Hi! I’m Ashley McInnis, founder of Bright Start Pediatric Therapy and a speech-language pathologist by trade and mama at heart. I founded Bright Start five years ago with a passion for providing families with quality, timely, evidence-based care that feels personal, collaborative, and accessible.

What began as a small speech therapy practice has grown into an interdisciplinary team of more than 35 providers offering speech-language, feeding, occupational, and physical therapy services. Today, Bright Start serves children and families across Louisiana and Southern California through early intervention, private therapy, school-based services, and community partnerships. Our team partners with local school systems, Louisiana EarlySteps, and the Regional Center of Orange County, allowing us to support children across a wide range of ages, diagnoses, and developmental needs.

I received my Master’s Degree in Communicative Sciences and Disorders from LSU Health Sciences Center in New Orleans and have spent my career working with children and their families in their natural environments. My clinical experience includes pediatric speech and language development, early intervention, feeding and swallowing, AAC, and literacy and dyslexia intervention. I also have clinical feeding experience across NICU, inpatient, and acute-care settings, working with children with feeding, sensory-motor, and nutritional challenges.

Throughout my career, I have had the privilege of working with children with Autism Spectrum Disorder, Down syndrome, cleft lip and palate, anoxia, developmental delays, hearing differences, motor-speech disorders, and a variety of speech, language, feeding, and literacy needs.

Even as Bright Start has grown, my favorite part of this work remains the same: getting to know families, meeting children where they are, and helping them develop skills that make a meaningful difference in everyday life. I am incredibly proud of the interdisciplinary team we have built and our shared commitment to helping children thrive at home, at school, and in their communities.

At Bright Start, our goal is simple: provide exceptional care, support the whole family, and brighten the day along the way!

I can’t wait to meet your family & grow alongside your little one.

Hi! My name is Colleen and I am a Speech-Language Pathologist eager to help you and your child with all of your communication and feeding needs. I received my Master’s Degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders from Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in New Orleans, and I am proud to call this city my home. After two years of experience in the pediatric hospital setting working with children of all ages, I developed a passion for providing early intervention services. My experience includes working with children that have receptive and expressive language delays, feeding/swallowing disorders, hearing loss, tracheostomies, clefts of the lip/palate and special populations such as Autism Spectrum Disorder and Down Syndrome. I am passionate about working together as a team and look forward to helping your child thrive in his or her everyday environment!

Hi! My name is Jenn and I am a Doctor of Physical Therapy with over 13 years of pediatric experience! I am so excited to join the Bright Start team and be a part of you and your child's journey! My work experience is from a hospital-based outpatient pediatric setting where I have gained extensive knowledge and expertise of a wide range of diagnoses including developmental delay, brachial plexus injuries, torticollis, prematurity, cerebral palsy, stroke, cancer, toe walking, various genetic diagnoses as well as many orthopedic and neurologic conditions. I love building therapeutic relationships with my patients and families over our time together and truly value family-centered collaboration and education.

I was born and raised in New Orleans and went to the University of Georgia for college where I graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Kinesiology. After college, I moved back home to attend LSU Health Sciences Center where I earned my doctor of physical therapy degree in 2011. I am married to my husband, Ryan, and we have 3 beautiful children that keep us very busy! I look forward to working with you and your child to help them succeed!

Hi! I am an occupational therapist with an advanced certification in hand therapy and 12 years of pediatric experience. I have had the opportunity to practice in a variety of settings treating a vast range of diagnoses, and my extensive experience has shaped my skills as a therapist today. I value collaboration, and I am passionate about educating and empowering families as we embark on this journey together! I have a unique specialty in the treatment of children with congenital upper limb malformations, skeletal dysplasia, and trauma, with advanced skill in custom orthosis fabrication, bracing, taping and other musculoskeletal treatments. However, I have continued to maintain practice and skill in the treatment of children with prematurity, medically complex diagnoses, genetic disorders, various syndromes, neurological conditions and neurological trauma, developmental delay, autism, visual-motor and fine motor delays, handwriting difficulties, delays in independence with self-care skills and more! Above all, I strive to create a positive experience with focus on FUN while maintaining at the core of my practice: integrity, trust, teamwork, evidence, and client satisfaction.

I am a Louisiana native with a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Louisiana State University, and I earned my master’s degree in occupational therapy from The University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences in St. Augustine, Florida. After years of living and working in other states, I found my way back home to Louisiana, and truly “know what it means to miss New Orleans”. I have a beautiful son with a triumphant spirit and the sweetest dog, Olive. I am passionate about fostering learning opportunities through experience and exploration. I love helping children succeed and watching them radiate with pride when they’ve accomplished something new. I look forward to sharing in those experiences with you and your little one!

Hi! My name is Lilly Falgout, and I was born and raised in Lafayette, Louisiana. I am a Speech-Language Pathologist and earned my Master’s degree in Communication Disorders from Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in New Orleans. I am very passionate about the field of Speech-Language Pathology and strive to address each client’s speech and language needs. My clinical experience includes working with children with expressive and receptive language delays, articulation disorders, hearing loss, feeding and swallowing disorders, social communication challenges, fluency disorders, and augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) needs, as well as special populations including Autism Spectrum Disorder and Down Syndrome.  I am committed to providing individualized, evidence-based therapy in a supportive and encouraging environment. I value building meaningful relationships with families and believe collaboration is such an important part of helping each child grow. Supporting each client and their family every step of the way is my number one priority, and I am so excited to do this as a part of the Bright Start team! ription goes here

Hi! My name is Katie, and I am a Speech-Language Pathologist who is passionate about helping young children build their communication skills. I earned my Master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology from California State University, Long Beach, where I discovered my passion for working with children and supporting their communication development. 

My experience includes working with children from early childhood through the elementary years in outpatient, medical, and school-based settings. I have worked with children with autism, developmental delays, ADHD, and a variety of speech, language, social communication, and hearing needs. Working across these settings has allowed me to gain experience with children at different developmental stages and communication needs, providing individualized assessment and intervention tailored to each child. 

I believe children learn best when they are having fun. My play-based approach is individualized and centered around each child’s interests and strengths, with a focus on partnering with families to create confidence, independence, and communication skills that can be carried into everyday life. I’m excited to be part of the Bright Start team and look forward to supporting each child throughout their communication journey!