Gabriela received her Bachelor of Science in Communication Sciences and Disorders with a minor in Human Services at West Virginia University. She then went on to get her Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology from Carlow University in Pittsburgh, PA.

After graduation, Gabriela moved to Florida to pursue a career in the school setting. During her time there, she received valuable experience working with pediatric students ranging from preschool to 5th grade. She worked closely with parents, teachers, and other professionals to write and implement goals to help improve functional communication. Gabriela also has experience evaluating and treating pediatric clients with expressive and receptive language, articulation, phonological, fluency, pragmatics, and cognitive disorders. Gabriela has worked closely with students who use an augmentative and alternative communication device (AAC). She is experienced working with students with Autism Spectrum Disorder, intellectual disabilities, and emotional/behavioral disorders. Although Gabriela has experience working with clients ranging in all ages, she is most passionate about working with pediatric ages!

Gabriela’s goal is to help children become passionate about their own therapy goals and progress. She aims to help her clients become functional communicators and have fun doing it! There is no greater joy than helping her clients find their voice!

Outside of AASL, Gabriela enjoys spending time with her two cats, drawing, reading, and trying new things!

More about Gabriela…

What is your favorite food?
My favorite food is ice cream! I always have room for dessert if it’s ice cream!

What is your favorite holiday and why?
Halloween! I love dressing up as different characters, watching Halloween movies, and eating LOTS of candy.

What is a cool hobby of yours?
I love to draw!

Favorite Halloween costume you wore as a child?
When I was a kid I would wear a Cinderella costume (even when it wasn’t Halloween).

What did you want to be “when you grow up”?
I wanted to be an animator for movies and TV shows when I grew up.

Why did you become a therapist?
I became a Speech Language Pathologist because I love working with kids and helping them find their voice! I didn’t even know about the profession until my junior year in high school. I took a test and SLP was on the list of jobs I should pursue. I looked into it more and then I fell in love with it after working with my first client and seeing the connections and fun we had in the sessions.

What’s the funniest thing one of your kids has said to you or done during therapy?
All my kids love to be fun and make jokes like calling me an old man or calling me mom and then laughing. However, recently I had a student tell me they didn’t like my name because it wasn’t pretty. She was convinced that my last name was my first and kept asking me if my mom named me that.

Give me one surprising/cool fact about you.
I turned 16 when I was on a trip to Italy with my school.

What pets do you have and what are their names?
I have two cats named Gemma and Tilly!

What is your favorite movie and why?
Princess Diaries because I love princesses and I thought becoming a princess as just a normal girl was so cool. I also always thought that Mia being awkward was relatable for me.

Favorite song?
Pretty much any Disney song but if I had to pick, I’ve always loved the song “Why Should I Worry” from the movie Oliver and Company.

Favorite book?
I have always been a huge fan of the Percy Jackson series!