Approach to Specialized Speech and Feeding Therapy for Children

Heather Vukelich, MS, CCC-SLP is an ASHA-certified Speech-Language Pathologist and Feeding Specialist with over 23 years of experience, dedicated to serving the Down syndrome community. For 15 years, she worked within the Down Syndrome Connection of the Bay Area, where she developed deep clinical expertise and lifelong relationships within the community she has been part of since childhood.

Heather currently serves families in Paso Robles and Danville, California, providing highly specialized therapy focused on oral sensory-motor development, speech clarity, feeding skills, and functional communication.

She is a certified TalkTools® Instructor, personally trained by TalkTools® founder Sara Rosenfeld-Johnson. Heather teaches webinars, seminars, and large-scale parent education courses, and she leads 1:1 week-long intensive therapy programs designed to integrate expert intervention directly into family life.

Heather has also completed advanced orofacial myofunctional training through “Myo Masterminds” at The Breathe Institute, further strengthening her expertise in airway, craniofacial growth, and functional oral development.

She works with individuals from birth through adulthood. In addition to speech and feeding therapy, Heather provides families with in-depth guidance related to orthodontics, craniofacial and airway development, sleep apnea, orofacial myofunctional therapy, nutrition, communication systems, educational planning, medical collaboration, literacy development, sensory integration, and behavioral support.

Heather’s mission is simple yet powerful: to provide hope-filled education to equip families with the tools, knowledge, and confidence needed to help their children communicate clearly, eat safely, and live with greater independence.