Founded by Amy McIntyre and Michelle Harr in 2016, SPARC Therapy is the only group-oriented speech/language practice on the East Side.

 

In Amy and Michelle's many years of providing Speech-Language Therapy, the need for group based social skill development became abundantly clear.  They frequently noticed  a gap between performance in individual therapy and the application of these skills in a real world setting.  Recognizing this difficulty in transitioning skills learned in structured therapy to everyday use, Amy and Michelle decided to offer opportunities to bridge the gap. Thus, SPARC Therapy was formed.

 

Partners

Both Amy and Michelle are fully licensed in the state of Michigan while maintaining their Certificates of Clinical Competence. 

Amy McIntyre, M.A., CCC-SLP

Amy has 23 years of experience in both school and hospital based settings, working with children and adults.  She spent 10 years working with children in the 3-6 year old age range as a speech-language pathologist for the ECSE program in Van Dyke Public Schools. Highly organized and intuitive, Amy has more recently developed a passion for working with the social language skills of older children on the ASD spectrum. Amy lives with her husband and twin daughters in Grosse Pointe Woods.

Michelle Harr, M.A., CCC-SLP

Michelle's 20 years of experience includes working within a variety of settings including private therapy, schools and hospitals. Her experience while working with toddlers, children, adolescents and young adults has helped her become comfortable with a wide age group. She enjoys working on a variety of speech and language skills with her passion centering on helping children and teens who struggle with language processing skills, executive functioning skills, social interaction and communication skills. Michelle is creative and has an uncanny ability to connect with children who have difficulty connecting with others.  Michelle lives with her husband and three children in Grosse Pointe Park.

Cassandra Whiteaker, MS OTR/L

Cassie has graciously joined our SPARC team, providing occupational therapy to children and assisting their families with carryover, since spring of 2019. Cassie’s 10 years of experience includes working within a variety of settings including a school, outpatient neuro clinic, and hospital outpatient pediatric clinic. She has also had previous experience working in mental health. She has a “whole body” approach to therapy and focuses on health, nutrition, and appropriate development. She utilizes a variety of therapeutic approaches to address fine motor delay, reflex integration, feeding difficulties, and a wide variety of other concerns. Cassie likes to keep life interesting and lives with her husband and FIVE children (and 2 big dogs) in Shelby Township.

Kathleen Lubera, M.A., CCC-SLP

Katie Lubera  is a licensed speech and language pathologist with bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Michigan State University. Katie has a wealth of experience in multiple settings and has worked in the Lake Shore Public School District for the past 18 years. She is START trained and an Assistive Technology leader in her district.  Katie has special interests in early childhood language development, severe phonological disorders, and the impact of ADHD and Autism Spectrum on communication. We are proud to welcome Katie to the SPARC team. She shares her wealth of knowledge and enthusiasm with our team as well as with her clients and their families.