Inspiring Conversations with Keysha Martinez-Torres of Fundamentals Development Center

Today we’d like to introduce you to Keysha Martinez-Torres

Hi Keysha, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Once I finished my masters degree in Puerto Rico (Universidad Albizu, Old San Juan) I moved to Boston for my fellowship year. I saw so much need for the Spanish speaking community, in particular, concerning speech therapy access and resources. I wanted to do something about it. I then relocate with my husband to Nashville, where the same pattern of needs were evident. In the process, I complete my PhD program in Hearing and Speech Sciences at Vanderbilt University where I gained a lot of experience with unique strategies to use in interventions and learned the huge need to advocate for under-represented communities. Then I asked myself: “Now what?” I had to make a decision as to what my next step would be in my career. My husband’s and I’s plan was to move back to Puerto Rico and support the community there, but that could not happen at the time. So in September 2023 I decide to jump-start in my dream of opening my own private practice, focused on supporting families in the Nashville, greater Nashville areas, and remotely in Puerto Rico, specializing in bilingual speech therapy, autism spectrum disorder, parent coaching and inclusion, and early childhood development. Since then, I have been supporting English and Spanish speaking families, providing quality care and sharing my love towards childhood and speech-language development.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It has not! Along the way, I’ve encountered a lot of questions and frustration, more so regarding how to reach out to families and them finding me as a resource for them. There is so much need in the speech therapy world, especially for Spanish-speaking communities and other under-represented communities. There are not many bilingual speech-language pathologists in the area, so my dream would be to encourage seasoned speech pathologists or students now completing their degrees to reach out and help me reach as many families as possible, building a fully bilingual private practice. But, this has also been a huge struggle, finding bilingual providers to keep up with the need for bilingual therapies to support children and families.

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I founded Fundamentals Development Center back in September 2023 to offer families a unique opportunity to work with a bilingual specialist who uses naturalistic approaches to learning. What I mean by naturalistic is that children learn through everyday interactions and real-life situations. They also learn through play, which is so much fun for them. So I am trained in these approaches to see better growth in their speech and language skills. I specialized in Spanish speech therapy (bilingual speech therapy), autism spectrum disorder, and the inclusion of parents through parent coaching. In my speech therapy sessions, parents are active observers and participants, given they spend more time with their children than I do. This is something that sets me apart: (1) being bilingual (Spanish and English) and (2) including parents in the therapy sessions to push for better outcomes and results in their children.
I would like for readers to know that my goal is to provide quality care, include their families in decision-making for their children, and grow the availability of bilingual resources in the area. For those readers who are providers, please reach out to me, especially if you are bilingual, to help me reach the goals of creating a fully bilingual private practice. There is so much need, we are needed, and families need us.

Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
I see my business growing with a fully bilingual staff and offering services all around Tennessee. With bilingualism growing in TN, the bilingual speech therapy industry will grow in need, demanding to build awareness in this specialty for providers and families. I see my practice being the place to find support and educate families with workshops, parent coaching programs, provider continuing education resource center on evidence-based bilingual services, and so much more.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.fundamentalscenter.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fundamentalsmtdc/