about water the sponge

My goal is to enable parents and caregivers to help their children reach their true potential in speech and language.  Find useful tips in the blog articles, explore affordable email consultation services, and download fun therapy materials.

Hello! I’m Tara

Owner / Pediatric SLP

Hello!  My name is Tara Dogero, M.S., CCC-SLP and I am a Speech & Language Pathologist who is currently a stay-at-home-mom to two darling boys.  I am a University of Washington alumna (Go Dawgs!), class of 2010, and an Emerson College graduate, class of 2012. Following graduate school, I spent the summer abroad in Italy working as an Aupair and introduced three children to the English language.  Soon after moving back to the states, I landed my first job as an SLP at a clinic that specialized in language and learning through a highly analytical lens.  Thereafter, I spent some time working in a local school district, then switched back into the clinical setting with a focus on pediatrics.  Since 2017, I have had the privilege of staying home with my children and partaking in their early years of their development.  I enjoy sharing some of my professional knowledge and personal parenting struggles (haha!) with fellow parents and professionals.  When not sharing ideas on Water the Sponge, I enjoy spending time with my phenomenal husband, reading fiction books, basking in the sun, and exploring beaches.  Welcome and I look forward to learning more about you and hearing your story!

My experience

  • Pediatric SLP in various private practices (2012-18)
  • Pediatric SLP at Seattle public schools, grades K-8 (2014)
  • Graduate clinician at Boston public schools, grades K-5 (2011-12)
  • Graduate clinician at Emerson College (2010-12)
  • Graduate clinician at feeding school (2012)
  • Stay-at-home mom of two children (Present)

My education

  • University of Washington – B.S. Speech & Hearing Sciences
  • Emerson College – M.S. Communication Sciences & Disorders
  • Prompt Level I Trained
  • Trained in Kaufman Therapy Technique
  • Experienced with the LiPS as well as the Visualizing & Verbalizing programs by Lindamood Bell
  • Experienced with the six-syllable program

My approach

I approach therapy with the individual in mind and recognize that you are your child’s expert.  As such, I work alongside you to create engaging and fun activities for your child to naturally boost communication skills. 

Each child develops in a unique way and it is important to tailor therapy to the child’s interests and passions.  Tell me about your child’s personality, likes and dislikes, and favorite toys around the house so that I can help you transform everyday playtime into learning time!

I work with parents and caregivers to provide premium speech and language therapy services to children.

One-month email consultation package

Do you feel like your child could use a little “boost” in his or her language skills?  Do you have questions about your child’s development?  Are you wondering whether your child is meeting developmental milestones?  If so, you have come to the right place!  Consult with an expert to learn simple tips and activities to implement in the home environment that will improve language skills.

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Three-month email consultation package

Let’s work together for a few months to nurture your child’s communicative skills.  This package is particularly beneficial for children who need help saying sounds, improving expressive/receptive language skills, or learning how to read, as these are skills that take time to foster.  Learn how to improve your child’s language skills at home with simple activities sent straight to your inbox.

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My areas of expertise

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Speech disorders

  • Childhood apraxia of speech
  • Speech sound disorder
  • Stuttering
  • Dysarthria
  • Orofacial myofunctional disorders
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Language disorders

  • Mixed receptive & expressive language disorder
  • Phonological disorders
  • Phonemic awareness difficulty
  • Reading comprehension difficulty

Learning difficulties

  • ADD / ADHD
  • Learning disability
  • Dyslexia
  • Auditory processing disorder
  • Selective mutism

The meaning of water the sponge

 

As a mother of two young children, I am constantly surprised by how much they observe and soak in their surroundings.  My husband and I called our eldest our “little parrot” because he repeated words back to us – whether we liked it or not!

Children’s minds truly are akin to a sponge that is absorbing the words and actions of those around them.  As I am sure many of you know, the brain is essentially an extraordinarily large muscle that requires continual exercise.  It is important that we as parents, teachers, and therapists be sure to nurture these spongy young minds, and yes, to water them adequately so that they don’t dry out!

We are lucky to live in a world of interconnectivity where endless information is at our fingertips.  As a Speech & Language Pathologist (SLP), I feel it is my duty to aid other parents and professionals and share my knowledge with the world.  I hope you find this website useful and that the blog posts answer some speech, language, and developmental questions you might have. 

One final thought – keep in mind that each child is unique when it comes to development and that you are your child’s expert!  I would love to hear from you and welcome all comments and questions; please contact me anytime!

I am so happy I reached out to Tara with concerns about my toddler! Tara provided tips to help my daughter use two-syllable words and my daughter took well to them! Throughout the month, Tara provided activities to help reach goals we had set for my daughter's language skills. I loved the activities because they were based on my daughter's interests. On top of providing activities, tips for us as parents, and reassurance of my daughter's speech development, Tara also provided us with research articles on raising a bilingual child. Towards the end of the month, my daughter was making leaps and bounds with her language! She is using new words every day and getting closer to using two-word phrases. Overall, I am so happy with the services Tara provided and we will definitely reach out for services again if needed. Thank you!

-S.G., parent of 21-month-old

Our child improved her vocabulary tremendously by working through the activities provided by Tara. All of the activities were easy to perform and directly connected with our goals of enabling our daughter to become more expressive. Tara quickly responded to all of our questions and tuned her program to our child's progress. It brings so much joy hearing our little one using her new vocabulary to describe the world around her. Thank you Tara!

-S.K. & A.K., parents of 19-month-old

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Water the Sponge is the best program we have done all year! I homeschooled my child this year and found myself wanting a program that could be tailored to him. I wasn't sure where to start with my son's speech and language development. Water the Sponge came to the rescue! Tara wanted to know what motivated my son, what games he liked, and his interests. I appreciated the initial questionnaire she sent out and could tell she really wanted my child to succeed. She created a program that was fun, enriching, and effective for the both of us! We looked forward to each week's activities and new challenges. It made learning so positive for him. Along the way if we needed to slow down or speed up in different areas it was no problem. We were able to go at my son's pace, and the program was so flexible. We were able to do it on our own schedule throughout the week which was very helpful. I will say that my son had very little exposure to rhyming words, making vowel sounds, or reading before we started with Water the Sponge. By the end of the program I was blown away! My son was a rhyming machine, improved on his word retrieval, was able to sound out and read basic words, and so much more! I will definitely be recommending Water the Sponge to all our family and friends. Thank you, Water the Sponge for making learning positive and fun for both myself and my son!

-M.B., parent of 4 1/2 year old

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Contact me

If you have questions regarding blog posts or are uncertain whether or not you should seek out consultation services for your child, please feel free to contact me.  You can use the form below, or email me directly at tara@waterthesponge.com.