Owner & Licensed Clinical Social Worker
Carmen R. Augustin
Carmen R. Augustin, MSW, LCSW is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, receiving her degree from the University Of Illinois Jane Addams College Of Social Work. She is a partner and clinical director for Sweeney, Augustin and Associates. She has over 35 years of experience working with children, teens, and adults with ASD and other developmental disabilities and their families. Ms. Augustin is a RDI® Program Certified Consultant, receiving her training and supervision from Dr. Steven Gutstein and Dr. Rachelle Sheely of the Connections Center in Houston. Ms. Augustin has presented at numerous conferences including AutismOne, Northern Suburban Special Education District and the International Fragile X Conference.
Owner & Licensed Speech-Language Pathologist
Maureen A. Sweeney
Maureen A. Sweeney, PhD., CCC-SLP has over 40 years of experience working with children and adults with autism and related disorders. Along with being a partner and clinical director at Sweeney, Augustin and Associates, Dr. Sweeney is an adjunct lecturer at Northwestern University having taught Pediatric Speech Sound Disorders for several years. She currently serves on the Board of the North Suburban Speech and Language Association (NSSLA) and is a past president. She was also the president and member of the board of Have Dreams, a nonprofit organization that provides after school and weekend programs for children with autism. Dr. Sweeney completed her undergraduate and graduate work at Northwestern University and has presented at many conferences including the American Speech, Language, and Hearing Association, the Illinois Speech Language and Hearing Association, and the North Suburban Speech and Language Association as well as at trainings including The Autism Project of Illinois TAP 3-Advanced Topics in Autism. Dr. Sweeney is a member of the Patient and Family Advisory Council at North Shore University Health System.
Director of Speech and Language Services & Licensed Speech-Language Pathologist
Alyson L. Teitel
Alyson L. Teitel, M.A., CCC-SLP has been a member of the team at Sweeney, Augustin and Associates since January 2007 and a clinical supervisor since February 2011. She received a Master of Arts in Speech Language Pathology from Northwestern University. Alyson is trained in DTTC, PROMPT, LSVT LOUD, SPEAK OUT!® & LOUD Crowd®, Multisensory Grammar, Lindamood Bell Visualizing and Verbalizing™, The Hanen Program for Parents, The Affect-Based Language Curriculum, Theraplay, Oral-Facial Myology and the SOS Approach to Feeding. She develops individualized clinic-based Block Therapy™ programs. Alyson presented at the 2019 ASHA national convention on the impact of intensive intervention on nonverbal children with autism spectrum disorder as well as on when & how to apply an intensive delivery model with a pediatric population . Alyson presented at the 2018 ISHA convention on the topic of establishing speech in nonverbal children with autism. In addition she has presented locally on feeding disorders in children with autism.
Alyson is also a licensed telehealth provider in Florida.
Licensed Speech-Language Pathologist
Allison G. Jellison
Allison G. Jellison, M.S., CCC-SLP has been a member of the team at Sweeney, Augustin and Associates since August 1998 and a clinical supervisor since 2008. She received a Master of Science in Communication Disorders and Sciences from Southern Illinois University and her Bachelors of Arts from DePauw University in Elementary Education. Allison is trained in DTTC, PROMPT, LSVT LOUD, Lindamood Bell Visualizing and Verbalizing™, Programming in Word Finding, Theraplay, Oral-Facial Myology, Multisensory Grammar, SPEAKOUT and LOUD Crowd, and the SOS Approach to Feeding. She develops individualized clinic-based Block Therapy™ programs. Allison presented at the 2019 ASHA national convention on the impact of intensive intervention on nonverbal children with autism spectrum disorder. Allison presented at the 2018 ISHA state convention on the topics of establishing speech in nonverbal children with autism and establishing grammar in minimally verbal children.
Director of Student Externships & Licensed Speech-Language Pathologist
Julia L.B. Geller
Julia L.B. Geller, M.S., CCC-SLP has been a member of the team at Sweeney, Augustin, and Associates since 2013. She received a Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. Julia is an Adjunct Lecturer at Northwestern University. She is trained in DTTC, PROMPT, LSVT LOUD, Theraplay, Lindamood Bell Visualizing and Verbalizing™, the SOS Approach to Feeding, Meaningful Speech, and Multisensory Grammar. She is also a Fast ForWord provider, CAPDOTS provider, and she develops individualized clinic-based Block Therapy™ programs. Julia has presented at the Illinois Speech, Language and Hearing Association state conference on pediatric speech motor intervention and locally on grammar intervention.
Director of Clinical Social Work Services & Licensed Clinical Social Worker
Nicole A. Edwards
Nicole A. Edwards, MSW, LCSW has been a member of the team at Sweeney, Augustin, and Associates since 2014. She received a Masters in Social Work from the University of Chicago within the School of Social Service Administration with a concentration in clinical practice. She received a Bachelor of Science in Human Development and Family Studies from Indiana University-Bloomington. She has extensive training in various therapeutic practice methods including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Psychodynamic, Theraplay, Play Therapy, and the SOS Approach to Feeding. Nicole is a RDI® Program Certified Consultant, receiving her training and supervision from Dr. Steven Gutstein and Dr. Rachelle Sheely of the Connections Center in Houston.
In her work as an Individual and Family Therapist, Nicole utilizes an integrative approach to therapy, combining relationship-based intervention, mindfulness strategies, and play-based interaction to support clients’ progress and growth. Through her approach, Nicole is committed to providing practical, hands-on opportunities to work on individual goals and support generalization across multiple settings. As Director of Clinical Social Work Services, she is a potential client’s initial contact with the practice and provides supervision to other staff social workers. She also develops individualized clinic-based Block Therapy™ programs.
Licensed Speech-Language Pathologist
Sarah H. Garvey
Sarah H. Garvey, M.S., CCC-SLP joined the team at Sweeney, Augustin, and Associates in June 2017. Sarah received a Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology from Northwestern University. She is an Adjunct Lecturer at Northwestern University, having taught Pediatric Speech Sound Disorders and having served as a guest lecturer for Clinical Methods – Pediatric Popoulations. She is trained in DTTC, PROMPT, LSVT LOUD, SPEAK OUT!® & LOUD Crowd®, Multisensory Grammar, Lindamood-Bell Visualizing and Verbalizing™, the SOS Approach to Feeding, Theraplay, and Interactive Metronome™. She is also a Fast ForWord Provider. Sarah presented at the 2019 ASHA national conference on the impact of intensive intervention on nonverbal children with autism spectrum disorder.
Sarah is also a licensed provider in Washington and a licensed telehealth provider in Florida.
Licensed Speech-Language Pathologist
Rebecca D. Kaplan
Rebecca (Becca) D. Kaplan, M.S., CCC-SLP joined the team at Sweeney, Augustin and Associates in June 2018. She received a Master of Science in Speech and Language Pathology from Northwestern University. Becca is an Adjunct Lecturer at Northwestern University. She is trained in DTTC, PROMPT, LSVT LOUD, SPEAK OUT!® & LOUD Crowd®, Multisensory Grammar, Lindamood Bell Visualizing, Theraplay, SOS Approach to Feeding, Verbalizing™, Meaningful Speech, and Interactive Metronome™. She is also a Fast ForWord Provider. Becca presented at the 2019 ASHA national conference on the impact of intensive intervention on nonverbal children with autism spectrum disorder.
Becca is also a licensed provider in California and New Jersey, and a licensed telehealth provider in Florida.
Director of Attention Services & Licensed Clinical Social Worker
Jenna I. Nedbalek
Jenna I. Nedbalek, MSW, LCSW has been a member of the team at Sweeney, Augustin, and Associates since 2015. She received a Master of Social Work from the University of Chicago within the School of Social Service Administration with a concentration in clinical practice. She received a Bachelor of Science in Human Communication Sciences and Psychology from Northwestern University. She has extensive training in various therapeutic practice methods including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Narrative Therapy, Theraplay, Play Therapy, SOS Approach to Feeding, and Motivational Interviewing.
In her work as an Individual and Family Therapist, Jenna utilizes an integrative approach to therapy, combining relationship-based intervention, mindfulness strategies, and play-based interaction to support clients’ progress and growth. Through her approach, Jenna is committed to providing practical, hands-on opportunities to work on individual goals and support generalization across multiple settings. As Director of Attention Services, she develops individualized clinic-based Block Therapy™ programs designed to improve a client’s attention. Jenna utilizes various attention interventions depending on the needs of the client, including Interactive Metronome, Pay Attention!, Fast ForWord, CAPDOTS, and Acoustic Pioneer.
Jenna is also a licensed provider in New Jersey and Florida.
Business Manager
Corinne Kawecki
Corinne Kawecki, M.A. has been a member of the team at Sweeney, Augustin since 2015. She has an undergraduate degree from Northwestern University and a Master of Arts from Northern Illinois University. Corinne is an accomplished playwright who has had her plays produced around the country.
Office Manager
Jenny Reid
Jenny Reid, MLIS is thrilled to join the SAA team as the office manager. In her teens and early 20s, she also worked for the practice as an administrative assistant and therapy content creator. Jenny received her undergraduate degree from Lake Forest College and her Masters in Library and Information Science from Dominican University, spending 8 years working in public libraries. Prior to that experience, she worked as a North American Language and Culture Assistant in Granada, Spain for 2 years and as a production associate for Independent Publishers Group in Chicago.
Senior Administrative Assistant
Jennifer Balfour
Jennifer Balfour has been a member of the team at Sweeney, Augustin since 2008. She is the Senior Administrative Assistant for SAA. She is a graduate of the PACE program at National Louis University and currently attends Oakton Community College. Jennifer is primarily responsible for designing and creating therapy materials. She also assists in supervising other office assistants.