Meet Brittany Schaefer, a local Needham mom of two. Originally from Texas, Brittany moved to the Boston area after college, where she first majored in voice performance (hello, Broadway dreams!) before finding her path as a speech-language pathologist. After more than 10 years of experience working in schools, hospitals, and private practices, she took the leap to open her own practice in order to better support families in our community. Brittany is deeply passionate about helping not just children, but entire families navigate speech and language challenges through a thoughtful, hands-on, and family-centered approach. Let’s get to know Brittany!
Tell us about your family! How many children do you have, where are you from, and where do you live now?
I live in Needham with my husband, our two boys, and our sweet dog, Bella. I’m originally from Dallas, Texas and went to school at UT-Austin, so moving to the Boston area was a big change, but we love it.
What’s your favorite aspect about being part of this community?
My favorite aspect about being a part of this community is the people. Moms are seriously the best–they are always willing to help someone else out, even if they don’t know them well and it’s so nice having people to go to for questions or advice especially when they have already been through it.
What’s your favorite family activity to do in the area?
Definitely the beach! After growing up in Dallas, nowhere near a beach, I will never get over being able to drive only 45ish minutes to get to spend the day on a beautiful beach. We especially love the Gloucester beaches in the summer.
Tell us more about your background and how you became a speech pathologist.
My plan was to be a broadway star when I was young and then go back to school to be an SLP. I majored (momentarily) in voice performance in college, then decided that I did not want to go down that path, so I decided to skip the broadway star era and go straight to being an SLP. I went to graduate school at George Washington University and have worked in private practices, public schools and hospitals since graduating over 10 years ago.
What do you love most about what you do?
I love supporting families. Navigating a speech and language disorder or developmental diagnosis is extremely stressful for everyone in the family. As an SLP I acknowledge that difficulty and strive to support not only the child, but the whole family through these struggles. I also truly believe that speech therapy does not work unless the whole family is on board and involved, so I try to get families involved by teaching them strategies they can use in their daily lives to help their children’s speech and language skills improve.
It’s so hard to balance work and mom life. How do you maintain a healthy work life balance?
It’s so hard!!! I have found that it ebbs and flows but recently, making sure to prioritize time for just myself, my husband and my friends has been huge in maintaining some semblance of balance. My kids are obviously always a top priority, but making sure to make time to do things that I enjoy has been so helpful.
What is the best advice you’ve gotten from another mom?
When my first son was born one of my colleagues told me, “Don’t become too concerned about a new behavior or concern until it lasts for over two months. Most likely it is a passing phase”. The reminder that most things are just a phase and not big problems has been so helpful over the years!
What is the best advice you’d like to give a mom?
Find your people. Being a mom is so hard and can be so all consuming. Sharing the experience with friends who are going through the same things as you makes it SO much better.
Thank you Brittany for letting us get to know you! She offers flexible scheduling and sees children in their homes or childcare centers. Feel free to reach out with questions or to schedule a free consultation. You can learn more about her services at www.schaeferspeech.com.
