About Bravo Speech

Hi, I'm Heather.

I'm a pediatric speech-language pathologist with 17+ years of experience, and Bravo Speech is my practice. When you work with Bravo, you work with me, start to finish. No rotating roster, no handoffs.

Heather Zortman smiling in a sunlit garden

Heather ZortmanMS, CCC-SLP

A little of my story

How I got here.

Over 17+ years, I've worked across a lot of settings, outpatient clinics and schools among them, with children and families at the center the whole way through. Pediatrics is where I've always been strongest, and family-centered care is how I've always practiced.

I began working over video out of necessity, the way many of us did, and then kept going, because it worked. For a lot of families it worked better: I got to see the child in their own room, with their own things, and coach the caregiver right there in the moment where it counts.

The screen isn't a wall between us. It's a window into the family's world, and that turns out to be a real clinical advantage.

I started Bravo Speech to do this work the way I believe it should be done: unhurried, honest, and built around the family. That's the whole practice, and it's why you'll always be working directly with me.

Credentials

The short version.

MS, CCC-SLP

Master's-level, ASHA Certificate of Clinical Competence

ASHA certified

American Speech-Language-Hearing Association

17+ years

Clinical experience, strongest in pediatrics

WA · VT · VA · MA

Licensed to serve families in four states

Teletherapy

Real online experience, continued well beyond the pandemic

Ages 18mo–18yr

Pediatric speech, language, and communication

What I believe

How I practice, in four ideas.

These aren't slogans. They're the reasons families tend to stay, and the reasons this work feels different.

Parents are partners

You know your child better than anyone. My job is to hand you tools and coach you in real time, not to keep the work behind a clinic door.

Home is a clinical asset

The place a child is most themselves is the place skills actually stick. Working in your child's own space isn't a compromise; it's the point.

Honesty about fit

Teletherapy isn't right for every child. If it isn't right for yours, I'll say so, and help you find what is. Good fit matters more than a full schedule.

Collaboration is a strength

I work alongside your child's other providers and teachers. The best progress happens when everyone's rowing in the same direction.

Who I work with

Children, and the grown-ups who love them.

I work with children from about 18 months through 18 years on speech, language, and communication, and with their caregivers, who are part of every plan. Families connect from wherever they are, within my licensed states of Washington, Vermont, Virginia, and Massachusetts.

Speech & articulationLanguage & comprehensionEarly communicationHigher support needsParent coaching

A laughing toddler leaning on a table with a delighted parent close behind — The grown-ups are part of every plan, not spectators to it.

Let's meet

The best way to get to know me is to talk.

Book a free Meet & Greet and we'll spend about 20 minutes on your child, your questions, and whether this is a good fit. No cost, no pressure.

Schedule a free Meet & Greet