About
About Melanie
My name is Melanie Delacruz (she/her/ella/la), and I am a multilingual California-licensed and ASHA-certified speech-language pathologist (SLP) and the owner behind Learn to s.p.e.a/k/ speech and language therapy services.
I knew I wanted to be a part of this amazing profession since my childhood when I learned my brother was diagnosed as autistic and met many of his IEP team members growing up. These professionals helped my brother and our family communicate with each other, and I wanted to return that favor to other families when I became an adult. (Not to mention I loved learning about the brain, languages, and listening to Disney songs in whatever languages my brother and I could find them in!)
Melanie Delacruz (she/her/ella/la)
California-licensed, ASHA-certified speech-language pathologist (SLP) — owner, Learn to s.p.e.a/k/
Education
B.S. Psychology 2007
M.A. Speech, Language & Hearing Sciences 2010
San Diego — early clinical training
San Diego — early clinical training
My first years of clinical training in San Diego were in bilingual Spanish-English elementary- and middle-school education programs where I worked with children individually and in small groups and classrooms to address speech and language disorders and to develop alternative language communication systems.
10+ years in the Santa Clara County school district
10+ years in the Santa Clara County school district
Immediately after graduating with my Master’s, I moved to Santa Clara County, and worked in a school district for 10+years, where one of my roles was to assess and treat speech impairment and language delay in children diagnosed with hearing loss either as a primary disability or secondary condition to a genetic disorder.
I further developed my knowledge of American Sign-Language (ASL) and Signed Exact English as part of my position in that school program. My other role was to work in classrooms where I helped young autistic, neurodivergent, and medically-fragile children with AAC AND multimodal communication skills in order to learn and interact with their teachers, peers, and their families.
Early intervention as a bilingual SLP
Early intervention as a bilingual SLP
Simultaneously, I worked in early intervention programs as a bilingual SLP. After a few IEP meetings, I noticed many of my limited- English-speaking parents were not aware of resources and support available to support their child. They admitted to me that they wished “they knew sooner.” So I wanted to change that by joining teams that worked with families who were just embarking on their journey as caregivers of children with special needs.
Learn to s.p.e.a/k/ is born
Learn to s.p.e.a/k/ is born
I started my own private practice (this one!) in 2016 in order to continue supporting families directly in their home, and haven’t stopped since.