The Communication Therapist

Hello there. My name is Michaela Christensen.
I am a speech-language pathologist and communication rights advocate.

The past 5 years I have worked as a SLP in public schools where I have had the honor of working with many heart-forward and brilliant diverse learners, incredible special educators, and dedicated parents and caregivers.

If you couldn’t tell already, I love my work due to the connections and relationships built within the community. It is incredibly rewarding work.

It was the challenge of this work, however, that lead me on an expedition to learn how to take better care of myself and subsequently my students, too, within a system that was not ultimately built for them as diverse learners.

“Let us move our days away from ableism. To be a part of speech and language sciences is to invest in communication access, advocacy, and agency for humanity.” — Phương Liên Palafox

On this journey, I have learned much from the field of cognitive science about nervous system regulation and the mind-body connection. From autistic adult self-advocates, I have learned about neurodiversity-affirming practices. I have studied trauma and its impact on the brain and body.

I decided to become a speech-language pathologist after volunteering as a reading tutor in public schools for a non-profit while I was working in media as an editor and writer. My journalism career afforded me opportunities to travel around the world and report on social justice issues. But as a volunteer, I uncovered a passion for working with students in schools. This also sparked my interest in language and literacy development and the science of reading.

“Writing and reading decrease our sense of isolation. They deepen and widen and expand our sense of life: they feed the soul.” — Anne Lamott

This blog is an extension of my ever-expanding curiosities. You may find posts on topics such as neurodiversity, language and literacy, social-emotional learning, executive functioning, and cultural responsiveness. My hope is that the content is useful, expands awareness and perceptions of diverse learners, and also contributes to the grassroots advocacy efforts igniting change and reforming the ways in which our schools educate our special education as well as our culturally and linguistically diverse students.

When I’m not reading, writing, working as an SLP, I can be found hanging out with my goofy greyhound, Journey, my family, and communing with nature.