Flower Mound - Highland Village - Argyle | May 2025

Business

BY JONATHAN PERRIELLO

In a house nestled on Tudor Lane in Argyle, clinical professionals strive to provide speech language therapy in a comfortable environment. Owner Annie Gist founded Play on Words Pediatric Speech Therapy to oer speech and language therapy, feeding and oral motor therapy and myofunctional health services in the Argyle area, lling a niche that the town lacked, she said. The backstory After working as a clinical speech language pathologist for several years, Gist decided she wanted to branch out into private practice and she began seeing patients on the side. Her practice grew by word of mouth and by 2019 she opened Play on Words from her home oce, she said. Eventually, the clinic outgrew the home oce, and in 2023, she moved the business to a house in Argyle o Tudor Lane. “It still feels like kids are coming to ‘Miss Annie’s house,’” she said. “We try to make it as comfort- able and inviting as possible so that it doesn’t feel clinical.” The clinic also serves patients from Flower Mound, Highland Village and cities as far out as Gainesville. What they oer The clinic focuses on four main therapy services and sees about 175 patients a week. All therapists are certied clinical speech language pathologists, which requires a master’s degree, she said. The clinic’s speech therapy focuses on articu- lation, clarity, sound patterns and intelligibility, whereas language therapy centers around the syntax, grammar and word choice in order to put together a thought or idea, Gist said. Why it’s special The clinic prides itself on striving to identify root causes for conditions to help more accurately and permanently resolve speech and language problems, Gist said. Play on Words also believes in making a connec- tion with patients and their families to identify and structure therapy around achieving their personal goals, Gist said. “As long as it is meaningful to them, we get a lot more buy-in and a lot more joy. We want them to be happy and we want them to love coming here,” she said. Play on Words in Argyle provides everyone opportunity to speak

The clinic serves patients of all ages, but specializes in pediatric therapy.

COURTESY OF PLAY ON WORDS PEDIATRIC SPEECH THERAPY

After outgrowing her home oce, Gist moved the business to a house in Argyle o Tudor Lane in 2023.

JONATHAN PERRIELLOCOMMUNITY IMPACT

7861 Tudor Lane, Argyle https://playonwords.me

All therapists are certied clinical speech language pathologists which requires a master’s degree, she said.

COURTESY OF PLAY ON WORDS PEDIATRIC SPEECH THERAPY

FLOWER MOUND HIGHLAND VILLAGE ARGYLE EDITION