Sparking Speech for a Brighter Future
About Us
Kelsey Long MA, CCC-SLP, TSSLD
Director & Speech Language Pathologist
Kelsey Long, owner of Spark Speech LLC, is a licensed speech-language pathologist in Connecticut and New York State. She has propelled her speech career in the pediatric and school-aged populations. With a Master of Arts degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders, a Teacher of Students with Speech and Language Disabilities (TSSLD) teaching certificate, and exceptional interpersonal skills, Kelsey is a well-esteemed clinician.
Kelsey began her career at the McCarton Foundation in the Bronx where she worked with pediatric children with autism, aged 2-3 years old. She built rapport with each child and their families and provided weekly progress updates to help keep families at the core of the therapy process. She also regularly provided toys and materials to be sent home with the child to help generalize their skills across different contexts: school, home, community.
Taking a holistic approach, she routinely collaborated with other professionals (ABA therapists, occupational therapists, service coordinators, etc.) on a daily basis to ensure optimal outcomes for each child. Working directly with certified occupational therapists, she sought out to implement the three levels of sensory integration (tactile, vestibular and proprioceptive systems) to compliment each child's speech session. Kelsey’s integrated approach of combining both speech and OT techniques promoted the acquisition of speech and language skills and the child's positive response towards each session. As a senior therapist at the McCarton Center, Kelsey counseled other speech therapists, mentored and supervised graduate students pursuing a career in speech pathology and assisted in the onboarding process of new clinicians.
When she’s not providing speech services, Kelsey loves to travel, garden and try baking new recipes. Originally from Southern California, she also loves the outdoors and plenty of sunshine.
Kelsey welcomes the opportunity to work with you and your child to create an enriching therapy experience!
Speech Language Pathologist
Alyssa Torres is a licensed speech-language pathologist in Connecticut. She has a passion for working with preschool and elementary aged individuals. Alyssa earned her graduate degree at Mercy College in Dobbs Ferry, New York.
Her clinical experience includes serving students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and with a variety of other speech and language disorders. Alyssa has a passion for child-led therapy incorporating play and high interest activities into each therapy session to maximize engagement. Alyssa enjoys collaborating with other service providers to create a well-rounded therapy session. Alyssa also makes it a point to collaborate with families to maximize carryover of therapy skills between sessions.
When she is not providing therapy, Alyssa loves crafting using her cricut, decorating for parties, and spending time with her loved ones.
Alyssa Torres MS, CCC-SLP, TSSLD
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Speech Language Pathologist
Melissa Lucci is a licensed speech-language pathologist in New York. She has a passion for working with early childhood and elementary aged individuals. Melissa earned her graduate degree at Iona University in New Rochelle, New York.
Melissa’s career is highlighted during her time serving students in an elementary school setting with a variety of speech and language disorders. She enjoys collaborating with teachers and other related service providers to integrate core curriculum into therapy sessions, ensuring generalization of acquired speech and language skills into the classroom. Melissa also routinely communicates with families to maximize carryover outside of the school setting.
When she is not providing speech services, Melissa loves reading books, knitting and crocheting, and spending time outdoors.
Melissa Lucci MA, CCC-SLP, TSSLD
BOARD OF ADVISORS
Jillian Moses BCBA, LBA
Jillian is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA), and New York State Licensed Behavior Analyst (LBA). She graduated from New York University, with bachelor's degrees in Elementary Education, Special Education, and Psychology. She also received her master's degree in Literacy from New York University.
She has been an Evaluator & Supervising BCBA for children receiving in-home ABA, a Special Education Teacher for the NYC Department of Education, the Managing Director at the McCarton Foundation in the Bronx and has now started The Inspired Community Project-a nonprofit serving New York City's families of children with special needs.
“After over a decade of providing special education services across different zip codes throughout New York City and seeing the major disparity in quality and quantity of services; I knew what I had to do. I believe that equity in education is a fundamental human right and the disparity in access, resources, and quality, can be course-corrected if we put people and community first.”
Erin Sullivan OTR/L
Erin is a licensed occupational therapist currently serving the early education population in the NYC area. She graduated from A.T. Still University with a Doctoral degree in occupational therapy where she focused her research on the impacts of intentional play on self regulation in children. She has spent the vast majority of her career working with children from all walks of life spanning from the school system, therapeutic preschools, parent/child engagement groups, and shelter settings.
Erin has extensive experience using sensory interventions to promote emotional and behavioral regulation, engagement, and executive functioning skills in children as a means to help them reach their academic or personal goals. She believes that attachment and engagement between a child and a caregiver is the most important first step to learning.