

Today we’d like to introduce you to Elizabeth McInnes.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Elizabeth. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
After earning my Masters in speech-language pathology from Emerson in 2008, I started out at a private practice in Needham where I worked with preschool and school-age children on communication and feeding. Right away, I loved the private practice model, where I had the time to build strong relationships with my families and was surrounded by other speech-language pathologists who brought unique expertise to the table. I spent a few great years at that practice and soaked up a ton of great insight, but then I started to feel the need for a new challenge. I decided to see another angle as a school-based therapist and was lucky to find a spot at South Elementary School in Hingham in 2011. There I had the chance to collaborate more closely with teachers, special educators, and school-based therapists in other practice areas like Occupational Therapy and Behavioral Therapy. The experience really broadened my view of the whole treatment ecosystem and how speech-language pathology could fit into the real lives of the children and families I treated. I always planned to get back to private therapy, and after a few years at South I started dreaming about opening a practice of my own. I started down that path by treating privately after hours and on weekends, and I slowly put the foundation in place to go full-time – got my website up and running, registered with insurance providers, learned about medical coding and billing, all that fun stuff. Then in 2013 the time felt right, so I took the leap to officially open Hingham Speech & Language Therapy that summer. Here we are four years later. It’s been great personally and professionally, though not without its challenges of course. It’s still really exciting. I feel like I’m still just getting started.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Overall, I really can’t complain, but there have definitely been bumps in the road. Becoming a mother was a big one. My husband and I had two boys in about a two-year span, and that meant a lot less time to work on and even just think about the business, especially in those early days of motherhood. Like most working parents (I think), I still struggle to balance home and work every day, but it’s gotten easier as the kids have gotten a little older and we’ve put a good support system in place at home. I’ve had to get more efficient in how I manage my time, especially with administrative things like billing and scheduling. Those basic tasks can chew up a ton of time for a small practice. Now I carve out specific times in my work schedule where I tackle specific things. Seems like an obvious thing to do, but until having kids I just didn’t need to have that level discipline to stay above water.
Please tell us about Hingham Speech & Language Therapy.
Hingham Speech & Language Therapy is a private practice dedicated to providing comprehensive speech and language services to preschool and school-age children across the South Shore. We provide an individualized approach to treatment that combines evidence-based and data-driven approaches with an appreciation for the real daily lives of children and families. Our team has experience treating a wide range of communication-related issues, such as articulation, fluency, childhood apraxia of speech (CAS), dysarthria, receptive-expressive language, autism spectrum disorder, social communication, and feeding disorders. Like me, the team also has experience in private, school-based, and home-based settings, so our treatment plans take into account curriculum standards, education goals, and the need for collaboration with a child’s broader network of school, early intervention, and medical providers. I feel strongly about our integrated approach to therapy, and I’m proud of the results we see every day with our kids. I’m also proud of the personal service we can provide as a small practice. I can see how much our families appreciate the regular feedback, weekly recommendations, and generally open communication.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
It would have been great to start off knowing more about running a business, but I don’t think that’s really possible. Some things you just need to learn as you go. I needed the early mistakes and obstacles to figure out how I wanted to build the practice. It’s been a gradual and evolving process for me, and that’s the one thing I don’t expect will change.
Contact Info:
- Address: 169 Lincoln Street
Suite 202
Hingham, MA 02043 - Website: www.hinghamspeechtherapy.com
- Phone: 617-840-5445
- Email: hinghamspeechtherapy@gmail.com
- Facebook: http://facebook.com/HinghamSpeechTherapy
Image Credit:
Peter Woodward
Getting in touch: BostonVoyager is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.