My Biz: Helping children speak and learn

NORTH LIBERTY — Sonia Reighard has spent decades working as a speech-language pathologist.

In the last decade, she has turned her attention to growing her business, Enrichment Therapy & Learning Center, with offices in Johnston and in North Liberty.

“While in the schools, I realized that many students were not getting enough services or didn't qualify for services,” said Reighard, 50. “I started this practice because I knew there was a need for more assistance to help children achieve their full potential.”

The center offers speech-language therapy and tutoring for children through age 18.

“This includes helping a child to improve their skills in articulation, language, memory, comprehension, following directions and social skills,” Reighard said.

“We also provide academic tutoring for students who struggle with reading, math, writing, test-taking and such. And we provide myofunctional therapy for children who have tongue ties or difficulty with eating or swallowing.”

Individualized therapy

Getting connected with their services is simple, Reighard said.

Parents can call to set up an intake consultation,” she said. “We offer free screenings for anyone, ... and it gives a parent an idea of whether their child needs a full evaluation or if their (language) errors are age-appropriate.”

Once a therapist starts working with a child, it’s all about individualized treatment, Reighard said.

“No two children are alike, so our approach is very specific to the child's needs,” she said.

The practice, Reighard said, specializes in dyslexia, a condition that affects the ability to read, write and spell.

“We can both diagnose and treat dyslexia,” she said. “Most other businesses do either one or the other but few are able to do both.

“We also don't believe that there is only one approach that works for all children. We use a variety of methods to treat the child/student based on their age, attention span and learning style.”

The business also strives to create an environment that is warm and friendly. “We go above and beyond to make the families feel heard and part of the team,” she said.

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Business growing

Reighard said her business, which has 25 employees in its two locations, is growing.

“We are growing very quickly because there is such a need in our communities for our services,” she said. “This past May we moved to a new location in North Liberty and doubled our space. It isn't going to be long before we are at capacity there, too.

“I have grown the business to the point that now I work mostly on the business instead of in the business,” Reighard said. “I no longer do direct speech-language therapy but focus on growing and expanding the business.”

It’s a role that allows Reighard to focus on a different set of skills.

“I love to analyze and develop new methods to make our company run more efficiently,” she said. “And I also focus on creating a positive and collaborative culture within the company.

“I spend time training leaders to be positive leaders within the company. When we hire, we make sure that the candidate will be a positive person who has a passion for what he or she does.”

Alignment with the company’s core values and mission is key in ensuring the company remains strong, Reighard said.

“We just happen to be a team of 100 percent women, only because there aren't many men in this industry,” she said. “We are very mighty in accomplishing goals not only for our company's growth but more importantly for our client's growth. The positive and supportive environment at Enrichment is a very rare find in any company.”

Even if her role is more behind-the-scenes for patients these days, Reighard said her work remains fulfilling.

“I love to see children grow and thrive in their skills,” she said. “It is not uncommon for children to come to us feeling defeated and overwhelmed because they are struggling with academic skills.

“Nothing gives us more joy than to see a child begin to not only read or learn well but to actually enjoy it. When they start to see that they can accomplish these skills, their self-esteem grows by leaps and bounds.”

Know a business that should be considered for a “My Biz” feature? Let us know by emailing mary.sharp@thegazette.com.

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