About Us

Cassie Prestininzi

MS/CCC-SLP

After graduating from Gibson County High School in 2001, Cassie graduated from the University of South Florida with a Bachelor’s Degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders then a Master’s Degree in Speech-Language Pathology. After moving back to West TN with her husband, Philip, and their daughter, Hannah, Cassie completed her Clinical Fellowship Year, grew as a new SLP under fantastic supervision, and had the opportunity to supervise other graduate students.

Cassie’s dream of owning her own speech and language center became a reality in 2015 when, with the help of her supportive husband, Philip, she founded Words for Life Speech & Language Center, LLC. Since 2015, she has seen the fruition of hard work and dedication shine through her business. Between her generous personality and creative spirit, Cassie is leaving a lasting impression on Gibson County. Cassie and Philip now have been married for 18 years and have three children- Hannah, Andrew, and Ada Beth and a toy Aussie Poo named Rousey. As a family, they enjoy vacationing, playing/watching sports, attending church, and participating in community events. Cassie enjoys running, reading a good book, and – if you’ve met her once, you know- she loves talking to people.

Cassie has experience in skilled nursing facilities, public schools, private clinics, and early intervention. She is passionate about speech therapy and enjoys seeing children reap the rewards of their hard work. She loves the team aspect of this career and working with other professionals to individualize services and ensure each child’s goals are met. Cassie advocates for early intervention because diagnosing and intervening early affords a higher success rate.

Cassie says, “I don’t believe in ever throwing in the towel. I know that every child CAN communicate, and seeing the light in their eyes when they realize it themselves is priceless.”

Rachel Williams

SLPA

Rachel graduated from Gibson County High School and is currently attending Murray State University to complete her Bachelor of Science degree in the field of Communication Disorders and Sciences. She will graduate in December of 2021, and from there she will begin her Master’s Degree in 2022. Rachel began working at Words for Life in 2020, and she successfully completed her licensure in 2021. Rachel has experience in public school and private clinic settings.

In her free time, Rachel enjoys being at the lake and playing with her nephew. She is also a lover of all things gardening and cooking. Rachel loves the medical aspect of speech therapy. She has always been interested in the medical field, so being a speech therapist, she gets to combine medical knowledge with education. This gives her the opportunity to use a wide range of skills to individualize each therapy session. Rachel is passionate about speech therapy because it gives an individual limitless tools they can use for the rest of his or her life. Rachel says, “Communication is to humans as water is to fish. Being without it is suffocating, however, learning limitless tools needed for communication and seeing children use those tools even when you’re not giving direct therapy is why I do what I do.”

Debbie Ball

SLT

Debbie originally grew up in Memphis, but she now resides in Milan. Debbie received her Bachelor’s degree in Speech Therapy from Arkansas State University. She holds a Master’s Degree in Elementary Counseling and in Educational Leadership. Debbie began her career in Education as a Speech /Language Therapist. She has returned to serving as an SLT in her retirement years after serving in other capacities in elementary education. Debbie has worked in Mississippi, Arkansas, Missouri, and Tennessee over the last 37 years, and is a true gold mine of speech therapy knowledge.

Debbie enjoys spending time with her grandchildren, traveling with friends and family, reading, and working in her yard. Debbie’s favorite thing about speech and language therapy is the small group and individual setting where more personal relationships with the students and their needs can be fostered.

Lauren Hogan

MS, SLP-CF

After graduating high school from the University School of Jackson, Lauren attended the University of Tennessee at Martin to obtain her bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education. About halfway through this program, Lauren began to feel that God was leading her in a different direction than teaching. Through a friend, Lauren was introduced to Cassie Prestininzi and given an opportunity to shadow her at her speech clinic for a day. At the time, Lauren wasn’t even sure what speech therapy was. After observing Cassie in the first session of the day, Lauren was sure that this was the career for her. She worked at Words For Life as a secretary in 2019 until student teaching began in her elementary education program, which she decided to still pursue seeing as there was no speech pathology program at UT Martin. After UT Martin, Lauren attended the Communications Sciences and Disorders program at the University of Memphis where she earned her master’s degree for Speech Pathology. During this time, in December 2021, Lauren married her husband Landon. Lauren enjoys reading, board games, card games, and movies. People have described her as having a “Child-like spirit” which equips her to create a fun environment for her speech kids. Lauren has had experience with children and adult therapy, but her passion remains working with children. Lauren says, “Encouragement is the biggest tool that I can use to help my clients succeed. I treat every client like I might be the only praise and encouragement they are getting. We celebrate over the big leaps but also over the small steps forward as we strive for improved speech and language skills.”

Amy Atkins

SLT

Amy Atkins is a Carroll County native who graduated from Huntingdon High School. She received her Bachelors in Communication Disorders from Murray State University in Murray, KY. Amy began working for Words for Life in the fall of 2021 serving the students of West Carroll School District. She is married to Will Atkins and resides in Huntingdon with their two children, Ella and Isaac. Amy has a passion to help others persevere and achieve their speech and language goals. Some favorite moments that she shares with her students are when they realize their progress in reaching goals and see their excitement and how proud they are of themselves. It makes it all worth it!

Idania Pearson

Medical Coding Insurance and Billing Specialist

Idania Pearson is our behind-the-scenes hero! Her job ensures that we can continue to provide the very best services in northwest TN. She keeps us rolling with insurance claims, solves lots of problems that no one even knows about, and is the backbone of all that Words for Life is! We are so very thankful for her service to Words for Life daily! 

Kellie Sikes

SLP-A

Kellie, a Mississippi native, knew from a young age that Speech-Language Pathology would be part of her future. It was a small town speech and language center, very similar to Words for Life, where she spent so much of her childhood and beyond, alongside her mother and a host of other talented mentors in the field. From practice patient to student observer, they poured it out and she soaked it in-her path was natural from the start. It was her calling. She attended the University of Southern Mississippi where she received her Bachelor of Science degree in Speech and Hearing Sciences. After acceptance to the graduate program in Speech-Language Pathology at Mississippi University for Women in Columbus, she was immediately hired as a school-based Speech Therapist. She had the pleasure of working in two school districts and three elementary schools over the course of four years, including the honor and privilege of piloting a program to serve students with Dyslexia through the use of her undergraduate training in the Association Method, all while simultaneously attending graduate school. Marriage brought her to Tennessee, where she and her husband, Trey, have raised two daughters, Hollie and Mallorie, and a son, Ty. Trey’s career has taken them to Missouri, Texas and now back home to Jackson, Tn while Kellie fulfilled her other childhood dream of being a full-time mom! She is self-proclaimed “extra” and loves spending time with family, party planning, over the top decorating for events, shopping, beach trips and the Vols! She is thrilled with the blessing of this new chapter, back to a career that she loves, and often reminds others that “When you love what you do, it’s not a job”. Building communication skills is essential, but it’s community outreach, loving support and genuine relationships with the children that we serve and their families that brings it all together, full circle, to last a lifetime.

Ashton Lannom

C-SLPA

After graduating from Gibson County high school in 2019, Ashton graduated from the University of Tennessee at Martin in 2022 and obtained her bachelor’s degree in Health and Human Performance with a focus in Exercise Science/Kinesiology. While working as a paraprofessional in a Special Education K-5 classroom at Dyer Elementary School, she took Communication Sciences and Disorders classes at Western Kentucky University. Ashton will be attending Jacksonville University in the fall of 2025 to obtain her master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology. After passing her certification exam in September of 2024, Ashton obtained her certificate in Speech-Language Pathology Assistantship. Ashton currently lives in Dyer, TN with her parents, Tom and Brandy, and her dog, Ella. Ashton’s passion for the field of Speech-Language Pathology stems from her own experiences as a student in speech therapy in Elementary School. Ashton has worked with a variety of children with disabilities including Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Epilepsy, Traumatic Brain Injuries, Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, and more.

Abby Phillips

Graduate Student

Abby is an Alabama native who graduated from St. Clair County High School in 2019. After graduating, she moved to Mobile, AL, where she earned her Bachelor’s of Science degree in Speech and Hearing Sciences from the University of South Alabama in 2023. She knew she wanted to stay at “South”, so she began the school’s graduate program in Speech-Language Pathology and will graduate with her Master’s degree in May of this year. Although her roots are in Alabama, Abby has recently settled down in Lexington, TN. In her free time, Abby enjoys all things planning, chatting with her loved ones, watching reality TV & documentaries, and doing yoga. Abby has always known she loves children, but her heart was set on working with adults when she entered graduate school. She has 4 young siblings and has worked as a childcare provider since high school, so she thought she was burnt out. During her time at Words for Life, her mind has changed and she now knows she was meant to work with the pediatric population, with a specific love for the little ones. A quote from the book, Ghost Boy, by Martin Pistorius that has always stuck with Abby is, “He may not be able to drink tea on his own, but he can manage a farm because he can speak – and that’s all he needs”. Communication opens up a world of possibilities! Abby is passionate about helping children of all abilities find their voices so they can communicate effectively and confidently and the world of possibilities can be opened.

Haleigh Boatright

Work-Based Learning Student

Haleigh, or “Boat”, as she is lovingly called, is a Junior at Gibson County High School. She has joined our team at Words for Life as the receptionist this semester, and has brought so much joy to the Center. Boat is considering a career in the field of Speech Language Pathology. She has learned data entry, takes care of all tasks around the office, keeps us organized, and is extremely dependable. Most importantly, she is the face our families see when they walk in the front door every afternoon, and she has developed a wonderful rapport with them all! She can often be found reading books to the children while they wait, quizzing them on facts such as days of the week or months of the year, or getting their advice on something she is designing on Canva for the business. We will miss her when the semester ends, but she knows she is welcome back anytime!