Barbara Coven-Ellis SLPD, CCC-SLP, CLE

Barbara Coven-Ellis

SLPD, CCC-SLP, CLE

Barbara Coven-Ellis
SLPD, CCC-SLP, CLE

Barbara Coven-Ellis, SLPD, CCC-SLP, CLE, is a medical speech-language pathologist who works in both outpatient pediatrics and adult acute care in rural Washington State. A fabulous fact: Barbara began her career as a professional performer—singing and acting onstage, recording commercials, training films, voice-overs, and taking on small roles in films—whatever would pay the bills and fill her artistic cup. She came to the field of speech-language pathology in a very roundabout way, through an interest in linguistics and atypical speech and language development. When it came time to find another path after acting, “speech” just seemed to fit. As it turns out, all that work on respiratory support, articulation, understanding the body-communication connection, having neurodivergent family members, and being unafraid to be a complete goofball made pediatric speech therapy a perfect fit. Barbara’s exposure to pediatric feeding disorder (PFD) came through the back door—by falling in love with adult dysphagia. Then, pediatric patients with a variety of feeding issues were added to her caseload—without any prior training—which prompted a headlong deep dive into pediatric feeding and swallowing continuing education. That dedication has earned her nine ASHA ACE Awards in the nine years she has been an SLP. All of these life experiences culminated in her authoring the book Tyler Takes a Taste: A Boy and His Family's Journey Through "Picky Eating" and Feeding Disorders!, a joyful read-along for little ones with PFD, available on Amazon.

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