1986:
The Whole Family Approach Begins
The LLA Therapy story begins over 30 years ago when Denise Sawan Caruso founded Language Learning Associates in Fairlawn, OH. Denise, a skilled speech-language pathologist, set the stage with what was to come with LLA Therapy due to her “whole family” approach.
Understanding that communication does not occur in a vacuum at the clinic, she emphasized that parent education and empowerment are equally as important to treatment for helping kids develop speech and language skills across all environments.
1991-1997:
A Family Passion for Helping Special Needs Kids Blossoms
In the meantime, current owner, Troy McClowry, was developing his own passion for helping kids. Troy’s uncle, a speech-language pathologist, encouraged Troy to enter the field. In college while studying to be an SLP, Troy began working at a special needs camp called Camp Sue Osborn in Burton, OH. Troy would later meet his wife, an intervention specialist, Rachel, at Camp Sue. Eventually they took over the leadership of camp, running the program together for 10 years. Troy and Rachel believe that any kid, no matter their situation, can achieve anything they set their minds to with the right opportunity, support, and environment. In keeping with that belief, LLA Therapy employs teens and adults with special needs for support roles across their facilities to this day.
1997-2019:
Language Learning Associates Changes Hands and Grows
After graduating Troy took his first job at Language Learning Associates with Denise, and eventually became owner. His goal was to take Denise’s vision to a whole new level. In 2011, Language Learning Associates acquired PRN Therapy allowing the practice to expand its service offerings to include occupational and physical therapy. He opened two additional clinics to make services more accessible throughout the region, and he prioritized community involvement by increasing service offerings to local schools and entities. Since Language Learning Associates was now doing much more than speech therapy, Troy decided to drop the “Language Learning” moniker changing the name of the practice to simply: “LLA Therapy”.
2019-Present:
Helping Kids Shine Their Brightest – the Mission of LLA Therapy
By 2021, LLA Therapy expanded its service offerings to include behavior and reading therapy, they opened their 4th clinic location in Mentor, OH, and they have eclipsed over 100 school and community partnerships across 18 northeast Ohio counties. The company prides itself on being owned and operated by a team of therapists and educational professionals; and to this day, emphasizes a whole family approach to each and every patient and student seen by our clinicians.
Our Mission
is to set the standard for state of the art clinical and ethical therapy services in all venues serviced by our clinicians. Our work improves the lives of our clients and their families, supports the professional growth of clinicians, and creates a nurturing, supportive atmosphere.
Simply put: our number one goal is to Help Kids Shine Their Brightest!