Blooming Expressions Therapy, PLLC -- 919.605.5769
About Us
Meet the Owner: Crystal Tarkington, MA, CCC-SLP
Crystal graduated from The University of North Carolina at Greensboro with a bachelor's degree and a master's degree in Speech Language Pathology. She is a certified member of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Crystal has eight years of pediatric experience providing evaluation and treatment with children with a variety of delays, disorders and diagnoses. Crystal has worked with children of all ages birth to 21 years old in homes, daycares, schools and community settings. Crystal has a true passion for helping children grow and has a special interest with extensive training and experience in early intervention and autism.
Meet Kara, MS, 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 currently lives in Raleigh, NC.
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 Julia, MS, CCC-SLP:
Julia earned her bachelor’s degree in Speech and Hearing Science from East Carolina University and her master’s degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders from North Carolina Central University. She is originally from Wilson, North Carolina and currently lives in Garner, NC.
Julia has experience working with children ages 1–18 across a variety of settings. Her clinical experience includes articulation and phonological disorders, language delays and disorders, early intervention, childhood apraxia of speech, Down syndrome, augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), developmental delays, and parent coaching.
Julia’s areas of strength include early language development, speech sound disorders, and AAC. She has worked with multiple AAC systems, including LAMP WFL, TouchChat, Tobii Dynavox, and Proloquo2Go, and enjoys supporting children in developing functional, meaningful communication.
Julia values child-centered, engaging, and play-based therapy and collaborates closely with families and caregivers. She strives to create a positive and supportive therapy experience that helps children build confidence and make meaningful progress in their speech and language development.
Certified & Licensed SLPs
Blooming Expressions Therapy, PLLC is a therapist-owned private practice serving families in Clayton and surrounding areas. We evaluate and conduct individualized one-on-one speech therapy to a range of children birth to 21 years old. We are nationally certified, and state licensed speech and language pathologists qualified to evaluate and treat a wide array of diagnoses.
Highly Trained Therapists
Our therapists have completed numerous trainings and courses in a variety of areas related to speech and language therapy and feeding and swallowing disorders in order to best evaluate and treat children of all ages. At Blooming Expressions Therapy, we are committed to using evidence based practice, clinical expertise, family values and the most current research.
- PROMPT (Prompts for Restructuring Oral Muscular Phonetic Targets) - a kinesthetic tactile cuing technique to improve motor planning and movements for speech sound production
- Autism spectrum disorder
- Feeding and swallowing disorders
- Augmentative and alternative communication
- Apraxia of speech
- And more