I'm Aimee Pina, M.S., CCC-SLP, the speech-language pathologist behind Forget-Me-Not Speech & Language Services.
I was born and raised on Long Island, New York, and now live in Abilene, Texas. My background in speech-language pathology has brought me into different communities and ways of communicating, from working with AAC users and autistic individuals to supporting Deaf and hard-of-hearing children, multilingual families, and people who stutter.
I'm also an Ecuadorian-American, a heritage Spanish speaker, ASL-fluent, an AuDHDer, and a person who stutters. Outside of speech-language pathology, I enjoy looking at the sky and listening to unserious podcasts.
Education & Credentials
M.S., Speech-Language Pathology — Gallaudet University
B.S., Brain & Cognitive Sciences — University of Rochester
B.A., American Sign Language — University of Rochester
Advanced Certificate in Bilingual Speech-Language Pathology — Teachers College, Columbia University
Certificate of Clinical Competence (CCC-SLP) — American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
Why “Forget-Me-Not”?
Forget-me-nots have been my favorite flowers for as long as I can remember. Whether my favorite color is periwinkle because of forget-me-nots or my favorite flowers are forget-me-nots because they're periwinkle… who's to say?
As someone who grew up with communication differences, I think I recognized something familiar in them. They're small, gentle wildflowers—sometimes overlooked, yet resilient enough to keep growing in many different conditions.
When I designed the Forget-Me-Not logo, I wanted it to reflect that same feeling. The flower represents growth, the speech-bubble petal represents communication, and the hand forming the stem represents communication beyond spoken words and the support of the people around us.
Together, these pieces reflect what I want Forget-Me-Not to be: a practice where your communication—or your loved one's—is noticed, understood, and supported without asking you to become someone else.
My Approach
Authentic, effective, and sustainable communication.
Communication should feel like you, work for you, and be something you can sustain in everyday life.
I think about communication through three connected priorities:
Authentic communication reflects who you are and how you naturally communicate. That might include spoken language, sign, gestures, AAC, facial expressions, body language, or any combination of these.
Effective communication helps you express what you mean, make choices, connect with others, participate in everyday life, and advocate for what you need.
Sustainable communication takes into account your energy, sensory, motor, and processing needs. A strategy might technically work, but if it requires more effort than you can realistically maintain, we need to consider whether it's actually the right fit.
These priorities don't always line up perfectly. Something might be effective but exhausting, or comfortable but not consistently understood. Part of our work is figuring out what balance makes sense for you.
Understanding Comes First
I like understanding the “why,” and I think the people I work with deserve that understanding, too.
That might mean learning more about a communication difference, discussing why certain patterns happen, challenging misconceptions, or exploring the reasoning behind a recommendation.
Sometimes we work on developing new skills. Other times, we may need to reconsider something that's been taught or practiced for years.
I want you to have the information you need to make informed decisions about your communication or the support you're seeking for someone else.
Your Goals Guide the Plan
You bring knowledge of your experiences, priorities, and everyday life. I bring clinical knowledge, assessment, and recommendations. Both matter when we're deciding what to work on and how to approach it.
For children and people who may not communicate their preferences through spoken language, this also means paying attention to their interests, choices, responses, and attempts to communicate.
I don't believe that a communication response becomes more meaningful simply because an adult prompted it, or that someone needs to communicate in a particular way for their message to count.
We'll focus on goals that are useful beyond our sessions, and we'll revisit them as your needs or priorities change.
Honest Feedback Is Part of the Support
Being affirming doesn't mean being passive.
I believe in presuming competence, allowing processing time, recognizing all forms of communication, and considering the reasons behind what we observe. I also believe in providing direct, respectful feedback when I notice something that may be relevant to your goals.
Sometimes that means pointing out a pattern, suggesting a different approach, or having a conversation about what's working and what isn't.
My role isn't to decide what your communication should look like. It's to offer clinical guidance, explain my reasoning, and work with you to find approaches that are meaningful and useful in your life.
A Personal Note: My Journey
Parts of my own story shape the way I show up as a clinician.
I was raised by Spanish-speaking immigrants, and Spanish was my first language. Unfortunately, misinformation about bilingualism discouraged my parents from continuing to raise me in Spanish. I've spent years relearning, reclaiming, and incorporating Spanish back into my life. I know what it feels like for language to be connected to family, identity, confidence, and belonging.
I'm also a covert stutterer. Growing up, I didn't know other people who stuttered, but I knew enough about how stuttering was viewed to try to hide it. At 24, I joined my first stuttering community group. Being around other people who stutter helped me recognize how much energy I'd spent trying to appear fluent, rather than making room for acceptance, choice, and my own communication.
Being diagnosed with ADHD and autism as an adult has also helped me better understand my experiences with attention, processing, energy, overwhelm, and being misunderstood.
My clinical work with AAC users, Deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals, and minimally speaking communicators has continued to challenge my assumptions about what communication can look like and what meaningful progress actually means.
The more I've learned about supporting other people's communication, the more I've come to understand my own. Both experiences have shaped how I listen, the questions I ask, and the decisions I make as an SLP.
Working Together
I like questions. I like understanding the “why.”
If my background and approach sound like a good match for what you're looking for, we can start with a free consultation.
It's an opportunity to talk about your needs, ask questions, and see whether Forget-Me-Not is the right fit.