About Me

Lia Van Dril M.A., CCC-SLP, is the owner of Playful Connections Speech Therapy. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Speech and Hearing Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and earned her master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology from Eastern Michigan University. Between degrees, she spent a year in South Korea teaching English to elementary school students.

Lia has provided speech and language services in a range of settings, including private practice, a nonprofit clinic in the D.C. metro area, public schools, and a private special education school.

She is passionate about child-led and play-based therapy to support speech and language development. Lia believes in taking a whole child approach to best support children. She encourages parents and caregivers to join in sessions and strives to empower them to support their child’s communication in meaningful, everyday moments. Lia is an ASHA certified speech language pathologist and stays current with the latest research and best practices by engaging in continuing education courses. Most recently she obtained a DIR Floortime Basic Certificate.

In her spare time, Lia keeps busy exploring the Bay Area and playing with her two young children.