Kimberly Harwell Stewart grew up in an academic family, mostly in Oregon and New York, so after high school she decided to return to the warmth of her native Florida to earn her B.S. degree in Biology/marine environmental sciences at the University of South Florida. She worked for a few years in environmental studies at-sea and in the lab, but decided to use her science background for a more direct benefit to people. So, she went to school to become certified as a Radiologic technologist. After more schooling to master the complexities of MRI and CT, she began a long career as an MRI/CT/X-Ray technologist in the hospital and clinic settings, well-respected by doctors, surgeons, and her patients. Unfortunately, life happens, and literally while delivering her first child, she acquired Guillain-Barre Syndrome, and soon became quadriplegic with associated facial paralysis. After months and years of intense physical, occupational, and speech therapies, and with some sheer grit and determination, she recovered her life, but she no longer had the fine-motor control needed to inject MRI patients. So back to school she went, this time to earn a Master’s degree with honors from the University of Central Florida in Communications Sciences and Disorders, becoming a certified speech-language pathologist (CCC-SLP). She holds current accreditation from the American Speech Language Hearing Association, including their specialty group for telepractice.

As she gained experience as a clinician, she also learned much from her son, who was diagnosed with learning disabilities in reading, writing, math, and executive functioning while in early elementary school. She navigated the complex process as a parent in obtaining accommodations, as well as needed therapies. Her son graduated high school with honors, with a focus on a promising future in college and beyond as a physical therapist assistant.

Kimberly has now been working for more than a dozen years as a SLP with children and adults in a variety of settings, including several years of experience in online teletherapy. Anticipating the next phase of life, Kimberly has of course gone back to school, and is currently certified as a Structured Literacy/Dyslexia Specialist, adding to her SLP portfolio the ability to help students at-risk for reading failure from dyslexia or other learning disabilities. From this extensive background, and personal experience, she has an unique view of neuroplasticity, that is, the brain’s amazing ability to adapt and to learn. She describes her approach as follows:

I take a holistic approach to therapy to support the whole person, with a focus on using positive reinforcements to build upon the client's strengths. I frequently will have clients and families contact me, even years after working with them, for information on up-to-date evidence-based practices, since I work hard to stay informed on the current research. Also, while I focus on functional skills, I also remember to add “fun” to the sessions as I will personalize it to my client's specific interests and needs.