About Us
LAUNCH understands the needs of exceptional children and their families. With a complete staff of professionals and volunteers, we are here to provide support for the children and their caregivers through individual and group therapy services, parent support groups and religious education.
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Chantelle B. Varnado, PhD, CCC-SLP
Dr. Varnado completed her Bachelor's (1999) and Master's (2001) degree at Southeastern Louisiana University and her PhD from Louisiana State University (2015) in Communication Sciences and Disorders. She has 17 years experience in the treatment of children with developmental disabilities in Livingston Parish Public Schools, at Children's Hospital of Virginia at Virginia Commonwealth University, and Launch. Her research interests include treatments addressing speech breathing in children with cerebral palsy.
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Katelyn Chop, OT
Katelyn graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Kinesiology from ULM in 2009. She was a certified elementary educator for grades 1-5 from 2009-2011. She returned to ULM to pursue her associate degree in occupational therapy and graduated May 2012. She practiced in adult inpatient rehabilitation with various diagnoses such as traumatic brain injuries, cerebral vascular accidents, orthopedic injuries, and spinal chord injuries. She has also practiced in outpatient pediatric clinics, pre-schools, and Pat Walker’s Children’s House for Abused and Neglected children while a resident in Fayetteville, AR. She returned to Louisiana to pursue her master’s degree in occupational therapy and was a member of the first graduating class of master’s of occupational therapy from ULM in December 2015.
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Katy Bunch, SLP
Katy received her bachelors degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders in 2016 from Southeastern Louisiana University, and her masters degree in 2019 from Southeastern University. She has clinical experience with medically fragile children, autism spectrum disorder, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, various neurological conditions, feeding and swallowing difficulties, and speech/language delays. Katy has also completed 16 hours of continuing education in the area of pediatric feeding. Katy believes early intervention is the key to success, and is dedicated to helping each child reach his or her greatest potential.
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Alyssa LeBlanc, SLP
Alyssa received her bachelor’s degree from Louisiana State University in 2015 and a master’s degree from Southeastern Louisiana in 2017. She has experience serving children with Autism Spectrum Disorder, Down syndrome, Childhood Apraxia of Speech, Fluency disorders, and voice disorders. She brings expertise in serving patients with in group settings. Her clinical experiences include speech, language, swallowing, and augmentative/alternative communication devices. Alyssa’s passion is to serve the pediatric population and she looks forwards to assisting each child to meet their full potential!
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Megan Bernard, OT
Megan received her bachelor’s degree from Louisiana State University (2015) and her Masters of Occupational Therapy from LSU Health Sciences Center-New Orleans (2018). She has experience serving children with autism, genetic conditions, and sensory processing disorders. Her clinical experiences include outpatient pediatrics, NICU, outpatient neuro, and acute care. Megan enjoys helping children gain independence in everyday activities to become active participants in their family and community.
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Dominique Player - Lewis, DPT
Dominique received her Bachelor of Science degree from Louisiana Tech University, graduating in 2009 and her Doctor of Physical Therapy degree from Tennessee State University in 2012. Dominique is a certified Child Passenger Safety Technician with training in special needs transportation and is certified in Pediatric KT taping. Dominique has experience in adult and pediatric acute care, outpatient pediatrics, aquatics, adult outpatient, adult inpatient rehab, skilled nursing, and wound care. Dominique is also able to cast for Cascade orthotics.
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Brandi Olivier, COTA
Brandi received her degree from Delgado Community College in 2016. She has experience serving children with autism, cerebral palsy, developmental disabilities, sensory processing, and disruptive behaviors. Brandi has two years experience working in pediatric outpatient clinics. She is certified in Interactive Metronome, a program designed to refine a child's cognitive and motor skills. Brandi has a passion for being creative which she loves to incorporate in her work with children.
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Alex Herbert, SLP
Alex received her Bachelor’s degree (2018) and Master’s degree (2020) in Communication Sciences and Disorders from Louisiana State University. She has clinical experience serving the pediatric population with a variety of disorders such as autism spectrum disorder, genetic disorders, feeding and swallowing difficulties, speech/language delays, and participation on a multi-disciplinary cleft palate panel. She is passionate about early intervention and believes the key to success is parent involvement and multi-disciplinary collaboration.
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Rebecca Walker, SLP
Rebecca received her bachelor's degree (1998) and master's degree (2000) from Southeastern Louisiana University. She spent the firs six years of her career treating adult and geriatric populations, with a variety of communication, cognitive, and swallowing disorders, in an acute care and inpatient rehabilitation setting. Rebecca has spent the last nine (+) years working with people who have intellectual, developmental, and physical disabilities. She enjoys advocating for her patients and helping them have the best quality of life possible.
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Lindsey Rodrigue, SLP
Lindsey received her Bachelor’s degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders (2016) at Louisiana State University and her Master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology (2018) at University of Louisiana at Lafayette. She has experience serving children and adults with a variety of communication disorders. Her clinical experiences include adult and pediatric outpatient care, as well as adult inpatient care. Lindsey enjoys collaborating with other therapy disciplines, as well as the child’s caregivers, in order to help a child reach success.
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Leah Thompson
Leah graduated with an associate degree in occupational therapy from ULM in 2015. She worked as a certified occupational therapy assistant (COTA) for 3 years in multiple settings including a rehabilitation hospital, a skilled nursing facility, and outpatient pediatrics. While working part time as a COTA, Leah completed her bachelor’s degree in Health Studies Management/Marketing at ULM in 2017 and went on to earn her master’s degree in occupational therapy in 2019. Leah has clinical experience with OT in the school system, acute care, outpatient orthopedics, outpatient pediatrics, mental health, and with specialized hand therapy. During her experience as a COTA and her clinical working experience when getting her masters in OT, Leah found her passion of working with children. She hopes to use her knowledge and skills to help them lead successful and independent lives.
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Tina Joiner
Tina has been in the medical field for over fourteen years. She has worked in chiropractics, family practice and psychiatry. She’s worked with the foster care system for several years to help children achieve permanency in safe and loving homes. During that time she has gained valuable experience in helping children with special needs access medical services. She had a sister with Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus who greatly influenced the passion she has for helping children and families. Her extensive insurance and billing knowledge allow her to assist families by helping them get the most of their benefits. She joined the Launch team in May of 2018 as our office manager.
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Cheri Fry, SLP
Cheri earned her undergraduate degree at the Southeastern Louisiana University (1985) and holds a Master’s degree in Speech Language Pathology from Louisiana State University (1988). Cheri brings her 30 year experience working as a Speech Pathologist in the local school system to her current role at LAUNCH. For 15 years Cheri participated on the Child Search team conducting transdisciplinary diagnostic assessments for preschoolers. Her experience in public schools allows her to assist parents during the transition into school programs, assist parents during the IEP process, and to collaborate with the child’s school-based clinician.
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Danielle Roblin, OT
Danielle graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Occupational Therapy from LSUHSC in 2003. She has exclusively worked with the pediatric population for the past 13 years in both outpatient and home health settings. She has experience serving children with many different diagnosis, including Autism, Down Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, Spina Bifida, Sensory Modulation Disorder, Feeding Disorders, Hydrocephalus, and other neurological impairments. She has also served as a team member of the Infant, Child, and Family Center, which serves children birth to six years old, who have been prenatally exposed to alcohol and/or other drugs.
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Jill Broussard, PT
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Amanda Dougay
Amanda has been a part of Launch since 2016. She assists families with scheduling and serves as a liaison between families and doctors' offices. Amanda's experiences with her 9 year old son Parker enables her to provide additional support to families navigating services for their children with different abilities.
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MORE THAN THERAPY SERVICES
LAUNCH provides high-quality evidence-based practices conveniently located for the residents of Livingston Parish and surrounding areas. This enables children to participate in optimal therapy, academic, and family time.