Meet Ryann Flint | Owner & Speech Language Pathologist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ryann Flint and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ryann, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I have always wanted to open a small private practice in the Heights since I moved to Houston after graduate school. I liked the idea of being my own boss, setting up a space the way I envisioned it, and being able to manage children’s therapy experience by having my own clinic. I knew I wanted to create a pleasant, calm, and natural space for children to grow in their communication skills. I gained the confidence to open a private practice when I had my own baby. During the first six months of his infancy, I relied heavily on an occupational therapist and physical therapist to help me navigate questions I had about his development. They were there to reassure me that my baby was on the right path and steered us in the right direction when aspects of bottle-feeding and crawling were becoming difficult. After that experience, I realized it was time for me to be that professional for other parents in the area of communication. I know I have the information and ability to set parents at ease by helping their children learn to communicate better, and that’s a gift that I was ready to start using in my own business. Also, work-life balance was important to me. Owning my own business allows me to maximize time I spend with my growing toddler and sweet husband. It’s the best of both worlds, really!

What should our readers know about your business?
We specialize in late talkers and the preschool population. We try to get children ready for kindergarten and entry to the public and private schools. We even take children through the early elementary years who may have continued difficulty with a handful of speech sounds or language difficulties who perhaps weren’t identified in those early developing years. We provide a narrow niche of services to a smaller age range of children, which makes us specialists in early speech and language development. Despite having a clinic, we are also willing to go into children’s homes or schools, which is an added convenience for families. We want other Houstonians to know that we have a heart for children with speech needs; if we are unable to take you on personally as a client, we will help you find the right fit for your family by referring you to another private practice or agency in the city.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
When friends come to visit, my husband and I like to take them out to eat because Houston has some amazing food. We love grabbing Malaysian food in China town, Persian food (since I’m Iranian!), oysters, Cajun food, Mexican food, the list goes on! Pinkerton’s for barbecue! We usually take them out in the Heights or Montrose at night for drinks, and during the day we’ve got great parks and breweries. The Arboretum and Levy Park are some of our favorites. I’d probably take a girlfriend for a pedicure and shopping at the boutiques on 19th street or if we were feeling brave maybe Nordstrom at the Galleria. We are huge Astros fans and my husband has awesome season tickets seats, so we usually take friends to Astros games with us, or we try to plan it so that we can catch a concert at White Oak Music Hall when they visit. If they’ve got children, we’d check out the Houston zoo; the list goes on!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
The biggest shoutout goes to my sweet husband; he has been so supportive in helping me build Tiny Talkers. He gives me the confidence to do this by being a loving partner and gives me direction as a fellow small business owner. My friends and family also deserve a shout out because they allow me to run ideas and marketing materials by them for opinions all the time; they are so patient and supportive and I am very grateful for them. Lastly, there are fellow small business owners and colleagues who provide mentorship, referrals, and encouragement: Kelly Laudadio at My Tiny Farmer, Dayton Box Photography, my son’s former occupational and physical therapist, Heather Batman at Beyond Preemie and Leah Northcutt and Melissa Howard at Bloom for All PT, Brooke Andrews at The Speech Dynamic, Renee Anagnostopoulos at Heights Speech and Language, and lastly, my mentor and coach, Marcia Church at Pediatric Speech Stars and Speech Stars Branding. Thanks to everyone for your love and support!

Website: www.tinytalkerstx.com

Instagram: @tinytalkers_tx

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryann-flint-336430270

Facebook: facebook.com/tinytakerstx

Image Credits
@daytonboxphotography