About Us
Meet the Owner: Crystal Tarkington, M.A., CCC-SLP
Crystal Tarkington, M.S., CCC-SLP, is the owner and founder of Blooming Expressions Therapy, PLLC. She earned both her bachelor's and master's degrees in Speech-Language Pathology from The University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Crystal is a nationally certified member of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) and is licensed to practice speech-language pathology in North Carolina.
With more than eight years of pediatric experience, Crystal has evaluated and treated children from birth through 21 years of age with a wide range of speech, language, social communication, and feeding disorders. She has provided services in homes, daycares, schools, community settings, and private practice, giving her extensive experience supporting children in a variety of environments.
Crystal has a special passion for early intervention and autism and has completed extensive training in these areas. She is dedicated to providing individualized, evidence-based, family-centered therapy that helps every child build confidence, develop functional communication skills, and reach their fullest potential.
Meet Kara Byrnes, M.S., CCC-SLP:
Kara received her bachelor’s degree in communication sciences and Disorders from Appalachian State University, where she also received a minor in Spanish. Kara received her master’s degree in communication sciences and Disorders from North Carolina Central University. Kara is originally from Greensboro, NC and has recently moved to Clayton.
Kara has experience working with a wide variety of age ranges, ranging from age 1 to 13. She also has experience in the following areas: language delays/disorders, articulation disorders, phonological disorders, childhood apraxia of speech, augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), autism, parent coaching/collaboration, down syndrome, developmental delays, and more.
Kara's areas of strength include working with speech sound/motor speech disorders and early language delays. She also has experience using a wide variety of AAC systems (LAMP WFL, Tobii Dynavox, Proloquo2go, TouchChat). Kara provides therapy in Spanish for her Spanish-speaking clients. Kara believes strongly in collaborating with caregivers and teachers to ensure everyone
feels supported in their child's speech, language and/or communication journey.
Meet Beth Maynor, M.Ed., CCC-SLP:
Beth is a PRN Speech-Language Pathologist with more than 25 years of clinical experience serving children in the public school setting. She earned her bachelor's degree in Special Education from Appalachian State University and her master's degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders from North Carolina Central University.
Beth has called Zebulon, North Carolina, home for the past 21 years. She is a certified member of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) and is licensed to practice speech-language pathology in North Carolina.
Throughout her career, Beth has worked with children from Pre-K through middle school, providing comprehensive speech-language evaluations and evidence-based intervention for a wide range of communication disorders. Her areas of expertise include articulation disorders and receptive and expressive language delays. Beth is passionate about helping children develop the communication skills they need to thrive academically, socially, and in everyday life.
Meet Rebecca Foltz, MS CCC-SLP:
Rebecca is originally from Maryland and moved to Raleigh, NC after completing graduate school. She earned her Bachelors and Master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology from West Virginia University.
Throughout her clinical experience, Rebecca has worked with individuals across the lifespan and with a wide range of diagnoses, including Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Retts Syndrome, global developmental delays, Down Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, and more. She has clinical experience for language development, AAC, articulation and phonology, dysphagia and feeding, early literacy, apraxia of speech, and social communication skills.
Her area of strengths include: AAC systems (LAMP WFL, Grid, TouchChat, Tobii Dynavox, Proloquo2go), speech sounds disorders, early language skills, early literacy, and gestalt language processing. She is passionate about meeting children where they are by providing play-based therapy tailored to their needs and giving support to families to help their children meet their goals.
Meet Kara Haywood, M.S., CCC-SLP:
Kara is originally from New York but considers herself a Tar Heel after moving to North Carolina at the age of nine. She now lives in Cary with her two sons, ages 15 and 18, and is a proud UNC mom!
Kara brings more than 25 years of experience as a Speech-Language Pathologist in the Raleigh area. She earned her Master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology from Vanderbilt University and her Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from UNC-Chapel Hill. She has more than 20 years of experience in Early Intervention and has also worked in both Wake and Alamance County Public Schools.
Kara’s clinical interests include speech and language development in young and school-age children, articulation, social/pragmatic language skills, sign language, PECS, DIR/Floortime, and supporting young children from bilingual families. She also enjoys incorporating art and music into therapy to help children work toward their communication goals. Kara has a basic knowledge of Spanish and French and enjoys continuing to develop her conversational skills in both languages.
Kara strongly believes in collaborating with families, teachers, and other therapists whenever possible to support the whole child and help skills carry over into everyday life.
Meet Makenna Blaser, M.A., CCC-SLP
Makenna earned both her bachelor's and master's degrees in Speech Language Pathology from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, with a minor in American Sign Language. Makenna has clinical experience in various settings, including acute care, inpatient rehabilitation, the public school system, homes, and daycares. Makenna has served patients across the lifespan, from birth to geriatrics, but her favorite scope of the field is helping children grow in their communication, relationships, confidence and quality of life. Makenna is specifically passionate about using an evidence-based, child-centered and collaborative approach to support her clients. Her skills and experience include language development, articulation, auditory processing disorder, apraxia of speech, fluency, traumatic brain injuries, autism, developmental delays, motor speech disorders, phonological awareness, dysphagia, mealtime support and feeding.
Certified & Licensed SLPs
Blooming Expressions Therapy, PLLC is a therapist-owned private practice proudly serving families in Clayton and the surrounding communities. We provide comprehensive speech and language evaluations and individualized, one-on-one speech, language, and feeding therapy for children from birth through 21 years of age. Our nationally certified and North Carolina-licensed speech-language pathologists are dedicated to delivering evidence-based care and are qualified to evaluate and treat a wide range of communication and feeding disorders.
Specialized Training and Expertise
Our speech-language pathologists have completed extensive continuing education and specialized training in a variety of areas related to speech, language, communication, feeding, and swallowing disorders. We are committed to providing the highest quality care by integrating evidence-based practice, clinical expertise, the latest research, and family values into every evaluation and treatment plan.
Our areas of specialized training include:
- PROMPT (Prompts for Restructuring Oral Muscular Phonetic Targets) – a tactile-kinesthetic approach that uses touch cues to support motor planning and improve speech sound production
- Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
- Pediatric feeding and swallowing disorders
- Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC)
- Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS)
- Early intervention
- Articulation and phonological disorders
- Language disorders
- Social communication
- And more