In response to COVID 19, we are committed to providing safe speech, feeding,
and language therapy client's in-home and in-office. We are accepting new clients with your family's safety our top priority.


In Home and Virtual Speech and Swallowing Therapy for Pediatrics and Adults
Our board certified therapists travel to you!


Watch your loved one reach their fullest communicative potential
and swallow safely to meet their nutritional goals.


Ready to start your journey?
Contact Us Now!


In-Home Speech Therapy

Speech therapy for your children and adults at the convenience of being in your own home! No travelling, we will come to you

Speech Therapy For Children

Unlock your child’s communicative potential. Find out more about Speak Live Play Speech and Language therapy!

Speech Therapy for Adults

Adults may experience speech, language, voice, swallowing and cognitive deficits for a variety of reasons. when one’s safety and quality of life are at stake, effective techniques are a must.

Feeding Therapy

Getting proper nutrition both at the beginning of life and throughout early childhood is critical to neural development. Is your baby not taking bottles? Is your toddler a picky eater? Find out more about Feeding Therapy here.

Speech Teletherapy

Your safety is our top priority! Due to COVID -19, we have transitioned to online speech, language, and feeding therapy at Speak Live Play, We are adhering the the state of California’s recommendations and want to keep our families safe. We are still open! We are continuing

Occupational Therapy

Occupational therapy is a broad field of medicine that caters to children, middle-aged folks, and the elderly alike. Its sole purpose is to help individuals afflicted by mental and physical disabilities, injuries, and pain to participate in their normal daily activities without the discomfort and inconvenience caused by their condition.

Meet The Team

Melissa Peters M.S., CCC-SLP


Crystal Manlapas M.S., OTR/L


Elizabeth Wagner M.S., CCC-SLP

Tatiana Maldonado M.S., CCC-SLP


Welcome to SpeakLivePlay Speech and Occupational Therapy


SpeakLivePlay.com is a community-based organization in Los Angeles that offers speech and language therapy, cognitive, swallowing/feeding disorders that arise from injury, neurological conditions, brain abnormalities, and medical conditions like stroke.

On Speakliveplay.com, you can access occupational and speech therapy services for children, adults and tons of information on the nature of communicative disabilities and how to manage them.

What is Speech Therapy?

Speech therapy is a field of medicine that revolves around the diagnosis and treatment of speech disorders and communication problems. The professionals that perform speech therapy are known as speech therapists, or more commonly, speech-language pathologists (SLPs).

The goal of speech therapy is to improve how individuals communicate. It addresses various speech and language disorders using methods such as articulation therapy and language intervention. 

Speech therapy helps resolve speech disorders that develop naturally during childhood and speech impairments that arise from brain injury and illnesses like stroke.

What is Occupational Therapy?

Occupational therapy is a healthcare profession centered on helping people with various disabilities live everyday, productive lives. O.T. is important for people who need help when it comes to performing multiple daily activities at work, school, home, or in social settings.

Occupational therapy benefits people born with disabilities and those recovering from significant medical events like surgery or illnesses like stroke. This field of medicine aims to improve the health and quality of life of people who struggle with daily activities.

In essence, occupational therapy helps individuals learn or re-learn the necessary skills to live a happy, healthy life.

Speech Therapy for Children

During speech therapy for children, SLPs adopt various interaction methods, including playing, reading books, or describing pictures and objects. It can be conducted one-on-one or in a group session and will include various activities and exercises depending on the child’s needs in question.

The reason they use these methods is to stimulate language development in children with speech disabilities. The therapist may also go as far as to model sounds and syllables during playtime so that the child learns how to make those sounds.

It is a process that works through consistency and repetition, which is why parents and caregivers are essential participants in speech therapy for kids. They are required to carry on speech therapy at home by following the strategies and ‘homework’ provided by SLPs.

Speech Therapy for Adults

Like with any form of therapy, speech therapy for adults starts with evaluating the individual to determine the best course of treatment. The therapy exercises done here focus on improving speech, cognitive-communication, and language.

Exercises that improve cognitive-communication may include memory, organization, and problem-solving skills. Conversational tactics are used to improve how individuals communicate in social settings, while breathing exercises may be included if they lack enough resonance to communicate effectively.

Speech therapy for adults may also include muscle-strengthening and swallowing exercises, which address the oral problems that arise due to injury or medical illnesses like oral cancer and Parkinson’s disease.

In-home Speech Therapy

In-home speech therapy, other in-home services like physical, occupational therapy, speech teletherapy has gotten very popular in recent years. The rise of these services has shown that patients feel more comfortable in their environment and settings. The patients are more receptive and progress much faster than going into a clinic where they don’t feel as comfortable because of the sterile environment.

Another reason why in-home speech therapy is getting popular is because of the travel time. In metropolises like Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago, Houston, the traffic can be very congested, and it takes a long time for the patients to get to their therapist or doctor’s office.

Speech pathologists can use language development games, flashcards, and for in-home speech therapy. SLPs recommend the best language development tools to be used at home, depending on the child’s disorder.

Why People Need Speech Therapy

Speech therapy improves articulation, fluency, and resonance

Speech therapy teaches how to properly form various word sounds (articulate), speak with a consistent rhythm and speed (speak fluently), and project the voice for clear communication (resonate). Articulation, fluency, and resonance are the cornerstones of effective speech.

It helps with receptive disorders

People who struggle to understand and process what other people say is said to have a receptive disorder. Speech therapy helps resolve sensory language disorders caused by hearing loss, Autism, head injuries, and other language disorders.

It teaches people how to express themselves effectively

Expressive language disorders, which may be characterized by difficulty forming proper sentences and incorrect verb tenses, make people incapable of expressing and conveying information. Speech therapy can successfully treat expressive disorders, often caused by down syndrome, hearing loss, head trauma, and illnesses.

It can restore communication abilities after a brain injury

An injury to the part of the brain responsible for your ability to think can result in a cognitive-communication disorder, which is manifested through speaking difficulties, memory issues, and poor problem-solving skills. Speech therapy is one way to restore cognitive-communication abilities following a brain injury, brain abnormalities, illnesses like stroke, and neurological conditions

It helps stroke patients to recover their communication abilities

Aphasia is a communication disorder that prevents people from speaking, reading, and writing and also makes it harder for them to understand others. Aphasia is most commonly caused by stroke, but even when it arises from other brain disorders, speech therapy can be used to restore the patient’s communication abilities.

It helps M.S. and ALS patients that develop facial paralysis

Multiple sclerosis (M.S.) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis are nervous system disorders that often cause facial paralysis, which leads to slow or slurred speech (dysarthria). Speech therapy can help M.S. and ALS patients overcome the difficulties caused by this inability to control speech muscles.

Our Licensed SLPs (Speech-Language Pathologist)

Melissa Peters and her Team of trained M.S., CCC-SLP are speech and language therapists who have worked with many different demographics from babies, adolescents, adults, and seniors. SpeaklivePlay.com is a proponent of treating speech and language disorders by adopting an evidence-based approach that focuses on every individual’s specific needs.

The Team is experienced in treating voice disorders, articulation disorders, receptive and expressive language disorders (and delay), and developmental speech disorders caused by conditions like Autism. They have also handled cases of Apraxia, disabilities and are well-versed in the provision of early intervention services like swallowing and feeding disorders, which benefit people who develop speech problems at birth.

Melissa Peters and her Team are also PROMPT Level 1 trained. They are qualified to administer Oral Placement Therapy and DIR-Floortime, which aids in the treatment of articulation disorders. She believes in providing therapy in a child-centered environment, which may encourage faster development of speech capabilities.

They have recently added an occupational therapist in Crystal Malanpas, which will work hand in hand with their current speech and language services.

In Summary

SpeakLivePlay aims to improve the lives of those living with speech impairments and disabilities (both physical and mental) that make it hard to live an everyday life. With qualified and highly experienced experts, this community-based organization allows people to regain control over their daily lives and make life better for their afflicted loved ones. With the new addition of an occupational therapist to their Team, they will give even better and broader services to their patients.


Here, you can access occupational and speech therapy services for children and adults as well as tons of information on the nature of communicative disabilities and how to manage them.

What People are Saying About Speak Live Play

Picky eater- no more. Mel never gave up on my son, who had severe reflux and food aversions. She has helped my son become confident at meal time and he is no longer under weight!

Highly recommend Mel to any parent who is concerned about their child’s speech. With Mel’s patience, I can finally understand my daughter.

Mel’s caring and compassion helped my daughter with a severe language delay. She is dedicated and excellent at what she does!

Mel helped my son eat foods that he never would try before. Thanks Mel! You’ve made meal time fun and not stressful!

Just wanted to say THANK YOU! Mel- you’ve taught my husband and I so much about how language develops. You’ve helped our daughter communicate effectively and we are so thrilled at how she has progressed under your guidance!

My son absolutely adores Mel. He runs up to the door as soon as he sees her car in our driveway.

Mel’s talents with children are undeniable. Evident from our initial meeting, Mel truly cares and loves my daughter and is helping her reach her fullest potential.

My son is eating! A variety of foods!

Mel helped educate my husband and I to make sure our post NICU baby was feeding safely. Thank you for her expertise!