Driven by her desire to help others become more proficient and confident in their communication & swallowing skills, she opened her private practice, Help Me Speak, LLC, 25 years ago in December 1998. Today, Help Me Speak, LLC is Howard County’s premier speech, language, & swallowing private practice located in Ellicott City, MD.
Barbara received her Bachelor of Science (1990) and Master of Arts (1991) degrees from Loyola University in Baltimore, MD. For more than 28 years as an Speech-Language Pathologist, Barbara has been helping people of all ages overcome their speech, feeding, eating, swallowing, & language challenges. She was trained by the IAOM in Orofacial Myology in 2013 and a Certified Orofacial Myologist (COM®) in 2016. She is licensed in Maryland and Virginia
Barbara has a love of learning in order to help her clients! She has earned 17 consecutive ACEs (Award for Continuing Education=70+ contact hours over a 3 year period) from ASHA (American Speech-Language Hearing Association).
Specialty Training
Barbara has achieved specialty training in the following techniques & methods:
IAOM Certified Orofacial Myologist™ (COM®)
TOTs (Tethered Oral Tissues)
PROMPT Bridging level 2
Rosenfeld-Johnson’s Talk Tools hierarchies
Lori Overland’s Pre/Feeding approach
A.E.I.O.U. (Johanson)
GOMAP (Chastain)
Kaufman’s word approximation techniques
Advanced Lightwire Functional (ALF) appliance level 1 by Drs. Bronson of the ALF Educational Institute
Beckman Level 1 & 2 Oral Motor Advanced protocols
Voice Gym
Upledger’s Cranial Sacral Therapy levels 1-2
Myofascial Release (CIAO)
Food Chaining
Toomey's Advanced Sequential Oral Sensory (SOS) approach to feeding
Suzanne Evans Morris' Mealtime strategies
Fast ForWord
Wilson reading
Michele Garcia Winner’s Social Thinking methods
Interactive Metronome
T.E.A.C.C.H
And a variety of other methods.
Evaluation and Treatments
Professional Diagnoses Services
She evaluates and treats clients from birth to adults with the following diagnoses:
Autism Spectrum Disorder
Apraxia
Tongue Tie
ADHD
Stuttering
Down Syndrome
Cerebral Palsy
Genetic Diagnoses
Congenital Diagnoses
Complex Medical Diagnoses
Picky/Challenging Eating
Feeding & Swallowing (Dysphagia)
Language-Based Learning Disability
Specific Language Impairment
Auditory/ Language Processing
Sound Errors/ Articulation
As a COM®, she also treats & balances the orofacial muscles involved in TMD, OSA, &/or UARS.
Help Me Speak, LLC accepts BCBS, Kaiser, pediatric Maryland Medicaid, & private pay.
During her extensive career, Barbara has worked in the following settings: the Kennedy Krieger School (lower, middle, & extended day high school), Skilled Nursing facilities, Greater Baltimore Hospital Center (formerly North Arundel Hospital), acute care, subacute rehab, outpatient clinics, Mt Washington Pediatric home care, Adventist Home Health Care (adults), VNA Home Care (pediatrics/adults), Howard County Public Schools, & Loyola University (Clinical Supervisor & Adjunct Faculty).
to improve their orofacial myofunctional & communication abilities by growing healthy airways via improved oral motor & eating skills
to reach their full potential for improved communication by utilizing foundational comprehension & expression skills.
We strive to make a difference in each of our clients’ lives in small steps and large leaps. We will be there to help the our clients to learn to speak, eat, play, learn &/or sign.
Our Story
Help Me Speak, LLC.
In 1998, Barbara Taylor, M.S., CCC-SLP founded, Help Me Speak, LLC (HMS), a comprehensive Speech-Language and Oral Motor Therapy private practice in Howard County, Maryland that accepts clients by appointment only.
In 1998 to 2001, she traveled to her clients’ homes.
In 2001, she opened an office inside her home in Marriottsville.
In 2008, HMS moved to a larger clinic space also in Marriottsville.
In May 2023, HMS moved to our brand new clinic space in Ellicott City.
Help Me Speak, LLC develops an individually tailored approach to best meet each client’s specific needs. Because we have significant experience in a wide variety of therapy techniques, we are uniquely qualified to develop and utilize an optimal treatment plan for each client to allow for maximum progress.
Help Me Speak, LLC & Associates are trained in the following techniques/methods: Oromyofunctional treatment, TOTs, PROMPT, Beckman stretches, Talk Tools hierarchies, Interactive Metronome (IM), REI (Rhythmic Entrainment Intervention), Food Chaining, Toomey’s Sequential Oral Sensory (SOS) approach to feeding, Kaufman techniques, Fast ForWord, T.E.A.C.C.H., Suzanne Evans Morris Mealtime strategies, A.E.I.O.U., and other traditional methods.
Mrs. Taylor and her SLP associates each have their Master’s Degrees, are licensed by the State of Maryland, and have their Certificate of Clinical Competence (CCC) from the American Speech-Language Hearing Association (ASHA). Help Me Speak & Associates offers individualized treatment sessions in a structured, yet comfortable environment.
Making a Difference in Patient's Life
The Starfish Story (condensed)
A visitor was walking along the beach at sunset. He saw a native man in the distance who was leaning down, picking something up, and throwing back into the ocean. As the visitor approached, he noticed that the native man was picking up starfish on the beach one at a time and throwing them back into the ocean. The visitor was puzzled and asked “What are you doing?”. The native replied, “I am throwing these starfish back into the ocean. It is low tide and they have washed onto the beach. If I don’t throw them back they will die from lack of oxygen.” The visitor replied “I understand but I am confused. There must be thousands of starfish along this beach. You can’t possibly get to all of them. And there are many beaches along the coast. You can’t possibly make a difference.” The native bent down, picked up a starfish, threw it back in the ocean, smiled and said, “I made a difference to that one.”
