Meet Taylor Wickey | Speech Language Pathologist & Owner of Venture Speech

We had the good fortune of connecting with Taylor Wickey and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Taylor, what do you want people to remember about you?
Speech Therapy for a long time has been a very rigid practice, requiring kids to sit still and quietly, wear shoes, make eye contact… etc. Some of these things are challenging even for me, so I hope to break down some of these rigid norms that define standard therapeutic practice. With Venture Speech, I aim to create an inclusive and welcoming stage for children of all backgrounds, neurotypes, and abilities to find their voice.

I want people to remember me as a strong advocate for the neurodivergent community. My legacy will be the voices that I’ve worked with to build the tools for finding communication success!

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I began my career studying gerontology. I shadowed a nursing home administrator who, after seeing my passion for hands-on work with clients, told me that where I really wanted to be was the therapy department. Once there, I was in awe of the connection the rehab team had with the residents. Speech Therapy was new to me and I was hooked on talking with people all day and working to improve residents quality of life. From there, I went on to pursue my masters degree in speech language pathology at University of Akron, finding rotations working as a nursing home aide, a companion care volunteer with Hospice, and at a vocational program for adults with intellectual disabilities at a coffee shop.

After graduation, I started my career in Colorado. I worked in clinics that served the entire lifespan, working with children as young as 12 months old to adults in their 90s. During this time, I was also able to work at multiple clinic locations and even learn how to provide exceptional services over telehealth even prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. I was also a member of multidisciplinary teams, and provided speech therapy services in the aquatic setting. Over the years, I’ve been able to work in a variety of roles in the public schools, private schools, private practices, home health, daycare, and nature based therapy settings. I gleamed valuable information from each client, team, practice, setting, and with the support of my partner, decided to venture into the private practice territory and start my own clinic, Venture Speech!

My practice has been open for a year now in Golden, Colorado. I love the population I serve and enjoy being able to structure my services in a way that makes sense to me and my clients! Having my own private practice, I am able to see less clients a day and give more of my time into the planning, collaboration, and home programming with each client. I am able to set better boundaries for my work/life balance which has reduced my overall stress and improved my quality of life in turn. I’ve also learned more about how my brain works over the years and have been able to set up my practice in a way that is conducive to my own learning style and sensory needs. This has also informed my approach to speech therapy and how I accommodate the diverse set of clients that I see each day!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Great question. I like to take visitors to Movement Climbing gyms. That is truly my third space and how I met most of my community in Golden. I love walking to Xicamiti, Sherpa House, and Thai Gold in Golden. For a quick meal, Atomic Cowboy/Fat Sullys is the place to be. I love showing off our beautiful trails in Golden including North Table, South Table, Apex, Chimney, and Galbraith for a trail hike/run. Clear creek trail is a great place for all levels and abilities to experience Colorado’s natural beauty.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Thanks to adult members of the neurodivergent community for sharing their stories. Thanks to the mental health providers that have provided trauma informed training to better support neurodivergent individuals.

Website: https://www.venturespeech.com

Instagram: @venturespeech