Hosts Niki Lampi and Tamara Pogin speak with Angela Carroll, a mother of four autistic children. Angela shares her family’s journey with the clinic—from early speech delays and rapid progress through play-based, parent-involved therapy to later evaluations and individualized supports for her twins. She highlights the importance of trusting parental instincts, advocating for services despite long waitlists, and pursuing supports beyond diagnosis, including IEPs and community resources. Angela also discusses navigating limited services, changes in ABA, homeschooling, and her advocacy work supporting other families through fundraising and peer guidance.

Hosts Niki Lampi and Tamara Pogin sit down with Devon Maycock for a meaningful conversation centered on autism, advocacy, and building stronger support systems for families. Devon shares insight into the lived experiences of families navigating autism, the importance of community connection, and the need for spaces that truly embrace and celebrate neurodiversity.

The episode highlights how collaboration between clinicians, caregivers, and local organizations can create real, lasting impact—and why awareness alone isn’t enough without action and inclusion.

A key focus of the conversation is the upcoming Autism Walk with the Different Not Less Foundation, bringing the Northland community together on April 26 at the DECC to raise awareness, foster connection, and support families in a visible, meaningful way.

Hosts Niki Lampi and Tamara Pogin on Hear Me Out, sharing the heart behind the Masonic Children’s Clinic for Communication Disorders—a place where families find support, hope, and free speech, language, and hearing services when they need it most.

In this episode, they sit down with longtime supporter Maggie Holt, whose connection to the clinic spans generations. From her father’s passionate fundraising and her mother’s years of service, to her own memories growing up alongside the clinic, Maggie reflects on the deep sense of community that has shaped its mission.

She shares stories of humble beginnings, the power of giving back, and the lasting impact the clinic has had on families—along with the pride of seeing it grow into what it is today. It’s a heartfelt reminder that behind every service provided is a community that truly cares.

Hosts Niki Lampi and Tamara Pogin interview Masonic Children’s Clinic SLP Corinne Schmidt about the clinic’s AAC consultation and outreach work, including device trials for families, training other SLPs, and lessons from the Closing the Gap conference. Corinne emphasizes that there are no prerequisites for AAC and describes supporting minimally speaking autistic children by accounting for analytic and gestalt language processing. She outlines key considerations for children with medical complexities plus the funding process through trials with possible grants when coverage is limited. She also shares parent-coaching priorities.

Hosts Niki Lampi and Tamara Pogin from the Masonic Children’s Clinic for Communication Disorders interview Heather Brockman, a pediatric SLP at Essentia Health for 22 years who helped establish the Fetal Alcohol Diagnostic Clinic, works with teens at Northwood Children’s Services, and consults with ToivoTek on Speech Sense Pro. Heather shares her own history of having a speech disorder and explains how adults’ expectations shape children’s self-view. She discusses adolescent language, mental health, and reframing “behavior” as communication tied to unmet skills, drawing on DIR/Floortime, regulation strategies, and Ross Greene’s ideas. As a parent of a neurodiverse child, she describes challenges with typical discipline and schooling and the importance of advocacy. She outlines Speech Sense Pro’s development, including speech-to-text transcription that preserves errors and tools to streamline SLP workflow and improve home-program communication.

In this episode of 'Hear Me Out,' hosts Niki Lampi and Tamara Pogin speak with parent Brandon Benzer about his son Chet’s speech delays. Brandon describes how parent participation, themed play activities, sibling support, and field trips helped their family, and how Chet’s articulation and frustration improved over time. He encourages parents to seek evaluations early, get on wait lists while continuing other services, and avoid comparing journeys, while the hosts note the clinic’s free services and the importance of grants and donations.

In this episode, Steve Kaarbo discusses his work with Northwood Children's Services and the MNSWCA, a non-profit organization. He talks about the transition to community-based mental health support and the impact of COVID-19 on children's social skills. Steve explains how MNSWCA raises funds for the Masonic Children's Clinic through events like the Frozen Force Artist Showcase and Excalibur Con, blending nerd culture with philanthropy to support speech and mental health services for children.

In this episode of 'Hear Me Out,' hosts Niki Lampi and Tamara Pogin from the Masonic Children's Clinic for Communication Disorders sit down with retired speech-language pathologist Tahirih Bushy. They discuss Tahirih's impactful career, which has spanned public schools, outpatient healthcare, university teaching, and private practice. They share anecdotes about their past experiences working and learning from Tahirih, highlighting her innovative approach to communication therapy, including the development of the Autism Games website and programs like Buddy Group and Stage Play. Tahirih shares her philosophy on the importance of play, curiosity, and humility in therapy, as well as the significance of mentorship and continuous learning. Listen in for an inspiring conversation about the evolution and future of speech-language pathology.