This speech language-pathology practice specializes in evidence-based pediatric speech and feeding therapy, emphasizing child and family-centered care. Meg aims to promote the successful growth and development of communication, feeding, and swallowing skills. She values each child's unique story and is committed to helping them express themselves with clarity and confidence. She prioritizes the individual needs of each child and their family, creating a supportive environment for them to thrive and achieve their goals. Meg stays updated on the latest research and best practices in pediatric therapy to ensure effective and tailored services. She is dedicated to supporting and empowering both children and their families on their journey towards improved communication and feeding abilities.
Treatments for speech
A speech sound disorder refers to any difficulty or combination of difficulties with perception, motor production, or phonological representation of speech sounds and speech segments in a language.
Speech sound disorders can be functional meaning they have no known cause and are related to the motor production of speech sounds. This includes:
Articulation disorders: individual speech sound/phoneme errors.
Phonological disorders: predictable errors that affect more than one speech sound.
or they can be organic in nature, meaning that the disorder arises from physiological, neurological or anatomical factors. This includes:
Childhood apraxia of speech (CAS): is a motor speech disorder that affects the ability to accurately produce sounds, syllables, and words. Children with CAS may have trouble planning and executing the movements needed for speech, leading to inconsistent errors in their speech sounds. The exact cause of CAS is not always known, but it is believed to involve problems with the brain's ability to send the appropriate signals to the speech muscles.
Cleft palate: speech difficulty due to an anatomical difference.
Dysarthria: speech difficulty due to weakness of speech muscles.
and feeding & swallowing
Feeding provides children and caregivers with opportunities for communication and social experiences that form the basis for future interactions.
~Maureen Lefton-Greif
Feeding is the process involving any aspect of eating or drinking, including gathering and preparing food and liquid for intake, sucking or chewing, and swallowing (Arvedson & Brodsky, 2002).
Swallowing is a complex process during which saliva, liquids, and foods are transported from the mouth into the stomach while keeping the airway protected.
Feeding Disorders are problems with a range of eating activities that may or may not include difficulty with swallowing. A Pediatric feeding disorder (PFD) is “impaired oral intake that is not age-appropriate and is associated with medical, nutritional, feeding skill, and/or psychosocial dysfunction” (Goday et al., 2019).
Services are offered for:
infants with difficulty bottle and breast feeding. Having the support of a dual trained therapists with feeding/swallowing and lactation counselor specialty training allows for a dynamic perspective and care.
children with difficulty progressing with solid foods due to issues with delayed motor development and or picky eating.
children with need for alternative means of nutrition (tube-fed) to support oral feeding development and skills based on guidance of medical team recommendations and when ready, working towards tube weaning.
Get to know Meg
Meg Cafferkey MS, CCC-SLP, CLC
Meg is speech-language pathologist and certified lactation counselor based in the San Francisco Bay Area. With two decades of experience. Meg has dedicated her career to supporting the growth and development of children with speech, language, and swallowing disorders using evidence-based practice. She has worked in various settings, including pediatric outpatient clinics, inpatient acute and rehabilitative care. She has experience in working with children across the age spectrum.
Meg is passionate about working with children to help them reach their therapy goals. Her feeding therapy approach is child lead-responsive feeding. She believes in respecting the autonomy of the child, allowing them to explore eating in a fun and safe way while also fostering trust between the caregiver and the child during the feeding experience.
Meg thrives on the diversity of her therapy day, especially when working with children who face speech sound disorders. Witnessing a child achieve their communication goals, allowing them to interact effectively and efficiently with their peers and adults, brings her deepest joy.
Meg holds an undergraduate degree in Speech Pathology and Audiology from Ball State University and a master's degree in Communicative Disorders from San Francisco State University. She is certified by the American Speech and Hearing Association (ASHA). She earned her Certified Lactation Counselor certificate from the Academy of Lactation Policy and Practice (ALPP). She has an extensive background working at multiple renowned children's hospitals on the West Coast.
Meg is committed to staying current with the latest research and best practice in her field. She is an active member of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) and actively participates in several of its special interest groups, particularly those focused on voice disorders and swallowing disorders.
Meg currently presents on a local and national level.
Our experience with Meg has been truly life-changing for my son, Joe. Her exceptional skill, patience, and dedication made a significant difference in his progress. She took the time to understand Joe's unique needs and crafted a tailored approach that resonated with him. With her encouragement and expertise, we saw Joe grow more confident in his speech, which has positively impacted his communication skills and self-esteem. I can't recommend Meg highly enough for anyone seeking a compassionate and effective speech therapist who will care deeply about your son or daughter.
~JD Family