Essex
Cassandra Pierson
BA (Hons) MSc MRCSLT MASLTIP
Senior Speech and Language Therapist - Service Lead (Essex)
Cassie is one of the service leads in C&D, overseeing the Essex team.
She has experience working with children of all ages with a range of speech, language and communication difficulties in schools and clinical settings.
Cassie’s area of specialism is pre-school autism spectrum and complex communication difficulties. She is qualified and experienced in the use of Makaton signing, British Sign Language (BSL) level 1, Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) and is pending certification of the Hanen More Than Words Licensed programme. Cassie is ADOS-2 trained and works alongside other colleagues to diagnose Autism.
Cassie works in our Essex head office. When she is not working, she enjoys spending time with her family.
Natalie Squires
BA (Hons) PG Dip MRCSLT
Senior Lead Speech and Language Therapist
Natalie is a Lead Speech & Language Therapist in mid and south Essex. She works with children and adolescents in school with a wide range of speech, language and communication difficulties.
Natalie specialises in dysfluency and she is trained & experienced in using various therapy techniques including: Word Aware, Lego Therapy, Attention Autism, Signalong, Cued Articulation, Solution Focused Practice, Swindon Fluency and Colourful Semantics.
Outside work, Natalie loves hiking, travelling, all things Disney and star/planet gazing with her telescope!
Gail Evans
BA (Hons) MSc MRCSLT
Senior Speech and Language Therapist
Gail trained as a Speech and Language Therapist after time spent travelling, teaching, working in the media and having three children. Since qualifying, she has worked primarily with clients with Learning Disabilities. Gail is qualified and experienced in the use of Makaton signing, Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS), Shape Coding and Social Stories.
Gail works in the community in the Witham area. Her particular areas of interest include Autistic Spectrum Condition, Down Syndrome and Selective Mutism.
Gail loves live music and theatre, when she finds the time in between looking after her children and growing menagerie (fish, cats, a tortoise, and a dog).
Amber Vincent
BA (Hons) MSc MRCSLT
Speech and Language Therapist
Amber studied MSc Speech and Language Therapy at the University of Essex. She also has an undergraduate degree in English Language and Communication, where she learned transferrable knowledge and skills to Speech and Language Therapy.
Amber works in our Essex clinic, in the community and in schools in the Colchester and Tendring area. Amber has a particular interest in Autism and language in the early years.
Outside of work, Amber enjoys spending time with friends and family, eating food and going on holidays and travelling.
Julia Nevard
Office and Finance Manger
Julia is our front of house and behind the scenes expert. From taking the calls and booking our clients in, organising our cross-site teams to keeping our finances in order, Julia is at the heart of our company.
Julia loves going to the theatre, doing pilates and spending time with her lovely family.
Bethany Sokhi
BA (Hons) MSc MRCSLT
Speech and Language Therapist
Beth studied Speech and Language Therapy at the University of Essex. She also has a degree in Psychology with Criminology, where she took an interest in developmental psychology and learnt key concepts transferable to Speech and Language Therapy.
During her MSc course Beth completed placements supporting children with a range of speech, language, and communication needs in schools and in the community. Previous to her studies Beth worked as a Digital Access Support Officer providing practical one to one and group training and support to people to increase their use of technology. She has also worked with children aged 4-11 at school holiday club, and volunteered as a befriender for people with aphasia.
Beth works in our Little Braxted Clinic supporting families to develop their children’s speech, language and communication skills.
Outside of work, Beth enjoys running, baking, travelling and spending time with friends and family.
Yvonne Hasler
BSc (Hons) MRCSLT
Speech and Language Therapist
Yvonne studied BSc Speech and Language Therapy at the University of Essex. During her final year of the degree, Yvonne completed a practice placement at C & D, where she helped support preschool and primary school-age children with both speech sound and language disorders.
Before starting her degree course, Yvonne was a nursery school teacher for ten years in a local Montessori Nursery, working with children aged two to five years. She holds Montessori Level 2 and Makaton Level 2 qualifications.
Outside work Yvonne enjoys walking her dog Smudge, taking family holidays exploring the UK and Europe in their 70’s VW campervan, going to the cinema, and eating out with friends and family (as she hates washing up!)
Joanne Hookins
Level 4 SLTA/Level 5 Apprentice in training
Speech and Language Therapy Assistant/Healthcare Practitioner Apprentice
Jo studied level 4 Supporting Children with Speech, Language and Communication Needs, whilst working with children between the ages of 4 and 11 in a mainstream primary school. She is currently on the pathway to be a registered Speech and Language Therapist via the apprenticeship course, under the guidance of Essex University and her senior team at C&D.
Jo has extensive experience supporting children with ASD, learning difficulties, disabilities and speech sound difficulties. Over the years, she has been trained in using different interventions including; Colourful Semantics, Attention Autism, Intensive Interaction and has a keen interest in supporting children with speech sound difficulties.
Outside work, Jo enjoys family time with her husband and four grown up children. She enjoys spending time with family and friends, walking with her 2 dogs and exploring new places.
Hollie Cornell
BA (Hons) BSc
Speech and Language Therapist
Hollie studied Speech and Language Therapy at the University of Essex. She also has an undergraduate degree in English Language where she learned transferrable skills to speech and language therapy. Hollie worked for C&D during her studies, as a speech and language therapy assistant, supporting children with a range of speech, language, and communication needs in both schools and in our clinic.
Hollie is Level 1 trained in Makaton, and has interests in speech sound disorders, CAS, and DLD.
Outside of work, Hollie enjoys keeping active at the gym and going for walks, going on holidays and all things musical theatre.