Chelsea Juels, M.S. | The Holistic School Psych | Founder of Six Months to Speech

My story as an autism mom of twins

My twin boys were diagnosed with level 3 autism and were nonverbal. I was their mom, trying to understand what might help and looking for ways to support them. As a family, we explored changes to their gut health and food. That was the piece that made other things start working for them.

Today, my boys speak in full sentences. I share that part of our story because it is mine, not because I believe every child will have the same experience. Children and families are different, and progress can look different for each one.

Our experience shaped the questions I kept asking about the connection between what a child eats, how their body feels, and their ability to engage with the world around them. It also shaped how I talk with parents now: with care, without blame, and without promising a particular result.

My boys were diagnosed level 3 autistic and were nonverbal. If you are in that place right now, I wrote about when nonverbal kids start talking and what the research actually says.

My background

I hold an M.S. in School Psychology. I’m also a Certified Nutritional Therapist with an autism focus, and a detox and gut health specialist. These are my areas of education and work; I am not a medical doctor.

I’m a mom first, and I know that supporting a child can bring up a lot of questions. My role is to share education and parent coaching—not to diagnose a child, prescribe, or provide medical treatment. I encourage families to keep working with their pediatrician, GI doctor, and other providers, and to discuss medical questions and supplements with them.

What I do now

I founded Six Months to Speech (6MTS), a six-month group coaching and education program for parents—mostly moms—of children with speech delays, autism, sensory issues, picky eating, and gut symptoms. It is run by CMJ Educational Services LLC.

The program offers weekly live group coaching calls that are recorded, a course library with stage guides, recipes and downloadable guides, and a private parent community app with written Q&A support. There are no one-to-one sessions. Calls average 8–12 parents, and the community includes more than 100 families with children around 18 months through 10 and older.

The program is organized into three stages. Families move through them at their child’s pace:

1. Prepare the body. Parents learn how to build on foods their child already accepts—for example, adding flax meal to pancakes—and how to gradually remove foods and ingredients such as gluten, dairy, dyes, and seed oils. Epsom salt baths are also included. Processed snacks can remain during this transition.
2. Clear what may be blocking progress. This stage covers gentle, ordered detox support for the GI tract, liver, and kidneys, along with juicing and targeted nutrition. Snacks are reduced gradually rather than all at once.
3. Rebuild the gut and nourish the brain. Families work with whole foods, healthy fats and fiber, fermented foods, nutrient replenishment, and nervous system support.

These are educational steps, not a medical treatment plan. Families keep their medical providers involved, and the program does not replace speech therapy, occupational therapy, or ABA. Most families continue with their existing therapies.

Every family’s experience is its own. Some parents report noticing changes in a couple of months, some over six months, and some over a couple of years. Sleep, bowel habits, mood or meltdowns, and trying new foods are among the changes families may mention early; speech and engagement may follow. Those experiences are not guarantees, and no two children follow the same timeline.

“Before we started 6 Months to Speech, we had gone through several months of my son waking up at 4-5 AM every day, with two or more night wakings. Last two weeks he's been waking up at 6:30, and last two days 7:30.”

— Toni L.

This is one parent’s account, not a promise about what another family will experience.

The people who support families

Parents are supported by a team, not by me alone. Amanda Dyer is the lead coach for families with children under 7, and Isra Ahmad works with families of children 7 and older. Both are moms who went through their own journeys with their children. Erin Rynders, LMFT, leads parent mindset calls every two weeks, and Brianna Evans is our program manager.

The group format gives parents a place to learn and ask questions alongside other families. It is not individualized medical care, and it does not take the place of a family’s providers or therapies.

Where to find me: The Holistic School Psych

Online, a lot of moms know me as The Holistic School Psych. The name comes from my M.S. in School Psychology and the whole-child, food-first way I look at kids. I share short videos on Instagram and TikTok as @the_holistic_schoolpsych, and on YouTube. I also co-host the Moms Ask Why podcast with Brittany Whitney. I’ve been a guest on the Empowered Eczema podcast and on Dr. Meenal Agarwal’s Uncover Your Eyes, episode 85, about hidden toxins in kids’ food and homes.

You can browse my most-watched videos and podcast episodes by topic here.

If you’d like to hear more about the approach before deciding what feels right for your family, I host a free live training on Zoom. It runs about an hour, with live Q&A at the end, and cameras are optional. You can register for the free training.

If you have a question about the program, you can reach the team at [email protected].

Six Months to Speech at a glance

Common questions