Resources

We won! Your votes awarded DSSS first place in “Favorite Local Healthcare Provider (person)” AND “Favorite Local Speech Therapy Center”! From the bottom of our heart, THANK YOU! Our patients, families, and community showed up for us and brought home the victory! We are deeply grateful. This celebration belongs to all of you as much as it does DSSS.

We were also named a finalist in the “Favorite Healthcare Provider (business)” category, where we were up against Direct Primary Care and Celebrate Primary Care. Both of these practices, including our competitors in the other categories, deserve recognition. They are highly successful, well-established professionals who work as doctors, nurse practitioners and surgeons, some of whom Ellie knows personally.

To be

What an incredible evening at the Anew Survivors of Human Trafficking Benefit Dinner. Our hearts were deeply moved by the stories of courage, resilience, and hope. It was a beautiful reminder that no matter what someone has walked through, God is always in the business of redemption, healing, and restoration.

Every woman deserves to know she is seen, loved, valued, and worthy of a future filled with hope. We are honored to support the mission of Anew and are committed to doing whatever we can to advocate for and stand beside these incredibly strong women as they continue their journey toward restoration.

We pray for continued strength, healing, and God’s abundant blessings over every survivor, every advocate, and every person working to bring light into the darkest

Coffee Toast

When we first met, she couldn’t even manage her own secretions. The thought of enjoying something as simple as an ice cream cone on a hot summer day seemed so far out of reach. Every swallow was a challenge, and the everyday pleasures most of us take for granted felt impossible.

Then yesterday, I see a photo that stopped me in my tracks. There she was, smiling with her first ice cream cone in years. That picture said more than words ever could. What makes her story even more remarkable is her unwavering commitment. She has traveled from another state

Today’s coffee toast is for none other than the founder of DSSS and rock star SLP, Ellie Zamora, who just turned [BEEP] years old on July 6! (C’mon, you didn’t think we were gonna actually announce her age!) We’ve been celebrating her all week at DSSS, where patients have been bringing in flowers, gifts and cards, and picking up a cookie to satisfy their sweet tooth before heading out the door. If you haven’t discovered already with DSSS, our patients are more than a diagnosis. Our patients are like family. We get to know each and every patient, along with the people that have been cheering them on. We share photos of our family vacations, we talk about our pets, and give each other advice. Ellie has felt deeply appreciative to our patients who have reciprocated the love that

Raise your coffee cups this morning! I’m beyond excited to share that I am now a Certified Dementia Care Specialist! This journey and extensive experience in my career has deepened my understanding of what it truly means to support individuals living with dementia not just medically, but emotionally and compassionately. Dementia doesn’t just affect memory; it impacts identity, relationships, and daily life in profound ways.Becoming certified means I’m better equipped to provide care that honors dignity, promotes connection, and improves quality of life for both individuals and

Today’s coffee toast goes out to the Parkinson’s Voice Project. I am pleased to announce my certification as a SPEAK OUT! provider. My goal is to acquire certifications in diverse areas to effectively assist a wide range of patients. This course provided invaluable insights, and I look forward to making a positive impact on the lives of patients dealing with Parkinson’s disease. Let’s raise our cups and acknowledge this outstanding resource!

Today’s coffee toast goes to DSSS for celebrating four incredible years of revolutionizing healthcare! With unwavering faith, we embarked on a journey to redefine the standard of care, prioritizing love, compassion, and patient-centered practices. By rejecting the constraints of insurance-driven healthcare, we’ve empowered patients and caregivers to reclaim their voices and take charge of their well-being. The path hasn’t been without its challenges, but the rewards have been immeasurable. We’ve witnessed transformative recoveries, profound healings, and remarkable progress in patients spanning 18 months to 99 years young! Over these four years, we’ve garnered recognition as Favorite Healthcare Provider, Favorite Speech Clinic, and ranked among the top two for favorite healthcare

Today’s coffee toast honors a remarkable young man who is the definition of resilience! After a traumatic brain injury and a continued grueling recovery journey, he’s made tremendous strides with the unwavering support of his parents, who travel from another state to our center, trusting us with their son’s care. We’re deeply grateful for their trust. Notably, this young man has dramatically improved his eating skills in such a short time with us, progressing from completing a purée meal in 52:18 minutes to finishing the same meal in just 14:53 minutes. As we celebrate his progress, we’re confident he’ll continue to regain his abilities, including speaking and savoring his favorite foods. Let’s raise our cups to toast this courageous young man and his inspiring family. Please pray for

We are so excited to welcome our new Patient Care Manager, Arianna, to our DSSS family! She is going to be an incredible addition to our team and she has such a loving heart for people!

“Hello, my name is Arianna and I am brand new to the DSSS family. I will be serving as your Patient Care Manager in the office. A tidbit about myself: I enjoy traveling and trying different foods as I learn about different cultures, music, art, and history. I’ve been fortunate to participate in a few trips hosting students of lower income families and schools across the world to experience their first out-of-country educational venture, practicing local languages and deepening their world view. In the DSSS family, I know I will continue learning and serving in a loving community. Looking

Today’s coffee toast goes to one of our youngest pediatric clients under 2, whose mom bravely navigated a critical decision between two ENT recommendations for a submucous cleft palate. His mom sought my guidance, torn between tympanostomy tubes and cleft repair surgery. As a mom and a specialist, I understood the weight of this choice. While surgery seemed daunting for such a little one, my expertise in speech and swallowing led me to strongly support cleft repair. Three months post-surgery, the results are remarkable: the toddler now tolerates a variety of solid foods without vomiting or nasal regurgitation. I’ll continue to guide mom through introducing new foods, celebrating this child’s progress toward healthy growth. Kudos to the mom for trusting her instincts and making an

Today’s coffee toast is not a story of a patient I’ve worked with for a long period of time. This is a patient and her mom whom I’ve had the privilege of meeting only twice. Today’s toast is dedicated to the mom, a pillar of strength and resilience. Her daughter is on the spectrum, and from our very first meeting, I saw the depth of her mother’s love, concern, and unwavering determination. After a recent move from up north, her daughter has faced significant challenges, and the mom’s exhaustion is palpable. Yet, what’s striking is the story she shared - a testament to the power of a mother’s love versus the doubts of others.

Despite being told by medical providers that her daughter’s current state is her new norm, this remarkable woman refused to give up. The moment I met

Take a moment to see the good.

This week’s challenge is to utilize this festive word when decorating your Christmas tree: 𝒃𝒂𝒖𝒃𝒍𝒆

bau·​ble

ˈbȯ-bəl

1 (British) : a shiny ball that is hung on a Christmas tree as a decoration

Ornaments? Never heard of them. No, our tree is filled with baubles!

Did you know? Being able to access information quickly (i.e. on the Internet) makes you less likely to remember it!

It’s highly convenient being able to access almost any piece of information in a few seconds with a string of typed words. Resources such as Google, Wikipedia, and YouTube have been major players in a revolution of how we find information.

However, studies suggest there is another aspect to being able to access information so conveniently: if the brain knows it can find an answer again so easily, it’s less likely to remember the information

“According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), at least $212 million was stolen through gift card-related scams in 2024”

In some cases, criminals will actually spend the gift cards before they are purchased. They’ll steal cards sitting in store racks, record the numbers and PINs, then reseal and replace the cards. When someone buys and activates the card, they swiftly drain the value. A survey showed that 25% of consumers have either given or received a $0 gift card.

In addition, many scams prefer gift cards as a payment. “Whether pretending to be a seller online or an official notifying you of a supposed debt, they’ll ask you to buy gift cards and read

Today’s coffee toast holds profound significance for me, a heartfelt tribute to a patient who practices Buddhism. Despite our differing faiths, we share a beautiful bond of mutual respect, understanding and a deep-seated belief in the transformative power of love. Love is the very foundation upon which our respective beliefs are built.

Take a moment to see the good.

This weeks word has a classic regional dialect difference : 𝒕𝒐𝒃𝒐𝒈𝒈𝒂𝒏

to·​bog·​gan

tə-ˈbä-gən

1: a long flat-bottomed light sled made usually of thin boards curved up at one end with usually low handrails at the sides

2: a downward course or a sharp decline

3 (chiefly Southern US and Midland US ): stocking cap

Whether you wear your toboggan, or fly down a hill of snow in one, I think we can all