Birmingham Therapy

Meet Our Team of Birmingham Therapists

All Child’sPlay therapists are trained and experienced in various areas of pediatric therapy. Our team of Birmingham therapists is a group of caring and compassionate people who want to promote the best for you and your child.

Allyson Pasternack

Allyson Pasternack is the Assistant Director for the Huntsville, Hoover and Chelsea clinics, as well as the Clinical Supervisor of Speech-Language Pathology in Hoover. Allyson Pasternack is an Alabama state licensed, and ASHA certified Speech-Language Pathologist who has over 20 years of experience in the profession. Allyson was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, and relocated to Hoover in 2012. Allyson earned both her Bachelor of Science and Masters of Science in Communication Disorders from Long Island University-Brooklyn Campus, where she also served as an adjunct professor.

Mentoring new therapists and providing clinical support for her team is what Allyson enjoys most about her role as Clinical Supervisor. She has completed specialized training in Integrated Listening Systems® (ILS) and has completed two levels of training in Talk Tools® Oral Placement Therapy. She is also a certified SpeechEasy® provider.

Allyson’s clinical passions include early language learning and play as well as working with children and adults who stutter. Allyson is a two-time recipient of an ASHA ACE award for continuing education. When out of the office, Allyson enjoys spending time with her family, including her son, daughter, and cat Yankee. She is a proud baseball mom, loves to sing and bake, and enjoys musical theater!

Caroline Allums

Caroline is a licensed and registered Occupational Therapist. She is originally from Pensacola, Florida. Caroline received her Bachelor of Science degree in Rehabilitation and Disability Studies from Auburn University (War Eagle) in 2018. She then attended the University of South Alabama to receive her Master of Science in Occupational Therapy in 2020. Caroline completed her clinical fieldwork in outpatient pediatrics and adult inpatient mental health.

Caroline currently provides school-based therapy in a local school setting as well as therapy in the clinic. She is passionate about working with the children and their families to help them achieve their goals. When Caroline is not working she enjoys spending time with her friends and family, visiting her hometown, and baking.

Elinor Anthony

Elinor is an ASHA-certified and state-licensed Speech-Language Pathologist born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama. She received both her Bachelor of Science and Masters of Speech Pathology degrees from The University of Alabama. She has clinical experience working in clinics, schools, and in early intervention. Elinor has worked in pediatrics since graduating and has experience treating children diagnosed with motor speech disorders, phonological disorders, language delays, and other developmental disorders.

Elinor is passionate about teaching children to self-advocate through multimodal communication. She has experience treating children with high-tech communication devices including LAMP WFL, TD Snap, and Unity. Elinor currently works in both the clinic and provides school-based services. When Elinor is not working, she enjoys going to the lake, completing home DIY projects, and watching Alabama football.

Leah Murrill

Leah Murrill is a licensed and registered occupational therapist. She received her Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Samford University in 1998 and her Master of Science in Occupational Therapy from The University of Alabama at Birmingham in 2001.

Leah started her career in orthopedic and acute care. She then served for the next ten years as a member of an interdisciplinary team working closely with children with a broad range of physical, developmental, learning, and behavioral challenges to provide customized evaluations and recommendations for therapies, treatment, and activities in their communities and homes. Since that time, Leah continued her career serving students in a local school system, working to make a positive impact in the lives of students every day.

She joins Child’sPlay Therapy Center to continue her work with one of our local contracted public schools. She finds joy in learning the strengths of each student and working with them to build their skills so that they can take pride in their accomplishments and achieve their goals.

Leah continues learning each day from her students and their families, colleagues, and professional education to better serve her students. When not at work, she enjoys time with her husband Jay, son Peyton, daughter June, large affectionate cat Sunny, and a tiny dog with a big personality Molly.

Mary-Kate Galloway

Mary Kate is a licensed and registered occupational therapist born and raised in Birmingham. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in Rehabilitation and Disability Studies from Auburn University in 2014, and later attended Alabama State University, where she received her Master of Science in Occupational Therapy in 2017.

Mary Kate has experience working with children ranging in age from 8 months to 18 years with a variety of diagnoses including Autism Spectrum Disorder, Cerebral Palsy, sensory processing disorder, ADHD, and many others. Mary Kate began serving as Child’sPlay’s Public Schools Coordinator in July 2025.

In her free time, you can find her cooking, attempting to enjoy yoga/other exercise classes, and spending time with her husband, family, and friends. (And don’t forget her two furry sidekicks Poppy and Woody too!)

Sarah Duckworth

Sarah is a licensed and registered occupational therapist from Birmingham, Alabama. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Health Science from Samford University in 2020 and earned her Doctorate of Occupational Therapy from Belmont University in 2023.

Sarah has experience working with children with Autism Spectrum Disorder, ADHD, and developmental delay. During her Doctoral Capstone, Sarah focused on elopement prevention by developing tools to improve the experience of caregivers with children who elope.

Sarah has always had a passion for working with children with disabilities and is looking forward to continuing to collaborate with children and their families throughout her career. In her spare time, Sarah enjoys reading, painting, baking, and spending time with her family and friends.

Sarah Stack Crump

MS, CCC-SLP

Sarah is a Speech Pathologist originally from Birmingham, Alabama. She attended Auburn University where she received her bachelor’s and master’s degree. In Sarah’s time at Auburn, she was a member of the Auburn University Marching Band!

She enjoys walking with her rescue dog Bentley, music, sports, and eating popcorn at the movies. Communication is Sarah’s passion and she absolutely loves making connections with and enhancing the lives of her clients!

Shelley Zepp

Shelley is a licensed and registered speech-language pathologist with over 20 years of experience. She received her Bachelor of Science in Audiology and Speech Pathology from Florida State University. Shelley received her Master of Science in Clinical Speech Pathology from Northern Arizona University. She has worked in clinical and school settings with most of her career spent in elementary schools.

Her interests include articulation disorders, phonological disorders, and language impairments. Shelley loves working with children and seeing all the progress they are able to make in therapy. In her free time, she enjoys reading and spending time with her husband and two children.