Meet Barbara Earley M.Ed. CCC/SLP April Lowe M.Ed. CCC/SLP | Speech Langauge Pathologist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Barbara Earley M.Ed. CCC/SLP April Lowe M.Ed. CCC/SLP and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Social EdVentures, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?

As two speech therapists, driven by a passion for fostering social connections and self-reliance in our clients, Social EdVentures was created. We started with a small group of older teens in a traditional setting and began exploring unconventional approaches. As we did this, we discovered our real-world learning approach enhanced success, increased involvement, and resulted in better outcomes.

This inspired us to create Social Edventures, aiming to offer this experience to larger groups affordably. We started with a small group of four in the Fall of 2021 and quickly expanded to multiple groups of all ages. As our network grew, we listened to our families and gained a clearer understanding of their needs, striving to empower them toward independence and having fun along the way.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
As experienced speech therapists, we have provided therapy for our community in many traditional roles. Although we always enjoyed being creative during sessions, we were bound by restrictions that came with traditional therapy. Social EdVentures has allowed us to create “real-world learning” during authentic experiences while engaging in social learning as life happens. Our EdVentures are purposefully designed to improve communication, executive functioning and foster independence in a supportive environment. Social EdVentures meets weekly by age range while participating in everyday community-based outings and meetups. For example, our Tuesday group meets out in the community to partake in age appropriate activities. While out, participants engage in budgeting and decision making, community orientation and mobility, collaboration with peers and self-advocacy. These EdVentures have proven to fill in the gap that this community needs. We are most proud of the community we have built both with our EdVenturers and their families. Our business has grown organically from our connections and engagement within our community; therefore, turning our passion into a business was a no-brainer. It has been a great learning experience overall. From a business standpoint, it has been a rollercoaster that we feel is finally making a steady climb. We have learned to trust our instincts and network with other businesses that serve our same community. We want people to know that Social EdVentures is a community that will empower all abilities through social engagement.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
If we had friends in town, we would frequent some of our Social EdVenture spots. The Halcyon for food and coffee, Vickery Village for some ice cream and sitting on the lawn, and Sliceability for a unique dining experience. After, we would hike some of our favorite spots, Sawnee Mountain, the Alpharetta Greenway, and the Atlanta BeltLine. Weather permitting, we would take a day to go downtown and do the Botanical Gardens, maybe have dinner after on the roof at Ponce City Market. We would save a day to explore the North Georgia mountains for beautiful scenery and quaint towns with local eateries and shopping.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Our shoutout goes to our parent group! They have helped us to truly understand the challenges they face daily. Understanding their challenges helps us to know where our EdVenturers require additional support while building independence and fostering social connections. This partnership has truly allowed us to empower abilities and unleash potential for all.

Website: https://www.therapyconnectionsofga.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/social_edventures/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/empoweringabilities/