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About Lois Jean Brady, M.A., SLP

Lois Jean Brady, M.A., SLP, is cofounder and CEO of iTherapy, LLC, the maker of EASI. She is a speech language pathologist with more than 30 years of experience, an author and a PI on federal SBIR awards from NSF, NIH and the U.S. Air Force.

Headshot of Lois Jean Brady

Introduction

Lois Jean Brady, M.A., SLP, is the cofounder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of iTherapy, LLC, a California speech therapy and assistive technology company. She cofounded iTherapy in 2011 with Matthew Guggemos, M.S., CCC SLP, its Chief Technology Officer (CTO).

Lois is a speech language pathologist (SLP) with more than 30 years of experience serving people with autism and other communication disorders. She holds a Master of Arts (M.A.) in Speech Language Pathology from California State University, Stanislaus, is licensed as a speech language pathologist in California and is a Certified Autism Specialist (CAS). She has served as Principal Investigator (PI) on Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) awards from the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the U.S. Air Force. She is also an author and, with Matthew Guggemos, the copublisher of Autism Digest.

Lois's interest in the field began in high school, when she volunteered at summer camps for children with special needs.

At a Glance
Role Cofounder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), iTherapy, LLC (2011)
Experience More than 30 years as a speech language pathologist
Credentials M.A., Speech Language Pathology; California license; Certified Autism Specialist (CAS)
Research Principal Investigator (PI) on federal SBIR awards from NSF, NIH and the U.S. Air Force
Books Author of four books, including Apps for Autism
Publishing Copublisher of Autism Digest, with Matthew Guggemos

Education and Credentials

  • B.A., Speech Language Pathology, California State University, Stanislaus (1987)
  • M.A., Speech Language Pathology, California State University, Stanislaus and California State University, Fresno (1988)
  • Clinical Rehabilitation Credential, California State University, Stanislaus (1988)
  • Speech Language Pathologist License, State of California (1988)
  • Certificate in Assistive Technology, California State University, Northridge (2009)
  • Certificate in Computer Based Intervention
  • Certified Autism Specialist (CAS), International Board of Credentialing and Continuing Education Standards (IBCCES) (2011)
  • Certified in Autism Movement Therapy (2013)
  • Registered Pet Partners therapy animal team (2016), following earlier Delta Society certification with Buttercup

Clinical Work

Lois began her career as a speech language pathologist at Manor Care Rehabilitation Center (1990 to 1995). From 1995 to 2014, she served as a speech language pathologist, assistive technology specialist and supervisor at Spectrum Center Schools and Programs in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she worked with students with autism and other special needs.

Lois now directs iTherapy's clinical practice, which provides speech language pathology services to children and families in California. The practice has been an IBCCES Certified Autism Clinic since 2019, and its clinical work informs the design of iTherapy's tools.

Technology and Apps

Lois has designed communication technology for people with autism since 2011.

  • EASI. EASI is an artificial intelligence (AI) assisted language sample and evaluation platform developed with support from an NSF SBIR Phase II award. It helps SLPs turn language samples into scored analyses and draft reports, while the clinician makes every clinical decision. EASI was featured in The ASHA Leader, published by the American Speech Language Hearing Association (ASHA), in September 2024, and became commercially available through Northern Speech Services in May 2026. More information is available at NorthernSpeech.com/EASI.
  • MySLP. MySLP is the secure AI assistant built into EASI that answers SLPs' clinical, scientific and eligibility questions.
  • EASI IEP. Under a 2025 Institute of Education Sciences (IES) SBIR Phase IA contract, iTherapy developed a research prototype of an AI supported platform for managing Individualized Education Programs (IEPs).
  • InnerVoice. Cocreated with Matthew Guggemos and launched in 2013, InnerVoice is an augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) app that uses animated photo avatars, so that learners can see themselves, or a favorite character, speaking. The app includes a talking 3D avatar and remote prompting. Its development was supported by a Microsoft AI for Accessibility grant, and an Epic Games MegaGrant funded InnerVoice Unreal.
  • VAST (Video Assisted Speech Technology). Lois developed three VAST apps: VAST Autism 1 Core (2011); VAST Songs (2011), which pairs singing with video of the mouth movements for each song; and VAST Pre Speech Oral Motor (2013). The apps combine video modeling, music and written words to support speech production in nonspeaking learners and people with apraxia. VAST later became the focus of her NIH funded research.

Animal Assisted Therapy

Lois founded an animal assisted therapy (AAT) program for students with autism. Her therapy partner was Buttercup, a black Vietnamese pot bellied pig. Children who rarely spoke would talk about Buttercup, recall details about him and practice speech sounds by saying his name, which Lois also used as a simple articulation check. Lois and Buttercup volunteered as a registered therapy team through Pet Partners (formerly the Delta Society).

Buttercup's work received national media coverage, including Reader's Digest ("A Pig That Calms Kids," in its Amazing Hero Pets feature), Vetstreet ("Potbellied Pigs: The New Therapy Animals," May 2012) and the KQED program "Bay Area People." Buttercup died in 2022.

Lois documented her approach in the ebook Animal Assisted Therapy (2013) and in a continuing education course on AAT for therapists, educators and caregivers.

Books and Publications

  • Apps for Autism: An Essential Guide to Over 200 Effective Apps (Future Horizons, 2011; revised and expanded edition, 2015). Winner of the Benjamin Franklin Award from the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) and the International Naturally Autistic People Award for Technology.
  • Speech in Action (Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2011), coauthored with America X. Gonzalez and Jim Elliott.
  • Speak, Move, Play and Learn with Children on the Autism Spectrum (Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2012), coauthored with America X. Gonzalez, Maciej Zawadzki and Corinda Presley.
  • Animal Assisted Therapy (ebook, 2013; interactive edition on Apple Books).
  • "Multisensory Tools for Autism," with Matthew Guggemos, Scientia (2018).
  • Autism Today News (2014), a newspaper that Lois produced.
  • Columnist, Autism Asperger's Digest (from 2020); now copublisher of Autism Digest.
  • Continuing education courses on Apps for Autism and on Animal Assisted Therapy, Professional Development Resources.

Autism Digest

In April 2022, Lois and Matthew Guggemos assumed publication of Autism Asperger's Digest, which was founded in 1999 as the first international magazine focused on autism. As copublishers of the magazine, now titled Autism Digest, they have expanded its contributors to include nonspeaking autistic writers and have added interactive digital features alongside the print edition. The magazine marked its 25th anniversary in 2024.

Grants and Research

Lois has served as PI on federal SBIR awards from NSF, NIH and the U.S. Air Force. The following awards have funded iTherapy's research and product development.

  • NSF SBIR Phase I, Award 1520587 (July 2015 to December 2015), $149,964: "Say What I Feel," research on synthesized emotional communication that informed InnerVoice. Lois served as PI.
  • NIH SBIR Phase I, National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), Grant 1R43DC018447 (December 2019 to November 2020), $224,789: Video Assisted Speech Technology to enhance functional language abilities in individuals with autism spectrum disorder. Lois served as PI.
  • NSF SBIR Phase I, Award 2025836 (September 2020 to April 2021), $255,367: an interactive AI software platform to improve communication in autism. Lois served as PI.
  • NSF SBIR Phase II, Award 2133148 (May 2022 to October 2024), $1,000,000: Evaluative Artificial Speech Intelligence and Autism Screener, the research behind EASI. Combined Phase I and Phase II funding totaled approximately $1.25 million. Lois served as PI.
  • AFWERX (U.S. Air Force) SBIR Phase I, Contract FA864923P0694 (May 2023 to August 2023), $74,646: a speech generating total communication system with AI. Lois served as PI.
  • IES SBIR Phase IA, Contract 91990025C0087 (awarded September 2025), $250,000: a prototype AI supported IEP management system. Matthew Guggemos served as project director.
  • Autism Speaks Neighborhood Grant (announced January 2015), which funded a free version of InnerVoice.
  • NewSchools Venture Fund Ignite Special Education Challenge (May 2017), $65,000.
  • Microsoft AI for Accessibility grant (announced December 2018), for InnerVoice.
  • Epic Games MegaGrant (announced October 2020), to build InnerVoice Unreal.
  • LEGO Foundation Play for All Accelerator (April 2022): iTherapy was one of 25 organizations selected for the inaugural cohort.

Hackathons and Awards

  • Third prize, AT&T and Autism Speaks app hackathon (April 2013), for "Making Friends," a social skills game; covered by CNN.
  • First place, Twilio and Autism Speaks hackathon (2013), for VIP (Virtual Interactive Practice).
  • Benjamin Franklin Award, IBPA, for Apps for Autism.
  • International Naturally Autistic People Award for Technology (2014).
  • Ursula Award, for Autism TodayTV.

Media and Television

Lois created and produced Autism TodayTV, an Ursula Award winning 30 minute public broadcast program on autism and technology. She has been interviewed on The Autism Show podcast (Episode 32, "Apps for Autism") and on the TWIML AI Podcast (Episode 227, "AI for Accessibility," February 2019) with Wendy Chisholm of Microsoft. iTherapy was also featured on the Epic Games livestream "Inside Unreal."

Speaking

Lois presents nationally and internationally on autism and technology. Representative presentations include:

  • California Speech Language Hearing Association (CSHA): presenter
  • The Help Group Summit 2017, Los Angeles: "Using Apps to Build Core Vocabulary and Create Meaningful Exchanges for Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder"
  • Assistive Technology Industry Association (ATIA) Conference 2020, Orlando: "Multi Sensory and Artificial Intelligence to Support Communication for Autism"
  • Future Horizons webinar, June 17, 2020: "Apps for Autism"
  • ASHA Demo Day for Pediatric SLP Assessment Tools, with Northern Speech Services, August 12, 2026

Service and Leadership

  • Board of Directors, United States Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (USSAAC); previously Director of Public Relations and member of the Disaster Relief Committee
  • Board of Directors, California Communications Access Foundation (2017 to 2020)
  • Board of Advisors, IBCCES

See EASI in action: NorthernSpeech.com/EASI

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/loisjeanbrady

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