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
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
Tracy Mai is an Illinois-licensed speech-language pathologist with 11 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, CF-SLP
Elizabeth is thrilled to be part of the Homegrown Speech Therapy team as a Clinical Fellow Speech-Language Pathologist. 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.
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!
Joanna Magdaleno, MS, CF-SLP
Joanna is excited to have joined the Homegrown Speech team! Having grown up in the northwest suburbs of Chicago, she is excited to be working with families in the community she calls home!
A graduate of Brescia University in Kentucky, she brings experience working with children and adults in a variety of different settings including homes, daycares, clinics, and schools. After working for a year in an elementary school, she is excited to be back in the private practice setting where the focus is on individual therapy and working with the birth to three population. She is passionate about helping children develop their speech and language skills and believes collaboration with families is key to their child’s progress. With strong interests in early language development, speech sound disorders, and literacy and feeding therapy, Joanna is excited to continue to expand her knowledge and skills. She aims to provide evidence-based strategies and resources along with creative therapy ideas to help her clients increase their communication skills and set them on the path for future success!
Though new to the field of speech therapy, Joanna is not new to working with children. Previous work experiences include working in schools as an instructional assistant and substitute teacher, and at a multidisciplinary pediatric clinic as a behavioral therapist.
In her free time, Joanna enjoys reading, baking, spending time with her friends and family, and daily walks with her beagle, Oliver, who she adopted last spring! In the future, Joanna hopes to travel more.
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.