Work with Us
Supporting families with heartfelt coaching and training.
Parent Coaching
We support parents of autistic communicators by helping them better understand their child, build stronger connection and create more meaningful communication opportunities in everyday routines.
We guide parents of autistic communicators with practical support, encouragement, and simple strategies that can be used naturally at home.
Our approach is relationship-based and neurodiversity-affirming, helping you feel more confident as you learn how to meet your child where they are and support communication in ways that feel respectful, connected, and real.
Please email us for more information!
JOIN our free parent community!
Our community is a warm, supportive space for parents of autistic communicators who want to better understand their child, build deeper connection, and create more joyful, meaningful communication in everyday life.
We know this journey can feel overwhelming at times. You may be searching for guidance, encouragement, and simple ways to support your child that feel natural, respectful, and doable at home. This community was created with that in mind.
Inside, you’ll find free trainings, weekly lives, helpful resources, practical ideas, and a community of parents who understand.
Our IRC™-one minute at a time approach is relationship-based and neurodiversity-affirming, helping you connect with your child and support communication one meaningful minute at a time.
Cherie & Alicia
Our Story
We are Cherie & Alicia, two Speech-Language Pathologists who have a passion for opening the doors of communication for non-speaking/minimally speaking autistic communicators.
We spent years working in school and clinic settings, discouraged and frustrated by popular strategies that skipped over or shut down entirely an autistic communicator’s internal desire to connect and communicate. We believed that it could be different. Over time, we developed our current trademarked approach IRC™- one minute at a time, which enables parents to utilize our strategies to ignite autistic communicators’ internal desire to connect and communicate.
Since working with over 60 families and training many school and clinic staff members, we continue to be amazed by the results that families and professionals are achieving by creating joy within back and forth interactions.
Alicia is a licensed pediatric Speech-Language Pathologist with 30 years of experience, working primarily with children 0-5 years. Throughout her career, she has worked across a variety of settings—including clinics, private practice, in-home services supporting families and children through every stage of early communication development.
Alicia currently serves as a preschool SLP within an inclusive school setting, providing speech and language services while also providing AAC support for students and staff across elementary school years. Beyond her school-based work, she mentors SLPs and supervises SLPAs in both school and clinic settings.
Cherie is a licensed pediatric speech-language pathologist with 13 years experience, working with children 0-22 years of age. Her experience includes treating a range of early communication disorders and delays including childhood apraxia of speech and language disorders with children on the Autism Spectrum and children with Down Syndrome and Developmental Delays. Cherie has worked in a variety of settings including working as a school-based SLP, providing early intervention speech and language services in-home as well as clinic based services. Cherie provides training to Early Intervention Specialists and supervises Speech-Language Pathology Assistants.
Speech Language Pathologist
Cherie Somers, M.S./CCC
Alicia McManaman, M.A./CCC
Speech Language Pathologist
Thanks to you guys and the training you have provided to us. WE are a great time only because we have great teachers. You guys rock and feel like a part of the family!
Anna & Cole
In the past 6 months we have been enjoying so many small wins and some big ones too. We couldn't be happier about our decision to join coaching.
Poornima K