Meet Marissa Doletzky of Rockford Speech Therapy

Today we’d like to introduce you to Marissa Doletzky.

Hi Marissa, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I’m originally from Arizona and have always had a passion for learning about different languages and so not surprisingly I am fluent in Spanish. This passion led me into the field of Speech Language Pathology at the University of Arizona where I received my bachelor’s degree and I then got my MS in Communication Disorders at the University of Oregon.  I started my career in the Tucson Public schools as a bilingual speech therapist and later relocated to Grand Rapids Public Schools.  Although I was working hard and seeing improvements in the children I was working with, I realized that the improvements would be so much greater if the children received more frequent and consistent speech therapy but the growing caseloads in the public school systems simply didn’t allow for that approach. That is what ultimately pushed me to open my private practice, Rockford Speech Therapy.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Smooth is not the word I would use.  There have been a lot of challenges to navigate along the way.  I officially launched my practice over summer break in 2019 with just a few clients and then continued on with evening sessions into the school year until the Covid Pandemic hit in March 2020. At that time there was a lot of uncertainty about COVID, how the profession would adapt, and on top of all of that my husband and I were expecting a little one that joined us that fall!  I feel very blessed because that year my practice moved to our new location and we added two new therapists to the team.  Many of this wouldn’t have been possible if not for my family who was amazingly supportive as was the great community of Rockford.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Rockford Speech Therapy is a private practice speech therapy located in downtown Rockford, Michigan.  We serve a variety of patients from children to adults, but we primarily work with children. We treat a wide range of communication disorders including early language development, Childhood Apraxia of Speech, stuttering, and we work with children on the Autism Spectrum. I am bilingual so I also offer speech therapy in Spanish. I also have training in assessing children who are bilingual in Spanish and other languages to determine whether the child has a communication disorder or is just learning English as a second language. I’m a Certified Autism Specialist with IBCCES and I am PROMPT trained. We also have occupational therapy and feeding therapy available.

My goal for Rockford Speech Therapy was to make it accessible to families, by offering flexibility and offering personalized attention. If a parent or caregiver is looking for speech therapy for their child, we assure them that we understand how concerned they are for their child’s development. So we offer personalized attention with therapy carefully tailored to each child’s needs. We also understand that many are struggling to balance work, family, and the daily demands put on their time.  So we also strive to provide convenient therapy times, including after work or Saturday appointments, to fit their hectic schedule. And we offer multiple ways to access therapy, including in-office visits, teletherapy, and even home visits.

What were you like growing up?
I was pretty shy and was into sports and academics. From an early age, I was fascinated with languages. I spent a lot of my allowance buying language books and teaching myself various languages, including sign language. I continued learning languages in high school (Spanish, French and Burmese) and in college (Kaqchikel and Navajo). Becoming a bilingual speech pathologist has allowed me to incorporate my love of languages into my profession by working with clients whose first language is not English.

Is there any pricing information that is relevant to our readers? If so, and if you would like us to share it, please include details (in bullet form) below.
Pricing really depends on the frequency and extent of services. We accept most major health insurance plans and we also have competitive private pay options available.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: www.rockfordspeechtherapy.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rockfordslp/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RockfordSpeech