Therapist - A Person Skilled in a Particular Kind of Therapy
At Pediatric Feeding & Speech Solutions, we are by definition, “therapists” but we strive to go above and beyond that role. We love what we do and we genuinely care about your child and family. We are all better and do better when we receive the right support. We at Pediatric Feeding & Speech Solutions are no different and we want to be a positive influence in your child’s journey to achieving their own voice and feeding skills.
Kelly Benson-Vogt, owner of Pediatric Feeding & Speech Solutions is a wife and mother of two boys and two dogs that keep life busy. Kelly received her bachelor’s degree in Speech Pathology and Audiology from West Virginia University and her master’s degree in Speech Pathology from Northwestern University in Illinois.
Kelly has worked in private practice, hospital settings, outpatient, long-term care, hospice, schools, and early intervention settings. After working with many children in a variety of settings and after having children of her own, Kelly found love in the area of pediatric feeding. Kelly is a faculty member for Lactation Education Resources, she is a member of the International Association for Pediatric Feeding and Swallowing organization, and she is a Certified Orofacial Myologist® from the International Association of Orofacial Myologists (IAOM).
In addition to feeding and swallowing disorders, Kelly also enjoys treating kids with phonological disorders, articulation, dyspraxia, voice, stuttering, and language disorders in kids with developmental delays, cerebral palsy, autism, and a variety of syndromes, genetic disorders, and medically complex cases.
Kelly loves being a speech and language pathologist and is committed to using the most up-to-date clinical approaches and techniques in her therapy. She holds licenses in Virginia, West Virginia, and Maryland. In her free time, Kelly enjoys running, boxing, paddle boarding, and spending time with her family and dogs.
Testimonials
You are the BEST
“To call our 3-year-old son a picky eater is an understatement. We faced many challenges when it came time to transition him from bottle feeding to solid food. Any food with textures and not a puree caused him to gag and throw up since he could not seem to grasp the concept of biting and chewing. We were at a loss until we found Kelly. She is kind, patient and truly amazing. Her feeding therapy worked wonders for my son, who went from rejecting food, throwing food to the ground, to happily putting food in his mouth and biting different types of food. Then he started to get excited when he saw food on the table. Thank you, Kelly! You are the BEST!”
Nutritionist- Promoting Healthy Child Growth And Development Through Diet
Sonal Babbar – Bhardwaj, is a certified lactation consultant and certified child nutritionist. Sonal holds a masters degree in International Business, and a bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Engineering.
Sonal has worked in hospitals, clinics and medical companies across India, the UK, the U.S., and Netherlands. After years of heading product management with companies where she could only selectively help parents, Sonal decided to start her own company to expand her reach in infant and pediatric feeding to work directly with women who need clinical support with breastfeeding and parents who need nutritional support for their children. Sonal added Kelly to this company and both run and operate VIRAA Care.
Sonal is passionate about nutrition and strongly believes in revolutionizing the perceptions of child growth and raising a generation which has a healthy and positive relationship with food.
Sonal is determined to empower parents with knowledge about nutrition, provide them evidence based support and help them make the right food related decisions.
Sonal’s philosophy: Food is medicine and given to our children in the right way, it can nourish their bodies, support their growth and development, and lay the foundation for a lifetime of good health.
Sonal is excited to be working in partnership with Pediatric Feeding & Speech Solutions so that children and families can achieve optimal benefits of nutrition and feeding through a team approach.
Child Psychologist- a mental health professional specializing in the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of psychological and emotional issues in children and adolescents
Dr. Laura Austin has been working with children and their families since 1993. She has a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Texas at Austin and a PhD in counseling psychology from the University of North Texas. While earning this degree, Dr. Austin trained in child and adolescent clinical psychology through the local children’s hospital, Cook Children’s Behavioral Health. She completed her internship in pediatric behavioral medicine at the University of Miami School of Medicine/Jackson Medical Center where she worked with children on a variety of medical units including rehabilitation, dialysis, HIV, burn, intensive care, and general medical floors. Dr. Austin returned to Cook Children’s before transitioning to an intensive Pediatric Feeding Disorder (PFD) program in 2003. Dr. Austin spent 20 years helping children and families navigate the complicated world of PFD alongside speech, occupational and physical therapists, dietitians, physicians and many other medical professionals at Our Children’s House which later became part of Children’s Medical Center in Dallas, Texas. To further expand the services she can provide, Dr. Austin obtained certification in PC-CARE, an innovative therapy program providing hands-on training to allow parents to better connect with their kids, while also learning effective strategies to manage problem behaviors.
Dr. Austin has published research in the area of feeding disorders and has collaborated with other PFD specialists to provide training courses to area parents and professionals. She was a speaker at the American Speech Language and Hearing Association convention, and she has been featured on newscasts and in print media as she shares her passion for effective diagnosis and treatment of PFD and Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID).