About Us
Shannon Oakes M.S. CCC-SLP
Shannon is a speech-language pathologist with over 15 years of clinical experience across early intervention, hospital, school, and private practice settings. She holds a B.A. from UC Berkeley and an M.S. in Communication Sciences and Disorders from Emerson College.
Shannon specializes in early language development, autism support, gestalt language processing, and social cognition. She has consulted with the Autism Center of Northern California, led Hanen caregiver education programs, and worked at the Social Thinking® - Stevens Creek clinic alongside a team of experts in social cognition.
Shannon started her own private practice in 2018 and joined Rachel in creating SLSF in 2024. She is passionate about supporting families and helping clients achieve their social goals while embracing their authentic selves. Shannon is a Bay Area native and lives in SF with her husband and two kids. Outside of work, she enjoys family time, seeing live music with friends, interior decorating, and Pilates.
Rachel Rapp M.S. CCC-SLP
Rachel earned her M.S. in speech-language pathology from the University of Oregon and her B.A. from Indiana University at Bloomington. She has experience working across various clinical settings including private clinics, preschools, pediatric acute care and rehabilitation centers. She completed her clinical training in speech-language pathology at UCSF and her clinical fellowship in social cognition at Social Thinking® - Stevens Creek. Rachel continued at Social Thinking® - Stevens Creek working alongside experts in social cognition. Rachel is also a Natural Language Acquisition (NLA) trained clinician who is educated in gestalt language processing and delayed echolalia.
Prior to graduate school, Rachel spent a number of years working in corporate communications in New York City. While there, she volunteered at the NYU Child Study Center’s camp for children with selective mutism and knew this was the field for her. Having experienced selective mutism herself growing up, Rachel has empathy and passion for helping her clients who are struggling with communication.
Rachel currently owns a small private practice providing in-home speech/language therapy, social cognitive therapy and treatment for selective mutism. She enjoys working with clients across the ages from toddlers to young adults. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with family and friends, exploring new Bay Area restaurants, trips to the flower mart and seeing live music.