Mara Decman, MA, CCC-SLP

Mara Decman, MA, CCC-SLP, is a UW Health Kids pediatric speech-language pathologist. She evaluates and treats children with speech, language, feeding and swallowing disorders.  

Mara sees patients with receptive language issues (trouble understanding what others say or write). She also treats children with expressive language disorders. These children have a difficult time expressing their thoughts verbally and in writing. In addition, Mara works with children with speech delays, problems making proper speech sounds and trouble communicating in social situations.  

Mara offers therapy for patients with sensory food aversions. This means they refuse to eat certain foods due to their smell, look, taste or texture (too smooth or crunchy, for example). She also treats children with dysphagia (trouble swallowing food and moving it from the mouth to the stomach).  

When working with patients, Mara assesses their unique needs. She uses a variety of creative treatment methods called augmentative and alternative communication. These techniques include gestures, facial expressions, devices, writing, drawing and pointing to pictures. Mara finds effective ways to help children communicate and interact.

I love helping children. My goal is to keep each therapy session fun and engaging.