Speech Language Pathologist

Jen McNerney owner of Mindful Little Talkers LLC

Early on I knew I wanted to help people. It fills my soul up to be of service to others. When I was in high school and working within some course work with childcare, I was able to shadow my sister’s friend who was a speech language pathologist. I didn’t even know what it was at the time but I went to an elementary school in Schaumburg, Illinois to shadow her for a day. I have to say it was more my style of working with kids either in a 1:1 setting or small groups. It felt intimate to be able to work so closely with kids helping them communicate. It was a good thing I got a taste of this profession because when selecting a college I was able to research and find some of the best schools to attend for a degree called Communication Disorders and Sciences. I landed at Eastern Illinois University and completed both my undergraduate degree and graduated degree there in 2001.

After completing my Certificate of Clinical Competence (CCCs) in Illinois, I set out on an adventure to California where I would start out at a large scale private practice in Torrance, CA to quickly learn that I wanted more flexibility and autonomy in my schedule, so I started my own private practice in Redondo Beach, CA. I quickly built my private practice in early intervention and independent contracts with school districts in the South Bay. I was blessed to attract a lot of the non-verbal clients as well as those individuals with motor planning challenges like apraxia who now in hindsight were teaching me about the unseen and energy. Simultaneously while working with these highly sensitive and gifted kids and teens I would notice that if my energy was a little off it mattered in my sessions with these sweet and pure souls. They would be more anxious and/or calm based on how I showed up to session. Many of the parents and caregivers (especially the moms) were doing some alternative modalities to help optimize communication and overall wellness in their kids. Many of the modalities were going against the grain of what was considered evidence based best practices that were recommended by ASHA (the American Speech and Hearing Association). I learned a lot from these families based on a very intimate view of the day to day and some times minute to minute challenges these families would endure. I would curiously observe what modalities were working better for each kid. I learned that there wasn’t a one size fits all modality for each child and/or family dynamic. Subconsciously and consciously I would observe what it would take to be an exceptional mom in their unwavering patience and the unconditional love it takes to go through a journey with a special needs child. We shared tears during the challenges and happy tears during the triumphs. I am forever grateful for these times.

These intimate bonds and going into the homes of these special families caused me to delve into my own healing transformational journey that continues present time. I remember finding books that were explaining the spiritual gifts of these western labels of autism, ADHD, ADD, or now we can call these individuals neurodiverse. I found book after book and read about the sensitivities these individuals exhibited, and in many ways I could relate to being a very sensitive adult myself and a very shy kid historically being sensitive to everyone’s emotions and feelings. The term Empath comes to mind to describe this level of sensitivity. I began to learn how to meditate and utilize movements that regulated my nervous system and energetic field. I delved into energy healing modalities like Reiki and had 1:1 sessions with shamans and various healers in and around the Los Angelos area working on the physical 3D realm as well as the quantum.

In 2012 I had my first child, and my very busy speech therapy practice in Redondo Beach closed its doors to pivot into being a mom. Having kids was all I ever dreamed of, so having a profession that could allow me to be a mom first and have a career second was always my intention. Speech Pathology and especially having a private practice making one’s own hours was the perfect fit for me at the time. In 2014, we found out we were having twins, and having three kids under the age of 3 sidelined my speech pathology practice to be a full time stay at home mom.

With a move to Colorado in 2015, I began a more intense personal healing journey as I started to have health challenges and the stress of having my twins be speech delayed and nearly being diagnosed with autism. I was now that familiar mom like so many I had met on my journey as a SLP taking my kids to various appointments to heal, while also experiencing some intense brain fog, chronic fatigue and stress. I still was delving in course work to deepen my intuition and gifts. That was always a simultaneous thing for me in my life. Tuning into my intuition and inner knowingness was what has always led us to the right for us modalities and people. We turned to alternative modalities in 2015 after our kids’ health drastically regressed after a 4 month wellness check. We found a pediatric chiropractor and saw HUGE shifts in their moods and health. Many of the chiropractors we met on our journey had extra knowledge of nutrition/supplements and emotional modalities. In Colorado we really started to make headway in healing when I our chiropractor introduced us to Neuro Emotional Technique. I was dealing with many toxins in my system and eventually got a diagnosis of Lyme disease, Babesia, and Bartonella (all tick-borne illnesses). I also, had breast implants up until 2016 when I underwent a procedure called explant. We found practitioners utilizing applied kinesiology to address the imbalances in our chemistry and nutrition to treat Lyme and co-infections. All of my kids tested for Lyme and the same co-infections because you pass along the gut microbiomes in utero.

In 2018, after started to feel a sense of normal, and having a better handle on the healing journey of me and my three children, I was called back to speech pathology. I opened Mindful Little Talkers in Colorado, and began to see some kids very part time while my kids were in school. In 2019, I made the decision to become certified in Neuro Emotional Technique even while pregnant with our 4th child. I did become certified in January of 2021, it was that initial decision that led me on the journey to delve deeper into all the modalities that helped and continue to heal us back to homeostasis physically, emotionally/mentally, and chemically (nutrition). From there I have either certifications in the modalities list below and/or actively acquiring certifications in the following modalities:

In 2023, I opened the doors to my brick and mortar healing practice called Heart Rooted Healing in Woodland Park, CO. Me, my husband, and four children live in a little town called Divide. We have happily laid our roots here to grow and evolve into our best and highest versions of ourselves.

In a full circle moment in January of 2025, I found the profound podcast called The Telepathy Tapes and feeling the nudge from the ethers to integrate all this knowledge and offer my speech therapy services to those ready to delve into all the dimensions of self expression and collective expression. I am not your traditional speech language pathologist and this podcast highlighting the gifts that non-speakers embody has given me permission to shine ALL of me and my unique offerings as a speech language pathologist/frequency practitioner.

Thanks for reading and happy healing!

Jen McNerney, M.S.,CCC-SLP