About Kidspeak

Founded in 2001 by two pediatric speech-language pathologists, Kidspeak Ltd. is dedicated to improving the lives of our clients and their families by providing quality speech, language, feeding and occupational therapy services. Our focus is family centered in–home speech and occupational therapy designed to facilitate greater client achievement.

Kidspeak therapists specialize in providing services to children ranging in age from birth into adulthood. We provide services in the home environment as well as daycare centers, in-home daycares and private schools throughout the 10 county Twin Cities Metro area and online via teletherapy.

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Trista and Our Team

Trista Kraus, M.S. CCC-SLP

Owner and Speech-Language Pathologist

Trista has worked as a Speech-Language Pathologist with Kidspeak since 2012. She is a member of the American Speech Language Hearing Association and licensed in the state of Minnesota’s Department of Health and Department of Education. She received her undergraduate degree in Speech-Language-Hearing Science at the University of Minnesota and her graduate degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders at the University of North Dakota. Trista’s passions include apraxia of speech and augmentative and alternative communication with both children and adults. Trista also enjoys playing roller derby, spending time with her family, and all things Halloween. She is excited to build relationships with clients and families as she takes on her new role as the owner of Kidspeak!

Andrea Binder, MS, OTR/L

Andrea received her Master’s degree in Occupational Therapy at Columbia University in New York City. Andrea moved from New York City to Minneapolis in 2015 to live closer to family. She has over 18 years of experience working with children in a variety of settings, including therapeutic gyms, schools and clients’ homes. One of her favorite parts of her job is working with her clients’ families to problem solve any issues that are occurring in her clients’ home or school. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with her husband and 2 kids and going on walks outside with her family and friends.

Kathy Brunick, OTR/L

Kathy received her Master’s degree in Occupational Therapy from the University of Minnesota. She started her career in an outpatient clinic in St. Paul before taking time off to raise her own kids. Kathy joined Kidspeak in 2018 when she realized she missed playing with kids and connecting with families. She loves helping kids improve their independence, confidence and success in their everyday lives. Kathy is certified or has attended continuing education in the following: SOS (Sequential Oral Sensory) Feeding Approach, Astronaut Training, The Alert Program for Self-Regulation, DIR/Floortime Approach, Wilbarger Deep Pressure and Proprioceptive Technique, Developing and Implementing Sensory Diets, Core Connections, Sensorimotor Strategies to Support the Development of Self-Regulation, and From Eyesight to Insight. When she is not working, Kathy enjoys spending time at their family cabin, going on long walks or bike rides, and traveling.

Jess Kim, OTR/L

Jess grew up in Becker, MN and has been living in Plymouth since 2014. She received her master’s degree in Occupational therapy from St. Catherine University in St. Paul. Jess has been working with the pediatric population in a clinical setting for 11 years. She loves developing therapeutic relationships with her clients and families. Jess comes with knowledge in the areas of sensory integration, programs around self-regulation, development, DIR/Floortime approach, astronaut training, Wilbarger protocol and more! She loves getting to play and connect with her clients and help them be successful at home and school. In her spare time, you will find her at her kids sporting events, school events, volunteering in their classrooms, jogging with her dog Chips, outside at parks and on trails or in the dance studio with the ladies’ team at SDS!

Jill Dimitri, M.S. CCC-SLP

Jill grew up in central Illinois and received her B.A. and M.S. from the University of Wisconsin- Stevens Point. She was a practicing SLP in Connecticut, Michigan, and Illinois before moving to Minnesota in 2015. She has worked with children and families both in their home and in clinic settings for over 20 years, with a Birth to 3/Early Intervention specialty prior to moving to MN. Since Moving to MN, Jill has seen pediatric clients age 2-10 with Kidspeak since 2016. Jill also works part-time as an SLP with MnCAN, facilitating conversation groups for adults with Aphasia. In her spare time, Jill likes to spend time with her husband doing outdoor activities or visiting their 2 college aged kids.

Jordan Brownell, M.S. CCC-SLP

Jordan received her Master of Science degree in Speech Language Pathology from the University of North Dakota. She has experience in both medical and clinical settings with ages across the lifespan. Jordan’s interests include feeding, early language, and literacy. When not at work, she enjoys spending her time reading and going on adventures with her husband and dog.

Tiana Burda, OTR/L

Tiana completed her undergraduate and master’s in Occupational Therapy degree at Saint Louis University in St. Louis, MO. Following school, she returned to the Twin Cities and started working as an OT. She has practiced for 4 years in a variety of settings including outpatient pediatrics, schools, in-home services, as well as inpatient acute care. Tiana enjoys all aspects of OT including feeding, ADL independence, sensory processing, and fine motor skills. She has certifications in Pediatric Pelvic Floor Dysfunction, Quickshifts listening program, Sequential Oral Sensory (SOS) approach for feeding, Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP), Kinesiology Taping for Pediatrics, and Interactive Metronome. In her free time, she enjoys playing pickleball, coaching youth basketball, paddleboarding, and reading.

Sarah Williams, M.S. CCC-SLP

Hi! My name is Sarah Williams and I have been working as a pediatric speech therapist in the outpatient and private care setting for more than 15 years. I started my career in the public schools and am grateful for that experience as well. I am trained in PROMPT and have a special interest in treating children with motor-based speech disorders including apraxia and fluency disorders. I have four busy and active children of my own that keep me on my toes. As a family, we enjoy traveling, hiking, running, a variety of team sports, dance and paddle boarding.

Lynn Rymanowski, CCC-SLP

Elina Kotlyar, M.A CCC-SLP

Elina has been working with children and families for the past 25 years. She has received her BS and MS in Speech Language Pathology at Emerson College in Boston, and has lived and worked in Boston, Germany, IL and MN.

Elina was born and raised in Kyiv, Ukraine and loves to travel. She specializes in working with neurodivergent children and youth, and has worked with immigrant families for most of her career. Elina also works as the Director of Education at In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre and believes that the arts is the best way to learn!

Erica Hillard, M.S. CCC-SLP

Hi! I’m Erica, and I’m a speech therapist! I’ve worked with children for over a decade. The thing I like most about my job is helping kids learn through play. When I’m not at work, I’m at home with my fiancé and two tuxedo cats. Fun fact: I play piano by ear!

Karine Blazovich, M.S. CCC-SLP

Karine received her undergraduate degree in Communication Disorders from Minnesota State University-Mankato and Master of Science degree in Speech Pathology from University of Wisconsin-River Falls. She has an 18-year career in pediatrics treating in both private practice and medical outpatient settings. Areas of specialty include phonological and language disorders as well as dysphagia.

Angie Lange, M.S. CCC-SLP

After completing her graduate degree, Angie and her husband lived in China and taught ESL. Angie has had training in oral-motor/feeding disorders. She has completed clinical internships in the hospital and school setting. When not at work, Angie enjoys spending time outdoors with her husband and two sons.

Leah Lewis, M.A. CCC-SLP

Leah graduated with her B.S. in Communication Disorders from the University of Minnesota, Duluth and a M.S. in Speech-Language Pathology at St. Ambrose University, Iowa. In her clinical experience she primarily works with children aged 2-10 years old with a variety of diagnosis including autism, down syndrome and genetic disorders as well as articulation and language disorders. During her free time, she enjoys spending time with her husband and two sons, running, hiking, cooking and traveling up to the North Shore.

Maya Saupe, M.S. CCC-SLP

Maya was born and raised in the Cleveland area and received her M.S. in Speech-Language Pathology from Boston University. She has worked with children in preschool, home-based, and outpatient settings. This is her third year working as a speech therapist. Her clinical interests include neurodiversity-affirming therapy approaches, bilingual Spanish-English language development, and early literacy skills. A fun fact about Maya is that she has two passports – one US and one German. In her free time, Maya enjoys reading, working on jigsaw puzzles, and taking backpacking trips along the North Shore.

Marlene Schoenberg, Ed. M CCC-SLP

Marlene Cohen- Schoenberg has worked with both children and adults over her career. She has extensive experience in working with clients who speak several languages. She has written two books on this topic and is the founder of Ethnic Communication Arts. She has frequently presented poster sessions at the Minnesota Speech and Hearing Association and nationally at the American Speech Language Hearing Association Conventions.

We had our son in speech thru the city of Minneapolis for about 2 years, and didn’t see much progress. We then decided to go the private speech route. After just a couple months, our son’s speech excelled after working with Kidspeak! It worked out great that the therapist could travel to his preschool and practice speech there, so he could do it in a school setting. There were also times that she came to our home and that was great too. I highly recommend Amy and her experienced staff.

Shayla B.

Minneapolis

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