Meet the Team

Allyson Hope Messier
MS, CCC-SLP

Founder, Clinical Director
Speech-Language Pathologist

Allyson is the proud founder and clinical director of Words with Hope Therapy, LLC founded in Rhode Island.

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She earned her Master's Degree with honors in Speech-Language Pathology from Worcester State University. She holds the Certificate of Clinical Competence (CCC) through the National American Speech and Language Hearing Association (ASHA) and is currently licensed to practice throughout Rhode Island, Florida and California. 

Allyson has extensive experience diagnosing and treating a variety of age groups ranging from 3 years to geriatric and in a variety of settings including public school systems, clinics, and private practices. She has diagnosed and treated individuals with a variety of speech, language, and phonological disorders.

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Allyson's areas of particular interest include articulation and phonological disorders, fluency (stuttering/cluttering) disorders, expressive and receptive language delays, aphasia in adults, and voice therapy. She is a certified clinician in the Lee Silverman Voice Therapy LOUD (LSVT-LOUD) program which serves to be beneficial in voice therapy, fluency therapy, articulation therapy, and more.

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She is energetic, kind, and enjoys empowering her clients and their families. She is passionate about keeping speech and language sessions motivating and fun while building the client's skills for success. 

Kris Desmarais
M.S., CCC-SLP

Speech-Language Pathologist

Kris graduated with their Master’s degree in Speech-Language-Pathology from the University of New Hampshire. They have their Certificate of Clinical Competence (CCC) issued from the National American Speech and Language Hearing Association (ASHA). Kris is currently licensed in the states of Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

Kris worked for four years as a Speech Language Pathology Assistant at a private practice before attending graduate school. They have experience diagnosing and treating individuals with speech sound disorders, expressive and receptive learning delays, social pragmatics, fluency, and voice disorders. Kris has over two years of experience working with Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC). 

While working with individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Kris learned about Natural Language Acquisition (NLA). Many people with ASD are Gestalt Language Processors (GLP) and will use echolalia (also known as scripting or gestalts) to communicate. The NLA framework recognizes these gestalts as meaningful speech and works to assist the GLP with their language development. This process involves helping the client move through the stages of gestalt language development to get to self-generated language. Kris provides support to families of GLP to discover the meaning behind the gestalts their child is using, as NLA focuses on the context of the situation rather than the content of the message.

Kris has a compassionate and empathetic personality and prioritizes the comfort of their clients to ensure that they have a positive and engaging experience during therapy. This includes establishing rapport and tailoring the sessions to their client’s interests and hobbies.