Connections SLP

What Connections SLP does

Connections SLP (legal name: Connections Speech and Language Pathology) is a private pediatric therapy clinic founded in 2000 by Melissa Bartel, CCC-SLP, and based in Bellingham, Washington. The clinic delivers speech and language therapy, feeding therapy, and occupational therapy to children from birth through age 21 in Whatcom County, with service delivery split across three channels: in-person at its 1971 Midway Lane clinic, online via telehealth, and on-site at contracted local childcares and preschools. The clinical team comprises approximately 8 Speech Language Pathologists covering specializations including AAC, early intervention, childhood apraxia, phonological awareness, and bilingual English-Spanish service delivery, plus 1 Occupational Therapist and 3 administrative staff; physical therapy and naturopathic pediatric services are available through co-located partner practices (Sprouts NW and Dr. Culleton) operating as tenants within the same facility.

The business operates on a professional services revenue model, billing most state and private insurance plans for individual therapy sessions and processing client payments through the BalanceCollect online platform. Approximately 65% of clients utilize state-funded healthcare programs. The company has no proprietary technology systems; its digital footprint consists of a Wix-hosted website, Facebook and LinkedIn pages, and the third-party payment integration. Over 20+ years of operation, the clinic has served more than 5,500 children in Whatcom County and currently maintains waitlists of a few weeks for speech therapy and 5-8 months for occupational therapy.

Connections SLP is founder-owned and operated by Melissa Bartel with no institutional investors, private equity, venture capital, or parent company involvement. The company has grown entirely organically through clinician hiring and service line expansion, adding Occupational Therapy in 2021-2022 and opening an expanded sensory gym in 2024. In 2025, the clinic onboarded three new Clinical Fellow SLPs, the largest single-year headcount expansion in its history. Geographic scope is confined to a single regional market (Whatcom County, WA), making this a classic lifestyle professional services business rather than a venture-scale platform.

Name

Connections SLP

Legal name

Connections Speech and Language Pathology

Website

https://connectionsslp.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Connections SLP is a Bellingham, Washington pediatric therapy clinic founded in 2000, providing speech, feeding, and occupational therapy services to children from birth through age 21 across Whatcom County via in-clinic, telehealth, and on-site preschool delivery.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Pediatric Therapy Services

NAICS

Offices of Physical, Occupational and Speech Therapists, and Audiologists (621340), Ambulatory Health Care Services (621)

SIC

Services-Specialty Outpatient Facilities, Nec (8093), Services-Health Services (8000)

akta.pro primary industry

Pediatric Rehabilitation & Developmental Therapy Centers (PT/OT/SLP) (HLAFAJAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

Classroom-Based / Push-In & Curriculum-Embedded SLP Services (EDAKAEAK), Bilingual / Multilingual SLP Services and Language Difference vs. Disorder Support (EDAKAEAM)

Keywords

• Pediatric speech therapy
• Feeding therapy services
• Occupational therapy clinic
• Child language pathology
• Telehealth speech therapy

Headquarters

HQ city

Bellingham

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Therapy Services Revenue: The clinic provides speech therapy, feeding therapy, and occupational therapy services billed through insurance. Works with most state and private insurances. Families can pay bills online through Balance Collect payment system.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Connections SLP is a pediatric therapy clinic delivering speech and language therapy, feeding therapy, and occupational therapy to children from birth through age 21 in Whatcom County, Washington. Services are delivered in person at its Bellingham clinic, online via telehealth, and on-site at contracted local childcares and preschools. The clinic bills primarily through state and private insurance, serving over 5,500 children since its 2000 founding.

Product overview

Connections SLP is a pediatric speech and language pathology clinic founded in 2000, now operating as a multi-disciplinary therapy clinic serving children from birth through age 21 in Whatcom County. The clinic offers Speech & Language Therapy as its core service, along with Feeding Therapy and Occupational Therapy as complementary therapy services. Physical Therapy and Naturopathic Pediatric Services are available through partner providers (SPROUTS NW and Dr. Culleton) who operate from space within the clinic. The clinic provides services both in-person at their Bellingham location and online/telehealth, with additional on-site services at local childcares and preschools. The portfolio includes evaluation and ongoing treatment services across multiple therapy disciplines, with a child-centered, play-based therapy approach and strong family involvement emphasis.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Speech & Language Therapy Pediatric speech and language therapy services for children from birth through age 21, providing comprehensive evaluations and ongoing specialized treatment for speech/language impairment, articulation, developmental delays, autism, genetic syndromes, hearing loss, sensory integration, and reading/language processing disorders. Delivered in person at the Bellingham clinic and online via telehealth.
• Feeding Therapy Feeding therapy services for infants struggling with breastfeeding, bottle feeding, or experiencing poor weight gain, and for children with picky eating, failure to thrive, or traumatic eating experiences. Includes treatment for tethered oral issues (tongue, lip, and cheek ties) with collaboration with pediatric dentistry and lactation specialists.
• Occupational Therapy Pediatric occupational therapy services that help children gain independence and strengthen developmental skills including fine motor, sensory motor, visual motor, self-care, feeding, play, and social skills. Delivered using a sensory gym space acquired for OT and gross motor skill development.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 5,500 children served in Whatcom County over 20+ years
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Dr. Bryce Blaser / Sprouts NWminorOthers · 1 January 2022Dr. Blaser operates as a separate physical therapy practice (Sprouts NW) renting a room in the Connections SLP building. His services are not offered through Connections SLP; families contact him directly through his own practice.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• eLuma: Online special education and related services platform providing teletherapy, including SLP, OT, and behavioral health, to school districts. Comparable because it overlaps with Connections SLP's pediatric therapy and on-site preschool/childcare service lines, but delivers them virtually at scale.
• Expressable: Online pediatric speech therapy provider delivering 1:1 SLP sessions via telehealth. Comparable because it serves the same pediatric speech and language disorder population as Connections SLP, but via a scaled, technology-enabled delivery model that competes for the same patient families.
• PresenceLearning: Provides teletherapy services including speech-language pathology to K-12 schools and districts. Comparable as a direct competitor in the pediatric SLP services category, particularly for school-age children, but with a school-district contracting model rather than direct-to-parent delivery.
• Better Speech: Online speech therapy platform connecting clients with licensed SLPs. Comparable as a pediatric SLP services competitor using a virtual delivery model that competes for the same insurance-reimbursed patient population as Connections SLP.
• Great Speech: Virtual speech therapy practice serving both children and adults. Comparable as a direct pediatric SLP competitor that leverages telehealth to reach families beyond a single geography, mirroring the online delivery channel that Connections SLP also offers.
• TinyEYE Therapy Services: Online speech-language pathology and occupational therapy services for schools and individuals. Comparable because it offers the same core pediatric SLP/OT services as Connections SLP, with a focus on teletherapy delivery to schools.

Direct peers

• Bilinguistics: Pediatric speech-language pathology practice with a bilingual specialization. Comparable because it serves the same pediatric SLP customer segment with similar clinical offerings, including bilingual SLP services that overlap with Connections SLP's recently added bilingual capacity.

Broad incumbents

• Pediatric Therapy Network: Larger multi-site pediatric therapy provider offering PT, OT, and SLP services. Comparable as a broader incumbent in the pediatric rehabilitation and developmental therapy space with a wider geographic and service footprint than Connections SLP.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/connectionsslp
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/connections-slp

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Connections SLP