Julie Prato

Julie has been a speech pathologist for 18 years. Throughout her career, she has taken advantage of opportunities to further her growth as a clinician. She began her career as a speech pathologist in the public schools. Simultaneously, she has worked as a clinical supervisor at Elmhurst College where she strived to engage future clinicians in the dynamic process of identifying each client’s needs and providing effective therapy. As a faculty member in the department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Elmhurst College, Julie has created and taught courses including Early Childhood Language Development, Language Development Across the Lifespan, Phonetics and Neurology for the Speech Pathologist.

Currently, Julie works with children from preschool to young adults. School districts and families have utilized her expertise as a consultant to interpret test results and create goals to drive effective Individualized Education Plans. Areas of specialty include language processing disorders, vocabulary acquisition and use, social cognitive impairments, and language based reading disorders. Julie employs both traditional and non-traditional treatment methodologies, using humor to build relationships with misunderstood children, which has resulted in long-term collaborative relationships with families.

Julie has pursued extensive continuing education in the Social Thinking methodologies and participated in a mentorship program with Michelle Garcia Winner. She is also certified in the Story Grammar Marker programs, which facilitate narrative development, critical thinking, and written expression. Julie is also a certified autism specialist.

Julie is a member of the American Speech Language Hearing Association (ASHA) and holds a Certificate of Clinical Competence. She received her Bachelor’s degree from Elmhurst College and Master’s Degree from Central Michigan University.