Community Highlights: Meet Gabriella Andreasian of Speech Perfect Therapy

Today we’d like to introduce you to Gabriella Andreasian.

Hi Gabriella, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
The road to opening my dream Speech Pathology clinic, Speech Perfect Therapy, began with my undergraduate education at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) as a Sociology major and an Education Studies minor. From the beginning of my studies, I knew I had a passion to work with children, but wasn’t sure what route to take to follow that passion. Eventually, through my own personal digging, I found a nearby speech pathology clinic that was looking for a volunteer in social skills groups. Little did I know, this was the first page of my story. From the moment I stepped into a speech pathology clinic, I knew this career choice was the perfect one for myself. I began volunteering as an assistant, soon after was offered a job to assist in the groups and soon after that decided to pursue a post-baccalaureate degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders at Chapman University to begin my path in becoming a Speech Language Pathologist

This led my to pursue my Masters of Science in Communication Sciences and Disorders. When I graduated in 2018, I knew I wanted to go back to where I started and begin my practice in the work force at the small pediatric clinic that initially led me to this career. After five years of working as Speech Pathologist at a private clinic, I decided it was time for me to follow my dream in opening my own private practice.

In 2023, two months after my daughter was born, I took a leap of faith, signed a lease for a small office in La Canada and am blessed to say this was the best decision I ever made! Now, our clinic has been operating for over three years, serving the pediatric population. We have recently joined forces with an Occupational Therapy company, MAN OT LA which operates in our new location at 1123 Foothill Blvd in La Canada, California.

Since opening my practice, I have grown a team of three Speech Language Pathologists (SLPs) and one Speech Language Pathologist – Assistant (SLPA) all of whom have allowed our clinic to thrive!

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
The road to achieving your dreams never seems to be a smooth road, but I have learned that all the bumps in the road have led me to learn something new about myself as a Speech Language Pathologist and/or as a business owner.

Coming into opening a clinic, I knew close to nothing about running my own business. The support of my family including my mother, father and husband all of whom are business owners allowed me to learn and grow my own business into what it is today.

Another challenge that most working mothers are constantly navigating through is that of the work-mom life balance. Although I love practicing as a Speech Language Pathologist, working directly with my clients, I have had to find ways to continue serving my clients in need while allowing myself time with my family. In 2024, I hired my first part time speech language pathologist which allowed me the ability to build my team.

I truly believe that obstacles and challenges will continue to come and go, whether they are related to finances or your personal life. I try to continually have faith that every hurdle is another learning curve and step towards continued success.

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Speech Perfect Therapy ?
Speech Perfect Therapy was created in 2023, as a boutique private practice serving the pediatric population from infancy to early adulthood. Speech Perfect Therapy provides highly personalized diagnostic and therapeutic speech and language therapy services to children and adolescents, ages 0-18. Speech Perfect Therapy specializes in Orofacial Myofunctional Disorders and offers individualized evaluations and treatment. Specialized treatment includes tongue thrust remediation, pre- and post- operative lingual frenectomy care, habit elimination programs and oral motor based feeding therapy. Our therapists also serve a large pediatric population with needs in the area of motor based speech disorders such as Apraxia of Speech, with therapists specializing in the PROMPT Method. Further, we treat children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder, Auditory Processing Disorders, Social Pragmatic Disorders and so much more!

In addition to individual speech therapy sessions, our clinic offers social pragmatic groups that are designed for children with needs in the area of social communication. Groups are well thought out and children are placed based on developmental and chronological age. Our clinic takes pride in the success of our children who have come in and out of our social groups.

Speech Perfect Therapy truly strives to provide quality care, with a small home-y atmosphere where every child is seen and worked with in a collaborative approach. Many families feel overwhelmed when they begin their therapeutic journey – and for that reason we make sure to support families day in and day out with open communication and strategies to assist in finding methods to support their child.

Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
While opening a private practice was my dream, it came with many risks. I was two months postpartum when I decided to sign a lease and begin operating with more expense than income. I truly believed this was the right choice, the right time and the right location for me to begin my private practice. My clinic began with myself, in a small 400 sq. ft. clinic treating 5-7 clients per week. Through time, patience and hard work I am proud to say we currently serve over 30 clients a week!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.speechperfecttherapy.com
• Instagram: @speechperfect
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/speech-perfect-therapy-la-cañada-flintridge-2?utm_campaign=www_business_share_popup&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=(direct)