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Our Story

"We are making a shift from medical model therapy to holistic, neurodiversity-affirming practices by embracing the way children learn best. First Phrases are meant to enrich the language environment and give parents/clinicians tangible items to help model. We are taking away the overwhelming feeling of "just start" and changing it to "let's do this together."
Farwa Husain, M.S., CCC-SLP, speech therapist and owner of Gestalt Goodness

Farwa Husain, M.S., CCC-SLP

Founder, First Phrases

Owner, One-on-One Speech Therapy

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"As a speech-language pathologist, my mission is to honor all forms of communication and help support a child with multimodal supports. That means acknowledging all forms of communication and supporting a child in how they learn best."

First Phrases represents the vision of Farwa Husain, M.S., CCC-SLP, a pediatric speech therapist who specializes in working with early language learners, autistic children and those who use echolalia to communicate. Recognizing a crucial need within her own therapy sessions for physical tools that align with each child's unique learning styles, she created these interactive cards and digital platform.

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Many of the autistic children she works with can read and love letters, numbers, and animals. She began writing down the phrases she was using in therapy and pairing them with pictures to engage her clients. Using her children's voices, she then added voice recordings to each phrase and image. Her clients not only loved reading the phrases and looking at the pictures but also really enjoyed listening to the voices. She shared these phrases with her clients' parents, local speech therapists and they started to use them in their own daily practices and the magic of connection and communication happened! 

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​Farwa is passionate about ensuring that all children have  access to dynamic AAC (augmentative and alternative communication)  and deserve the chance to communicate in a way that feels natural and meaningful to them. That’s why she encouraged parents to record their own voices and their children's siblings' voices on their AAC devices. This simple step helped families embrace their children with excitement, turning what might be scary or intimidating into empowered and connected.​

Farwa offers training to school districts on neurodiversity-affirming practices, echolalia, collaborative services, as well as improving communication outcomes. Understanding that clinicians often face large caseloads and limited prep time, Farwa created practical solutions to support all language learning styles, with a focus on autistic children.

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 First Phrases are thoughtfully designed to empower all language learners, especially neurodivergent children whose language may seem "stuck" in the repetition of phrases they’ve heard or seen. Created with deep consideration of how neurodivergent children process the world, and informed by input from autistic individuals and the latest research, we are proud to be the first to use real children's voices and impactful, meaningful phrases. This innovation is transforming the way we support language development, leading the way in creating positive change.

Farwa's Professional Experience

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  • Recognized as an Innovator in the field at the 2023 American Speech and Hearing Association (ASHA) national convention

  • 2024 National Black Association for Speech-Language and Hearing (NBASLH) Clinician of the Year-SLP Award

  • Private Practice, One-on-One Speech Therapy specializing in working with neurodivergent children and echolalia

  • 2024 Presenter for NBASLH at the 2024 national convention. Topic: Taking a Holistic Neurodiversity-Affirming Approach with Our Autistic Children

  • Currently serving as President of Morris County Speech and Hearing organization

  • Co-Creator of Connect and Play, summer immersive program, for neurodivergent that was recognized at the 2024 American Speech and Hearing Association (ASHA) national convention's OpportuniTeam initiative for its exceptional interdisciplinary team and therapeutic outcomes.

  • Host of free parent webinars and SLP in-person meetups to to create a supportive neurodiversity-affirming community

  • 2024 invited speaker at the 60th anniversary Maine Speech and Hearing Association National convention.

  • 2023 NJSHA state convention presenter, "TV talk Communicates: Looking at Behaviors that Suggest Gestalt Language Processing"

  • 2023 Speech Therapy PD's Back to School conference presenter, "Embracing Echolalia to Enhance Communication" 

  • 2023 Irish Special Interest Group, "It all communicates: introduction to gestalt language processing"

  • 2022 ASHA national convention co-presenter, "Using Natural Language Acquisition to Support Autistic and Neurotypical Gestalt Language Development"

  • Teachers College, Columbia University, “Introduction to Gestalt Language Processing”

  • Speech Therapy PD co-presenter, "Interdisciplinary Practice: Enhancing Communication in Neurodivergent Children"

  • One-on-One Speech Therapy and KidPT webinar, "Communication Head-to-Toe for Neurodivergent Children" 

  • Morris County Speech and Hearing Association speaker on the topics of bilingualism, gestalt language processing, and interdisciplinary practices.

  • International presenter and mentor on the topic of neurodiversity-affirming practices and improving therapeutic outcomes

  • Provider of school based trainings and in-services throughout the country on collaborate services in the school and various neurodiversity affirming practices 

  • 2025 invited speaker at Missouri Speech and Hearing Association, Florida Speech and Hearing Association, New York State Speech Language and Hearing Association annual state convention

  • Upcoming 2025 presenter at the New Jersey Speech and Hearing Association state convention

The  "Whole Lotta Goodness" Initiative

This is for the incredible therapists and teachers that are working to change the lives of children through neurodiversity-affirming practices!

 

We are passionate about building an empowered community and want to support you in providing effective, evidence-based services to your students. We also know that there are many settings that do not have all the resources but are filled with wonderful therapists, teachers, and staff that go above and beyond to provide for their students!

 

We want to highlight YOU! Tell us your story and how you are making magic with the resources that you have. 

 

We will choose a clinician each month, highlight you on our social platforms, and send you a FREE First Phrases box! It is our way to support you and to say thank you. You are doing an amazing job! 

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