Meet the Homegrown Speech Therapy Team
Our pediatric speech therapists come to you! We serve families in Wheeling, IL, and surrounding areas!
At Homegrown, our compassionate speech therapists bring speech, language, and feeding therapy to your home— allowing you and your child to learn strategies and skills in real-life moments.
We’ll work closely with you to create a plan that aligns with your family’s goals and priorities, because you know your child best. Let’s work together to help your child become a joyful eater and a confident communicator!
Our speech therapists have advanced training and certifications in the following:
PROMPT • Natural Language Acquisition (NLA) for Gestalt Language Processing • The SOS Approach to Feeding • The AEIOU Framework for Feeding Therapy • Tethered Oral Tissues (TOTs) • The Hanen Program • DIRFloortime • Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC)
Julie Kander, MA, CCC-SLP & Owner/Founder
Julie Kander is the owner and founder of Homegrown Speech Therapy, LLC. She is a speech-language pathologist with nearly a decade of experience who believes fiercely in the philosophy that a child’s success in therapy is cultivated at home. Julie is certified by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and is a certified Early Intervention Specialist and Evaluator. Julie has additional experience as a clinical researcher at Northwestern University with the Northwestern University Early Intervention Research Group. She has attended numerous continuing education opportunities on various topics, including Apraxia of Speech, augmentative and alternative communication, birth to three language development, oral motor/feeding disorders, and parent coaching.
Originally from the northwest suburbs, Julie is proud to be raising her family in the community in which she grew up, and she's equally as proud to have the opportunity to better her community by providing quality, compassionate, and evidence-based speech therapy services.
Tracy Mai Lauffer, MA, CCC-SLP & Lead Speech-Language Pathologist
Tracy Mai is an Illinois-licensed speech-language pathologist with over 10 years of experience in serving the pediatric and adult populations in the Chicagoland area. She is a caring and dedicated professional who loves to collaborate with people and their families to reach their feeding and speech goals through personalized therapy.
Tracy has a Bachelor's in Communication Sciences and Disorders from Butler University and a Master’s in Speech-Language Pathology from Rush University. She is a certified Illinois Early Intervention Specialist, member of the Illinois Speech and Hearing Association (ISHA), holds the Certificate of Clinical Competence (CCC) from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), and holds the Illinois Professional Educator License (PEL) for school support personnel.
Tracy’s special interests are in: pediatric feeding disorders, responsive feeding therapy, lactation/breastfeeding support, neurodiversity-affirming care, early childhood language development, augmentative and alternative communication (low-tech and high-tech AAC), and supporting health literacy. After experiencing her own feeding difficulty with her son, she is currently pursuing the Certified Breastfeeding Specialist credential with the dream to combine feeding therapy and lactation support for breastfeeding moms and infants.
Originally born and raised in Chicago, Tracy now lives in North Barrington with her husband and two littles, while serving the surrounding northwest community. In her free time, she enjoys puzzles, yarn arts, food and wine tastings, and book clubs.
Gosia Gromska, MS, CCC-SLP
Gosia is passionate about supporting children’s language development during the critical period of birth to three. She believes that parents and caregivers should have access to strategies and resources in order to be more confident in establishing the foundation for their child’s future success in life. While “new” to the world of speech-language pathology, she is no stranger to Early Intervention! Prior to going back to graduate school to become a speech-language pathologist, she worked as an interpreter for the Early Intervention Program in Illinois.
In her free time, Gosia enjoys reading, walking, biking, traveling, and learning about different cultures. She is always interested in learning new languages and trying different foods from around the world. Gosia is fluent in Polish and is working to learn Spanish. She hopes that she can one day adopt a dog that she plans to name Waffle!
Elizabeth Dungan, MA, CCC-SLP
A graduate of Marquette University, she brings experience working with children in various settings, including speech and hearing clinics, schools, and special education programs.
She is passionate about helping children develop essential communication skills. Her therapy philosophy focuses on achieving meaningful, functional outcomes through engaging, client-centered tasks, with the goal of fostering connections between children and the world around them.
With strong interests in early language development, AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication), feeding therapy, and speech sound disorders, Elizabeth is dedicated to continually expanding her knowledge. She strives to provide high-quality, evidence-based services rooted in the latest research and best practices in the field.
In her free time, Elizabeth enjoys channeling her creativity through art, trying out new recipes in the kitchen, and staying active outdoors.
Hannah Scheller, MA, CCC-SLP
Hannah is a passionate speech-language pathologist who loves working with children, connecting with families, and celebrating all the little wins along the way. She has a special love for Early Intervention and believes some of the most meaningful progress happens when therapy feels natural, playful, and connected to everyday life.
Before joining the Homegrown team, Hannah spent several years working with the First Steps program in Indiana, where she supported young children and their families during those important early years. Her experience in EI has shaped the way she approaches therapy today—focusing not only on what a child is working on during a session, but on giving parents simple, practical strategies they can use throughout their day.
Hannah believes every child has their own unique timeline, personality, and way of communicating. She loves getting to know each child and family, finding what motivates them, and creating those “aha!” moments that make communication feel easier and more fun. Most importantly, she wants therapy to feel meaningful, functional, and like it fits naturally into real family life.
Outside of therapy, Hannah loves traveling, discovering new restaurants, and experiencing different cultures through food. She enjoys going on walks with her husband and their golden retriever, Hazel, and spending time at her family’s farm in Wisconsin, where she loves to kayak, hike, and recharge outdoors. She’s always dreaming up her next adventure!
​Dannielle Krehbiel, SLPA & Intake and Outreach Coordinator
Danni Krehbiel is a Speech Language Pathologist Assistant. She also holds a B.F.A. in Theater from Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle, Washington. She began her professional acting journey in musical theater, Shakespeare, voiceovers, and children's theater. Danni directed camps and classes for children and adults throughout Western Washington. Upon moving to Chicago, a friend suggested she bring her playful teaching style to the special education setting as a Lead Teacher and Registered Behavioral Technician. It was a perfect fit! She then received her Speech Pathology Assistant A.A.S. at College of DuPage and has been working in the special education field since 2019.
Danni utilizes her theater training to facilitate joyful, play-based intervention. She believes that YOU, the caregiver, are the expert on your child. Danni loves to collaborate with her families and supervising SLPs to develop the best tools and strategies for the child's language development, supported by evidence-based practices.
Danni pursued theater driven by her belief in the beauty of storytelling; now it is her mission to help individuals share their own stories. Everyone deserves a voice!
Caroline Scott, MS, CF-SLP
Caroline is a speech-language pathologist clinical fellow who recently moved to Chicago from Texas. Inspired by the importance of communication and the opportunity to help children find their voices, Caroline is passionate about supporting children and families as they reach meaningful communication milestones. Caroline’s favorite part of being a SLP is watching children make progress and seeing how those gains positively impact the entire family. Her therapy style is guided by patience, compassion, and optimism, and she hopes families feel understood, supported, and empowered throughout their therapy journey.
Caroline . specializes in language development, articulation, pediatric feeding, responsive feeding therapy, and AAC. Caroline uses a child-led, family-centered approach to help children communicate, grow, and thrive in a fun and supportive environment.
Searching for a “speech therapist near me?”
We’re Accepting New Clients!
Contact Homegrown Speech Therapy to learn about our in-home speech therapy services and to schedule an appointment with one of our compassionate and experienced speech therapists.