Ep. 20 - Roots to Rise: Whole-Child Speech Therapy with Marina Aronin

In this episode of The Play Base Podcast, Frances sits down with Marina Aronin, a powerhouse speech-language pathologist and practice owner who brings a whole-child, root-cause approach to therapy.

Marina shares how her work goes far beyond “speech sounds” and into the real-life foundations that impact communication and behavior: sleep quality, mouth breathing, nutrition, food intolerances, screen time, stress, emotional regulation, and family routines. With a background in psychology and additional training as a functional nutritional counselor, Marina explains how small shifts—like a short elimination trial for dairy, building healthier routines, or teaching kids diaphragmatic breathing—can create meaningful changes not only in speech, but also in attention, regulation, and overall wellbeing.

Frances and Marina also dive into the bigger parenting topics many families wrestle with today: technology boundaries, food overwhelm, guilt/shame, and how to create structure without losing compassion. This is a grounded, practical conversation for parents, educators, and clinicians who want to support children in a way that’s both evidence-informed and deeply human.

In this episode, you’ll hear about:

• Why Marina believes therapy should address the whole child, not just one skill area
  
  
  
• The connection between food sensitivities (like dairy), mucus/voice quality, and throat clearing
  
  
  
• How Marina supports selective eating with systematic desensitization (smell → touch → taste → expand)
  
  
  
• The impact of screen time on attention, patience, and social communication
  
  
  
• Regulation tools Marina uses in sessions: breathwork, movement, yoga, and sensory supports
  
  
  
• Parent coaching, boundaries, and why “structure” is often the missing ingredient
  
  
  
• Baby steps families can start today without getting overwhelmed
  
  
  

Closing reflection:

Marina leaves listeners with a powerful New Year prompt:

“What is your resolution—and what will you give back to the world?”

Connect with Marina and Roots To Rise

🌐 Website: https://roots2risetherapy.com/

📸 Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/roots2risetherapy/

Connect with The Play Base

🌐 Website: www.us.theplaybase.com

📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theplaybase/

🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@theplaybase