
- Member of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA)
- Licensed in the state of Maine
- Certified Brain Injury Specialist with the Brain Injury Association of America
- Affiliate of the National Aphasia Association
- Registered Yoga Teacher with the Yoga Alliance
- Trained SPEAK OUT! provider with the Parkinson Voice Project
- Clinical Connector for LoveYourBrain
Diagnoses Served:
Over the past year, I have served people from Maine with a variety of diagnoses including:
- Stroke
- Traumatic Brain Injury
- Concussion
- Aphasia
- Primary Progressive Aphasia
- Parkinson’s Disease
- Multiple Sclerosis
- Frontotemporal Dementia
- Cerebellar Ataxia
- Lyme Disease
- ADHD
- Progressive Supranuclear Palsy
I also provide SLP services to school-age children with speech, language, and social communication needs.
Client Testimonials From The First Year
“You have given me the tools and the confidence. I would recommend this to anyone. I think you do wonderful. You educated me in a way I understood, so I learned more, and that intrigued me. No matter what age you are, you obviously can still learn and get more out of it.”
“Katherine was very encouraging and taught me new methods of using old skills, and she was very encouraging when I was going through difficult and discouraging times!”
Get In Touch
We are currently accepting new clients for our Maine practice, and offer a free 15-minute consultation to learn more about our practice and offerings. You can fill out this CONTACT FORM, or reach me directly by email or phone:
Katherine Noyes, MS, CCC-SLP, CBIS, RYT-200
Email: Katherine@LotusSLP.com
Phone: (207) 405-3496