Little Ones Speech & Language

Written by Betsy O’Leary | Photos by Johnny Chauvin

Communication is the Essence of Human Life

What would life be like without the ability to communicate your needs to others?

Brie Trapani realizes the value of communication. She owns Little Ones, a pediatric speech therapy clinic in Hammond at 2007 Anita Blvd. The new almost 3000-square-foot clinic has been intricately designed for children. From the calming decor to the hands-on play areas, Little Ones specializes in evaluating and treating pediatric speech and language disorders for children as young as 15 months through the high school years.

What Little Ones Does for the Children

They Serve Children can be evaluated at Little Ones through a referral from their pediatrician or by their parents, who have concerns about their youngsters not hitting their speech and language milestones.

Speech therapy can benefit a broad spectrum of disorders that include, but are not limited to, the accurate production of speech sounds, the ability to understand spoken language, and the use of vocalizations and gestures to express wants and needs. The therapists at Little Ones also work on fluency-enhancing skills, abnormalities in voice and resonance, social use of language, and implementation of augmentative and alternative communication.

Multiple Ways to Communicate

Trapani, who has a bachelor’s and master’s degree from Southeastern Louisiana University in Communication Sciences and Disorders, explained that speech therapy aims to give a child a functional way to communicate. Although many learn to communicate verbally, others use different forms of expressive language like signing, nonverbal gestures (pointing), and augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) devices like iPads or choice boards. Little Ones’ therapy tailors each treatment plan to the individual child's needs.

Trapani acknowledges that early intervention is crucial and that starting therapy when a child is young is the best route to communication success. The therapists at Little Ones can also meet older children's challenges, including higher-level language and literacy difficulties.

How It All Began

Brie grew up in Hammond, where she attended Holy Ghost Catholic School and Saint Thomas Aquinas Catholic High School. She and her husband, Jacob, have been married for nearly ten years. Together, they have a five-year-old daughter, Jacie, and a six-year-old son, Beau. She admits that her love and interest in speech therapy peaked early.

As an early teen, Brie established a relationship with her nextdoor neighbor, who had a young, medically fragile child. His mother often allowed her to assist in daily living activities, including suctioning his tracheostomy tube and assisting in feedings via feeding tube.

Brie states it was an emotional, full-circle moment when she later began working in the Tangipahoa Parish School System and wound up with her former neighbor, now a teenager, on her caseload. She said watching him grow from a nonverbal toddler to a teen communicating through vocalizations, gestures, and use of his AAC device was one of the highlights of her career.

If you have concerns for one of your little ones, Brie encourages you to give her office a call at 985-318-7506. Her best advice is to “evaluate, don’t wait.” Therapy sessions can be handled through insurance or via private pay. Trapani stated that she is always willing to sit down and talk with parents to assist in navigating the evaluation and treatment process. She emphasizes creating rapport with the families she cares for and forming lifelong relationships.