Today we’d like to introduce you to Savannah Couch.
Hi Savannah, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
My journey to entrepreneurship has been a twisty one. I honestly never really imagined I would be here. I didn’t grow up with that mindset, although I come from a family of hard workers, starting a business and stepping into blind faith was not the plan. I wanted to be successful but did not know what that meant. In high school I was quite rebellious and was really just wanting a way out of my small city. I moved to Portland to go to Portland Community College for their American Sign Language interpreting program. But as I was going through my first years of college, I started to see the world around through a different lens. After deciding I wanted a Bachelors degree I started at PSU in the speech and hearing sciences program. May of 2017, the year before I graduated, my sister died unexpectedly which was a huge turning point for me. I knew I wanted to continue with school but I was grieving in a way that I didn’t even realize until later. I was coping but barely surviving. I pushed myself through grad school applications and struggled immensely with a broken heart. I graduated with my masters degree with the expectations of going into medical speech pathology. However it was June of 202o, you can remember that time I’m sure. I walked into an unprecedented time as a young clinician with a heavy heart and no blueprints. I decided that I wanted to travel and live in a more nomadic lifestyle so I moved into a camper and began my travel SLP journey. Because if COVID medical fellowship placements were tough, especially as a traveler. So I went into a school district for my first SLP job. I immediately loved it. I never thought I wanted to work with kids truth be told. But as soon as I realized how much fun I could have and how many little lives I could help I was fully invested. I did go into an in patient rehab for a 6 month travel assignment just to make sure I really wanted to leave my medical dreams and I missed my school job so much. I took an early childhood special education assignment in intervention preschools and really found what I was looking for. I flourished as an SLP, even on the hard days I loved it. I loved working with kids with complex communication needs, I loved learning about neuroaffirming practices and augmentative communication and gestalt language processing and all the nuanced pieces of communication that looks different than what is typical. From there I kept thinking “this is what I’m gonna do forever”. I kept taking travel assignments in different areas and finding myself struggling at times because I wanted so badly to provide specific communication opportunities and I found myself dreaming about private practice. I got fully invested in being an AAC (augmentative and alternative communication) SLP. What was driving me was helping families build ways to experience life with their children who needed communication support in that way. I understood my skills and gifts as a clinician and then earlier this year I found myself late one night filling out the paperwork for my LLC. I am building this practice because my goal is to get AAC into the hands of children and their families. Living and communicating is for everyone not just people who use spoken words. My ultimate goal is to honor my sisters’ life by helping as many people as I can and opening the gates to communication.
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?
No it has absolutely not been a smooth road. I have had several trials a long the way. I struggled so much with my sisters’ death and the aftermath of that. Things that my family had to go through and are still going through. During grad school Portland State failed me by handling a coursework situation with complete disregard to my mental health and the others’ involved. I have never spoken out about it in fear of “letting them down”. I don’t feel the need to call them out but it was a huge part of my experience and the trauma that I was already going through. And of course there was COVID, which completely disrupted the end of my grad school experience.
My sister’s death brought along some really intense trials afterwards. She died after the birth of my second nephew and unfortunately his biological father was the center of many challenges within my family. I am holding back some info with respect to my family but it was an on going, incredibly hard situation that my family managed the best they could.
At the time I was working too and going to class and then bartending/serving in the evenings and truthfully was not taking care of myself. I was pushing pushing pushing but I did not know how to slow down. I was too afraid everything would fall apart. After I finally graduated and started my SLP traveler journey I was managing intense chronic pain that I think came about because I did not take care of myself the way I should have during this time.
I don’t think anyone has a truly “smooth” road. There are things I wish didn’t happen but ultimately it brought me here and made me tough. I am honest, open, and driven and that is the energy I give to my clients and families.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Tell us about your business. What do you do, and what do you specialize in?
Savvy Communication Studio is a neuroaffirming speech therapy practice in the Portland area, and our focus is AAC (augmentative and alternative communication). That covers speech-generating devices, communication apps, and any tool that gives a person a way to say what they want to say. I also specialize in gestalt language processing (a language learning style). I see families in their homes and in the community, and I also provide virtual parent coaching for families that like an easy way to get support for their routines at home.
I started Savvy because I kept seeing AAC done in ways that didn’t work for kids. I spent 6.5 years as a travel school SLP, working with students from preschool through high school who had complex communication needs, many of them autistic. Too often a device was handed over and then left in a backpack, or kids had to “earn” it, or the adults around them were never shown how to use it. Learning about neuroaffirming practice changed how I work. Now my sessions are child-led, play-based, and built around communication that actually matters in that kid’s life.
What sets you apart?
AAC is the center of what I do, not something I do occasionally. Because I also bring motor speech and motor planning into it, I can support kids who are speaking some, kids who aren’t speaking, and everyone in between, without forcing a choice between talking and AAC. Communication is communication.
I also come to you. Kids communicate best where they feel safe and regulated, which is usually home, the park, or wherever their life happens, and the people they talk to are part of that. So parent coaching and sibling and family sessions are part of the therapy itself.
What are you most proud of, brand-wise?
That Savvy Communication Studio feels like a person and not a clinic. Our tagline is “neuroaffirming speech therapy centered on connection, autonomy, and meaningful communication,” and I try to stick to it. I want families to feel like someone is on their side and not grading their kid. I’m also proud of the education side: my TikTok and Instagram @savvyaac, where I try to push back a little on the usual ways people think about communication. For example, when a child presses the same button over and over, I’d rather ask what that child is trying to tell us than treat it as a behavior to stop.
What do you want readers to know?
So many families I work with have been told some version of “your child will never talk,” “they’re not ready for AAC,” or “this is as far as they’ll go.” I want parents to know that nobody can predict a child’s ceiling, especially when the child hasn’t had the right tools or support yet. I’ve seen kids who were written off start telling their families jokes, asking questions, and saying what they love and what they hate. That happens when the adults around them start with what the child can do and build from there.
That’s what a strengths-based approach means to me. Your child isn’t a list of deficits to fix. They’re a whole person who is already communicating, and my job is to understand how they do it and give them more ways to be heard.
I am licensed in Oregon and Washington and provide virtual and in person services. I also provide free consultations for families that want some ideas or someone to share their thoughts with, even if they aren’t necessarily looking for private services.
Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
SOOO many people!! Firstly, God. I truly believe that I was called to do this work before I was prepared for it and it was God who carried me through so much pain and heartbreak. Second, my partner Mathias, who has been with me from the beginning, guiding me, supporting me no matter what, loving me and making sure that I could get through it all. My mom who has unconditionally supported me and picked me up time and time again. My best friend Mallory who went through the grad experience with me, she is someone who I will always be grateful for. Without her I would not have made it through that. My fitness coaches Heather and Chloe (Hour Bodies) for teaching me how to step into my power (in the gym) but more importantly, out of it. They modeled strength and success and without them I would not have started this business. Sarah Breshears for coaching me through marketing and social media management. Ebony Green for being an incredible SLP and modeling successful business ownership. There are many more though. I am blessed beyond words with amazing people in my life. Lastly I am now starting a mentorship with Malka Arnstein from SpeakingAAC and am so excited to work with her and learn from her.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://savvycommunication.com
- Instagram: savvyaac
- Other: tiktok: savvyaac
