Sarah Cruz, SLP

Sarah Cruz, SLP Speech and Language services for families in the Yuba-Sutter region and across California virtually.

📣 Save the Date! AAC Q&A Sessions are coming to Yuba City!Have you ever wondered what it’s really like to use AAC every ...
06/19/2026

📣 Save the Date! AAC Q&A Sessions are coming to Yuba City!

Have you ever wondered what it’s really like to use AAC every day?

Join us for a special evening featuring two accomplished adult AAC users who will share their personal experiences with communication, education, advocacy, employment, and life with AAC.

💬 Hear firsthand perspectives
💬 Ask questions in a supportive environment
💬 Learn from lived experience
💬 Connect with local families, professionals, and AAC users

We’re honored to welcome:
✨ Krista Howard, A.A., SLPA
✨ Stephanie Fassov, M.A., Peer Counselor & Mental Health Advocate

📍 Kids Collab
1215 Plumas St., Suite 1201
Yuba City, CA 95991

📅 Saturday, September 5, 2026
🕓 4:00 PM

Registration details coming soon!

Tag a parent, educator, therapist, or AAC user who should know about this event! ❤️

06/04/2026

Can we talk about AAC device editing?

I’ve heard from multiple families that they’re not allowed to edit their child’s AAC device because “the school manages it.”

I understand that school-based SLPs are stretched incredibly thin and juggling huge caseloads. This isn’t meant to criticize clinicians. But it does make me wonder:

Who will be there when the child wants to add a new favorite toy, a family member’s name, a special interest, or a phrase that matters to them?

Parents and caregivers are with their child every day. They deserve to know how to edit their child’s communication system. It’s their child’s voice.

Maybe device editing isn’t the focus of Session 1 or Session 2. Early on, I want families focused on modeling language and building confidence. But teaching caregivers how to personalize and maintain the system should happen sooner rather than later.

And beyond that, our AAC users should be learning that they can have opinions about their own devices. They should have a say in what words, phrases, and messages represent them.

If a parent isn’t allowed to edit their child’s communication system, then who does their child’s voice belong to?

For those of you working in schools or supporting AAC users:
How have you successfully addressed this challenge?

• Parent coaching videos?
• Online tutorials?
• Device-editing workshops?
• Family office hours?
• Something else?

I’d love to hear what’s working.

06/04/2026

A typically developing 2-year-old has already heard millions of words and is exposed to thousands of different vocabulary items through everyday interactions. Yet somehow, we often decide that AAC users should start with only a handful of buttons because we’re worried they’ll be overwhelmed.

The Least Dangerous Assumption asks us to consider: What if we’re wrong?

If I assume a child can’t learn from robust language and limit their access, I may be restricting their opportunities to communicate, learn language, and show me what they know.

If I assume competence and provide access to a rich vocabulary system with appropriate support, the worst-case scenario is that I model more language than they use today.

Research consistently shows that language develops through exposure, interaction, and modeling—not by waiting until a child proves they’re ready.

Children learning to speak aren’t given access to only 10 words until they’ve mastered them. AAC users deserve the same opportunity to learn language, explore words, make mistakes, and grow.

The question isn’t, “Can they handle that many words?”

The question is, “What opportunities might we be taking away if we decide they can’t?”

✨ FREE Parent Communication Coaching Group ✨Are you a parent or caregiver of a child ages 2–7 who could benefit from add...
05/08/2026

✨ FREE Parent Communication Coaching Group ✨

Are you a parent or caregiver of a child ages 2–7 who could benefit from additional communication support strategies? Join our small-group coaching series designed to support families in building communication skills through play, routines, and connection!

🗣 Topics include:
• AAC & communication supports
• Language-building strategies
• Play-based interaction
• Supporting participation in everyday routines

This is a hands-on, collaborative group with individualized support for each family.

- Child must bring their own AAC device
- Parent/caregiver participation is required
- Due to facility capacity, only ONE parent and child (AAC user) may attend each session

📅 Cohort #1: 5/28–6/18
📅 Cohort #2: 7/2–7/23

🕓 Thursdays at 4:00 PM (4 sessions each)
💲 Cost: FREE!

Register through the link in my bio or at:
https://www.sarahcruzslp.com/events

05/07/2026

Bee and more bee 🐝 it cut me off 🤷🏼‍♀️😅
Bonus points if you can guess what I did with any of these things (or any two).

What’s in your bag?

After a difficult overnight stay at a sleep study with dad, this little one had an important message for mom. “Stop stop...
04/29/2026

After a difficult overnight stay at a sleep study with dad, this little one had an important message for mom. “Stop stop happy dad helped” 🥹

*posted with parent consent

04/22/2026

Ever wish you could add a flexible writing space right inside your AAC pages for phonics work or literacy activities? Here’s a quick walkthrough on how to add the Whiteboard feature in TouchChat with WordPower/Phonics pages.

This simple setup lets you:
• Model writing + AAC side-by-side
• Support emergent literacy and spelling practice
• Keep everything in one interactive space during therapy or home practice

Once you see where the Whiteboard lives in the page editor, you can easily embed it next to (or within) your phoneme/phonics layout to create a truly flexible learning space.

Save this for your next AAC setup session 👇

🚀 Rockets to Routines ✨AAC, but make it play.We’re bringing a hands-on, movement-filled, play-based session to CSHA 2026...
02/23/2026

🚀 Rockets to Routines ✨
AAC, but make it play.

We’re bringing a hands-on, movement-filled, play-based session to CSHA 2026—and we want you in on the fun! From stomp rockets to everyday routines, we’ll explore how meaningful play can power AAC implementation across the lifespan.

💬 Wanna play with us?
🧠 Come model, move, laugh, and do AAC—not just talk about it.
🤝 Practical strategies you can use Monday morning.

📍 CSHA Convergence | San Francisco
🗓 Saturday 3/14 | 9:00–10:30 AM

Let’s get on the floor, follow the learner’s lead, and make AAC come alive. 💥

02/14/2026

In AAC, we talk about “modeling” all the time. And I’m starting to think that word is working against us.

11/12/2025

A groundbreaking children's television show is set to introduce a new character who is largely non-speaking and communicates with the help of a special speech tablet.

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Yuba City, CA

Opening Hours

Monday 8:45am - 10:45am
1pm - 5pm
Tuesday 1pm - 5pm
Wednesday 8:30am - 10:45am
1pm - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm

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