Meet Our New Behavior Therapist – Melissa Laco

Melissa Laco is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst with a Master of Education in Special Education from Vanderbilt University in Nashville.  She received a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from John Carroll University.

Melissa works with children and adolescents diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder and related intellectual and developmental disabilities, as well as a variety of mental health diagnoses.  She began as an ABA therapist in homes and schools.  After graduate school, she taught in an inclusion preschool class in Nashville while continuing to treat behavior therapy cases on the side. Melissa moved back to Cleveland in 2012, taught middle school and continued practicing behavior therapy part-time.  After teaching middle school, Melissa decided to pursue ABA as a full-time career.

In both Nashville and Cleveland, Melissa has worked in schools, homes, community and clinical settings, holding a variety of roles—ABA therapist, clinical supervisor, behavioral consultant and BCBA. 

Melissa was born and raised in the Cleveland area.  She currently lives in North Olmsted with her husband, a young daughter and son.  In her spare time, Melissa enjoys spending time with family and friends…and doing all things Cleveland!

Melissa stated: “I am very excited to have the opportunity to work with LLA, and to continue to help grow their ABA program!  I already feel so welcome, and am looking forward to collaborating with others—in and out of our field.”

Are you a parent looking for behavior therapy for your child? Melissa currently has openings. To request an appointment click here
Are you a school district in need of BCBA services? To request more information click here

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Patient Reviews

LLA Therapy

Patient Reviews

Crystal Scheibe

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Great place, glad we found them. Been going to Medina over 2 months now and he loves Lauryn and Kyler. Wish they had more ABA therapy places available... live in Wooster and long drive everyday.

Karrie Swan LaRock

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My 11 year old son has dyslexia and has made noticeable gains in working At LLA THERAPY. Katie is strong in her approach toward him and also keeps him comfortable enough to perform well. We will continue visiting both the Fairlawn and Hudson offices and recommend them highly.

Ron Monroe

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My 9 year old just completed about 9 months of weekly speech sessions (due to his stuttering) with Matt Hagge at LLA and we are thrilled with the experience and results. What I thought might be a negative (what kid really wants to go to speech class?) was made very positive by Matt, and my son never hesitated or complained when we talked about class. He really enjoyed it and really took what Matt taught him to heart. His speech has been greatly improved and we definitely recommend LLA. Thank you so much!

Heather Dougherty-Pantoja

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My son’s Occupational Therapist, Jess, is an amazing OT! She gives practical tips on working with my son at home and school!

Terri Apgar

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I cannot say enough good things about LLA Therapy. My daughter was a client of Teal Simmons’ for approximately 2 years and was just released from speech therapy! She was diagnosed with Apraxia in 2015 and worked with Teal twice a week. Through Teal’s application of PROMPT therapy, my daughter had age-appropriate speech after one year. All of the staff we interacted with at LLA were absolutely wonderful. They really care about what they do and making sure your child achieves their goals.

Kelli Geisler Davisson

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LLA Therapy has been an excellent experience for my son as well as my family! My son always asks, "When can I go see Ms. Jeannine again, is it Monday??" He has also made huge gains in only 5 months! I would highly recommend LLA and have already shared my experience with friends looking for services!

Victoria Hansford-Price

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We are so grateful for our Speech Therapist Ms.Teal. We have seen a great improvement with our sons confidence and communication abilities since we have started "Prompt" therapy. What we love the most about LLA and Ms. Teal is that Kohl feels comfortable and relaxed which has played a critical role in his progress. Thank you Ms. Teal for all you have done.

Laura Lee Hogsett

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They have helped in numerous ways. Speech, OT and behavioral. I've had numerous compliments on my son's progress thanks in very large part to LLA. I would recommend LLA before I recommend our local children's hospitals, though they are good, they don't have the staff that LLA does.

Amy Furukawa

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We had a great experience with Matt Hagge at LLA! Our Middle School age son was becoming very conscious of his voice, which is nasal due to a cleft palate. Matt helped him to better form his sounds and project his voice in a way that makes the unavoidable nasality less noticeable.Our son is more confident and outgoing & even took on a speaking role in the church play. Matt has the perfect personality to relate with our son, and we would recommend him to anyone needing speech therapy services!

Jessica Havalotti

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LLA Therapy has been an excellent experience for our daughter. I would highly recommend LLA. Miss Grace was so amazing and I can't believe how quickly our daughter showed improvement. Thank you!
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