Karen George, MS, CCC-SLP, is a Chicago speech-language pathologist. She is the author of several books such as A Parent’s Guide to Speech and Language Milestones, A Parent’s Guide to Articulation, A Parent’s Guide to Speech Delay, A Parent’s Guide to Stuttering Therapy, and Getting Into The Graduate Speech Program Of Your Dreams. In total, she has authored or co-authored more than 33 books.

Karen is often asked to speak for parents and other professionals in the healthcare field. She has addressed audiences at top children’s hospitals and prestigious graduate speech programs, including Northwestern University and Rush University. She has also been consulted by NPR about pediatric speech therapy, and The Chicago Tribune has interviewed her about her work as the founder of Chicago Speech Therapy. Karen regularly receives inquiries about speech and language development from parents and other healthcare professionals around the world, including the India, Israel, Jamaica, and the Netherlands.

Chicago Speech Therapy is highly referred by many Chicago-area pediatricians and elite schools. In addition to Chicago Speech Therapy, Karen founded Chicago Occupational Therapy, Chicago ABA Therapy, and CST Academy, a top therapeutic preschool-style program.

She also started Chicago Speech Therapists Connect, a networking group for Chicago speech therapists which has grown to more than 500 members.
To advance the field of speech-language pathology, Karen launched the Speech Therapy Practice Associate (STPA) program, which provides direct clinical experience for aspiring speech-language pathologists.

Karen received both her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Speech-Language Pathology from Marquette University. In 2015, she was named the Marquette University Young Alumna of the Year. She also received a nomination for Crain’s Top 40 Under 40.

In her past, Karen enjoyed running, biking, and swimming along Chicago’s lakefront and completed more than 25 triathlons. Now, she enjoys spending time with her husband and three young children.

• Karen meets with a friend at Starbucks in Old Town to explore starting a private practice
• Karen founds Chicago Speech Therapy
• Chicago Speech Therapy hires first part-time SLP
• Chicago Tribune Sunday Edition features Chicago Speech Therapy
• Karen invited to address pediatricians at top children’s hospital

• CST hires first full-time SLP
• Referrals surge as practice develops reputation for hyper-effective therapy

• CST moves into original 872-square-foot office
• CST expands office to accommodate growing team (10+ employees) and client base
• Speech-Language Developmental Milestone book published
• Clinical Fellow (CF) program launched and first CF hired
• Speech Therapy Practice Associate (STPA) program launched and first associate hired
• Pearson Education seeks partnership with CST in development of CELF-5

• CST hires first occupational therapist

• CST Academy (therapeutic preschool) launches mom-and-tots class
• CST selected to conduct speech screening for several elite city schools
• Mandy retools CST Academy to provide STPAs with direct clinical experience

• Karen wins Marquette Young Alumna of the Year Award for her work at CST
• Johanna accepts role to help STPAs radically improve quality of grad-school applications

• NPR contacts Karen for her industry expertise
• Getting into the Graduate Speech Program of Your Dreams is published
• CST launches speech therapy social story books

• CST Academy expands to include a state-of-the-art sensory gym and multiple classrooms
• Services now include speech, feeding, occupational, and applied behavior analysis (ABA) therapy, as well as a therapeutic preschool program