For SLPs, BCBAs & OTs: How Six Months to Speech Works With Therapy

A parent program that sits alongside therapy

Six Months to Speech (6MTS) is a six-month group coaching and education program for parents of children with speech delays, autism, sensory issues, picky eating, or gut symptoms. It is run by CMJ Educational Services LLC. Parents may be working with an SLP, BCBA, OT, pediatrician, GI doctor, or several providers at once. We expect that many families will continue those relationships while they take part in our program.

I’m not here to tell a family to stop speech therapy, ABA, occupational therapy, or medical care. We do not replace any of those services. I encourage parents to keep their child’s existing therapies and to speak with their own clinicians about questions that belong in a clinical setting.

What parents work on at home

The program gives parents education, coaching, and practical ideas to try at their child’s pace. The focus is on food, gut health, and daily routines. It is not a checklist that every family must complete on the same schedule.

In Stage 1, parents prepare the body by making gradual changes to foods their child already accepts. For example, a family might try adding flax meal to pancakes. The stage may include gradually removing gluten, dairy, dyes, and seed oils, along with Epsom salt baths. Processed snacks can remain during the transition.

Stage 2 focuses on gentle, ordered support for the GI tract, liver, and kidneys. The program includes education about juicing and targeted nutrition, and parents reduce snacks gradually. Stage 3 is about rebuilding the gut and nourishing the brain through whole foods, healthy fats and fiber, fermented foods, nutrient replenishment, and nervous system support. Families move through the stages at a pace that works for their child and household.

Parents are not expected to make every change overnight. A child’s accepted foods, sensory needs, and family circumstances matter. Our coaches help parents think through the program material and adjust the pace; they do not provide individualized medical treatment.

What we don’t do

• We do not diagnose, prescribe, or treat medical conditions.
• We do not provide speech therapy, occupational therapy, ABA, or one-to-one clinical sessions.
• We do not ask parents to stop working with their child’s existing providers.
• We do not promise that a child will speak, meet a particular milestone, or have a particular result.

Families keep their pediatrician and GI doctor. Parents should take medical questions and questions about supplements to their own clinicians. Our program is education and parent coaching, not medical care. For a broader explanation of how families may combine approaches, you can read speech therapy, ABA, and diet.

What you may notice—and what we can’t predict

Every child and family is different. Some parents tell us they notice changes in sleep, bowel habits, mood, meltdowns, or willingness to try foods. Speech and engagement may follow for some children, but there is no set order or guaranteed outcome. Some families report changes within two months, some around six months, and others describe progress over a couple of years. Results vary.

One parent shared this about an OT visit: “Today when he went to OT he was in such a good mood. Did all the work with no issues and was overall one of his best sessions in a while. — A parent in their first week” That is one family’s experience, not a promise about what another child’s sessions will look like.

Another parent described her child’s communication this way: “When we first started this program end of May, my son had 12 words... over the last 3.5 months, he now has over 80 words, has been singing songs, he is pointing, and has said some 2-word phrases. — Lauren M.” I’m glad Lauren shared her family’s experience, while also being clear that another child’s progress may be different.

How we support the therapy plan

Our support is for the parent at home. The program includes 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. Calls average 8–12 parents. There are more than 100 families in the community, with children from around 18 months to 10+ years.

Amanda Dyer is the lead coach for families with children under 7, and Isra Ahmad supports families with children 7 and older. Both are moms who went through the program with their own children. Erin Rynders, LMFT, leads parent mindset calls every two weeks, and Brianna Evans is the program manager. There are no one-to-one sessions.

We can help parents understand the program and think through practical changes at home. We don’t direct a child’s therapy goals or provide a treatment plan for a therapist to implement. Parents can share their observations with you and decide with you what is relevant to your work. If a nutrition or supplement question is medical, the family should bring it to their doctor.

Speech-language pathology and autism: where nutrition fits

Many of the parents in our program are already seeing a speech-language pathologist, and often a feeding therapist too. I want to be clear about where our work fits next to yours.

At home, parents focus on food and daily routines: what their child eats, how meals and snacks are offered, and small changes to the foods a child already accepts. That is a parent-education lane. It is not speech therapy, and it does not touch articulation, language targets, AAC, or any part of a child's therapy plan. We leave that to you.

We talk with parents about gut symptoms like constipation or irregular bowel habits, picky eating patterns, and sleep, because these often show up alongside speech delay and autism. When a family describes a feeding concern that sounds clinical, like gagging, choking, very limited volume of intake, weight changes, or signs of a swallowing problem, we tell them to bring it to a feeding therapist or their pediatrician. We are not equipped to evaluate oral motor function or swallowing safety, and we don't try to.

Same with GI symptoms that look medical rather than dietary. Ongoing pain, blood, severe constipation, or anything that worries a parent goes to their pediatrician or a GI doctor, not to us. You can read more about how we think about gut symptoms and speech on gut health and speech delay and autism and constipation.

If you work with a family who is also in our program, you're welcome to ask them what we cover so you have the full picture. We would rather a therapist understand our role clearly than guess at it. More on how the two can work together is on speech therapy, ABA, and diet.

How to reach us or learn more

If you’re a provider and have a question about what the program includes, you can write to [email protected]. With a family’s permission, you can also encourage them to ask us directly about the program structure. We want parents and their providers to have a clear picture of what they are considering.

I also invite you to join the free live training on Zoom. It lasts about an hour, with live Q&A at the end, and cameras are optional. It gives parents an overview of our approach to gut health and the program stages. It is educational, not a substitute for clinical guidance. You can see the details at sixmonthstospeech.com/guthealingtraining.

If a parent is exploring whether the program is right for their family, they can also review our background and learn more about parent reviews. My hope is simply that families have clear information, feel respected in their choices, and can keep the care team that knows their child involved.

Six Months to Speech at a glance

Common questions