Tonya Hayes, SLP-A Education & Marketing Liaison

Tonya is a Speech Language Pathology Assistant and the Educational and Marketing Liaison at Sprout Pediatrics. She graduated from Columbia College with a Speech Therapy degree in 1990 and later received a Master of Education, with an emphasis in Preschool Education, from the University of South Carolina in 1992.  Tonya worked as a Speech-Language Pathologist in the School Districts of Kershaw County and Fairfield County.  She also worked as a Parent Trainer for the SC School for the Deaf and Blind and was the Director of Parent Education and Family Literacy in the School District of Fairfield County.  Tonya also worked in Lexington-Richland 5 School District as a Speech-Language Pathologist in the Elementary Autism program.  Additionally, Tonya has completed the Beckmann Oral Motor Assessment & Intervention, Oral Placement Therapy for Speech Clarity and Feeding Skills & Feeding Therapy: A Sensory-Motor Approach and is Certified Pyramid Model Coach for children with challenging behaviors.

Tonya’s passion for education has always been present as she served as a state ECD trainer in the First Steps program as well as a faculty member in the Early Childhood Education at Midlands Technical College.  Tonya has written numerous parenting articles for ParentLife, 30 Second Mom, and was a guest on the Wee Hands Blog Talk Radio cast. While each of these opportunities have developed her professional knowledge, it was her experiences with preschoolers and children with sensory processing disorder and Autism that most impacted her desire to work in the pediatric arena.  

As a Pediatric therapist and parent educator, she feels she gets to help parents learn to replicate therapy strategies in an organic setting that creates solid learning for a bright future.  Tonya says, “As parents are empowered to help their children, progress is exponential!” She shares she is “genuinely in awe of her clients and how hard they work each week and is blessed to get to not only change their world, but their familiesas they accomplish and grow and develop necessary skills for a future full of hope.”

Tonya is married and has two adult sons, and a granddaughter. She enjoys family timeand traveling.