James Berges

James is a board-certified Speech-Language Pathologist who believes that optimal learning starts with fostering a genuine connection and a growth mindset. James emphasizes making therapy functional and creatively tailored to each individual. He has substantial experience serving clients from ages 4 to 18 in the clinic and school settings, with a variety of diagnoses including Autism, ADHD, expressive/receptive language delay and articulation delays. He draws on his background of psychology to address the cognitive and social aspects of communication and has experience applying a variety of frameworks including the Social thinking curriculum, UCLA PEERS, improv training, and social confidence frameworks for those who struggle with social anxiety.

He has participated in research surrounding mindfulness and META skills (memory, emotional regulation, thought organization, and awareness). These higher-level thinking skills are critical to achievement and building lasting social relationships in the classroom and beyond.  He also has significant experience in assessing and treating children with severe speech-sound disorders using the complexity approach. Additionally, he has experience using assistive technology apps like Proloquo2Go, and using low-tech communication boards.

James received a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from UC Santa Barbara and holds a Master's degree in Speech-Language Pathology from San Diego State University, and a Certificate of Clinical Competence in Speech-Language Pathology from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA). He is licensed to provide speech therapy in the state of California.