Today we’d like to introduce you to Hannah Moore
Hi Hannah, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Sure! The idea to start working with clients in their homes came to me after working with one of my public school students who was on a home health program, as they were unable to attend school for a period of time back in 2018. I got to do speech therapy with them in their home and quickly saw how personal the experience was. Getting to know others on a deep personal level fills my soul and working with kids truly lights me up; they are magical human beings. Within 6 months of this experience, Open Door Speech Therapy was born in early 2019 as a side hustle to supplement my full time job in public schools by seeing 1 client on the weekends. After leaving the public school system in 2021, I experienced a serious period of burnout, making it feel like I was progressing slowly in business. Now six years after starting the business, I have built my caseload up to be a full time solo-practitioner and have worked with over 50 children in their homes, preschool, home school enrichment program, and after school programs.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It hasn’t always been a smooth road. Like I mentioned, I experienced a period of burnout from 2021-2024. Looking back, I threw myself into my work as a way to cope after experiencing a huge life change in August 2020. I worked my public school job and then ran the business after school and on weekends to build up my clientele. I always had the goal to go full time and work for myself even though I somewhat did it at the expense of my own mental health. During this period, I wasn’t sure if taking on more clients was the best idea, for fear of burning out again. The positive thing that came from the period of burnout was that I finally was diagnosed with ADHD after a 12 year long suspicion. I knew I was wired differently and that feeling burnt out for as long as I did wasn’t exactly “normal”. This clarity allowed me to have more grace with myself and accept that my brain was designed to do things differently, not made to keep up with everyone else around me. Learning about my ADHD also made a lot of sense as to why I was drawn to entrepreneurship. I am most fulfilled when I can apply my creativity to my work, be my silly self with clients, and work at my own pace on my own time schedule. Being a neurodivergent speech therapist also allows me to understand some of my clients’ experiences on a more personal level. I love that I can relate to some of my clients in this way!
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Open Door Speech Therapy?
My company, Open Door Speech Therapy provides pediatric speech and language services to children in the northern part of San Diego–mostly areas surrounding the 56 freeway. I am a neurodiversity affirming, pediatric speech-language therapist with over a decade of experience, primarily supporting two populations of children. I mainly work with Autistic kids who are gestalt language processors (GLPs) with sensory needs and kids who need support with articulating the /r/ sound. Even though /r/ is one of the more difficult sounds for kids to produce, I have had a lot of success with the clients I’ve supported with this skill and have so much fun doing so! I incorporate play into every therapy session as I believe children learn best when they are playing and having fun. A lot of my clientele benefits from a child-led approach to therapy while honoring their special interests. I am also passionate about supporting and teaching social emotional skills because it is so needed right now and it’s something that my generation wasn’t really taught while growing up. I’m all about equipping kids with the tools they need to be successful and helping them improve their emotional intelligence. I love working with these populations because I get to focus on speech, language, and social emotional learning in my work.
I am really proud of the fact that I attract clients that feel like family. I adore the kids I work with and am so grateful for their families. Right now I mostly work with children age 3-9 and the majority of my clients have come from word of mouth referrals. I truly appreciate when families trust me and refer me to their friends. I am proud of my client retention throughout my six years in business.
I currently offer 1:1 in-home private therapy and contract my services to a local preschool. This year I plan to add sound healing sessions to my offerings as I am a recently certified sound bath ceremony facilitator. I plan to bring sound healing to group settings in schools.
Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
I’m not sure if I’d say luck has played a big part of my journey. I truly believe my success comes from my belief and trust in myself and hard work I’ve put in behind the scenes to get to where I am today. I am a firm believer in energy and manifestation and can 100% see that my business and life take off in seasons of fully trusting myself and my mission to serve children while I’m here on earth. In the past 6 years I have healed my nervous system and changed my inner world by opening myself to healing modalities like meditation, breathwork, Reiki, sound healing, acupuncture, and chiropractic work. I have hired life coaches, therapists, doctors, and business coaches to help me get to where I am today. The accountability and guidance I have received has been so helpful. Having the proper support network has given me the space to grow as a person and become a better therapist and business owner. With that said, I always make sure to have at least 1-2 professionals supporting me behind the scenes. There is so much value in investing in my health and well-being. Improving the landscape of my inner world has made a ripple effect in my outer world of life and business.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.opendoorspeech.com
- Instagram: @opendoorspeech_sd
