Local Pediatric Speech Pathologist Is Helping Kids Find Their Voice In Union, Somerset Co.

WESTFIELD, NJ — Westfield native Jacqueline Stasi Shankle started Pediatric Speech-Language Services 15 years ago in a one-room office in her hometown.

Now her business has since grown to two locations in Warren and Flemington with 14 therapists and helping children in Union, Somerset, and Hunterdon counties.

"We provide individual speech and language therapy to children primarily 18 months to 14 years old with a range of difficulties including articulation, apraxia, stuttering, and language delay.," said Shankle to Patch. "Our motto is 'enter a relationship with a caring, well-trained therapist'."

All of Shankle's therapists hold a New Jersey State license and are nationally certified by the American Speech-Language Hearing Association.

Shankle works with children in a one-on-one environment and develops an individualized plan for each child.

"We create goals. Typically we have an evaluation, and our therapists will create goals to work on for six months at a time, and then we reassess," said Shankle.

Shankle is especially passionate about helping children as she was surrounded by education at an early age.

"The speech pathology is a marriage of education and the medical field, and I was blessed to have a parent in each of those fields. So it was really something I was around my whole life," said Shankle. "I was always around education. I was always around medicine. And when I was in college, I just happened to find this field and there you go, almost 25 years later, I'm still doing it."

Shankle then went to college and got her Master's at Seton Hall to become a licensed and certified speech-language pathologist. Eventually, she opened her first office in Westfield before moving to Warren and Flemington. However, she still helps clients in Union, Somerset, and Hunterdon counties.

For Shankle, it's all about the relationship with the families and children that help set her practice apart.

"Our motto is that you are entering into a relationship with a caring, knowledgeable therapist. And that's the thing with speech therapy, it's not something that's fixed. You know? It's not like physical therapy, where you go for 12 weeks and it's fixed," said Shankle. "It's something where a lot of our children do come for over a year or so, and so you're developing a relationship with the children and with the families."

For more information on Pediatric Speech-Language Services, to set up a consultation, or inquire about insurance coverage visit www.pediatricsls.com or call 908-455-1431 or follow facebook.com/pediatricsls or instagram.com/pediatricsls.

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