About Us & Contact

156 Elwood St, "Casita" Redwood City, CA 94062
email: info@talkingplayhouse.com

6 5 0 - 6 7 8 - 9 7 6 9 (please email, not phone for appointments. Tku)

Directions

Southbound 101 From Whipple
First stop light is WHIPPLE. Go through stop light to second stop light "BREWSTER" TURN RIGHT.

Northbound 101 From Whipple
If you are Northbound, exit Whipple, turn left (West.) Immediately get into left lane; you will be making a left turn at the next light:Veterans but it is not clearly marked. Go to the next stop light and TURN RIGHT ON BREWSTER.
Go past El Camino to Elwood St, TURN RIGHT and look for 156 Elwood St. Nar Seqoa High. Look for a Craftsmen house with 2 small citrus trees. Ring the gate doorbell and or call the number above (please do not go to front door of house). The office is in the Casita with the red door straight to back of the property. Watch out for 2 little (12 lbs.) "Houdini" allergy free dog. (Please lmk if your kiddo is scared of dogs.)

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Application

For an application, please send an email to info@talkingplayhouse.com

People

Jennifer Abbott Bulka, M.A., SLP-CCC License #14006, is a specialist in Asperger's (now "High Functioning Autism") NLD (difficulty reading nonverbal communication), ADHD and Executive Function (logistical and cognitive organization.) She is a California State certified therapist in pragmatic and social skills therapy. Ms. Bulka became a speech, language & audiology therapist over 25 years ago in San Francisco working with children on the autism spectrum. Her clients at The Talking Playhouse range from children to adults, starting at age 7.​

Ms. Bulka has been a student of the neuroscience for 30 years. Her zeal and devotion for teaching scientific-proven methodologies to help shape new behaviors and create long lasting positive habits, has proven to be a rewarding experience for both she, and her clients. She has a rigorous technique, custom tailored to each client and their culture and needs in order to enhance social skills, managing anxiety, productively using executive function skills and communicate effectively.

After working in Silicon Valley's tech entertainment industry as a producer and corporate media executive, Ms. Bulka returned to the field to become one of the first speech/language pathologists to specialize in private practice in social cognitive therapy, and what is now called Executive Functioning therapy in 2002. Working with engineers in project management in her early days, gave her a better understanding of the strengths and executive function / pragmatic language ‘literalness’ challenges that engineering brains may sometimes experience.

Upon returning to the field, she was convinced from fMRI results and neuroscience based research that the antidotes, and magic for changing social behavior lie in the linguistic paradigm: language drives thinking, thinking drives behavior. In other words, understanding how to do social perspective taking requires language to prompt the growth of things like empathy, social reciprocity, prediction and an understanding of nonverbal communication and abstract language. The foundations for decreasing social challenges and improving executive functioning start with language; the ability to habituate the skills to do so requires the behavioral science of building flexibility and new habits. The roots of all social progress start with verbal or nonverbal language--of which Ms. Bulka is an expert in.

Ms. Bulka is writing a book on Memory: “Memory Confident” that builds better memory systems for smart brains that are challenged with working memory and Super Agers who need to continue to grow their aging working memory more effectively. Past experience includes: Peninsula Associates, the Morgan Center for Autism and the San Carlos School District, including the special day class for preschoolers with moderate to severe social pragmatic and communication issues. Ms. Bulka was a volunteer for the NLD Association (Nonverbal Learning Disorder) before it disbanded in California. She is a big fan of Michelle Garcia Winner’s approach to working with ‘Social Thinking’ and Dr. Barry Prizant who co-authored and co-developed the SCERTS program (Social Communication, Emotional Regulation and Transactional Support.

Memberships (current or past) include The Autism Society of America, Parents Helping Parents (PHP), California Speech & Hearing Association (CSHA) & San Mateo Speech & Language Association (SMCSLHA.) Volunteer and philanthropic endeavors have included Meals on Wheels, Biz World, Save The Children, and Unicef among others. Currently, Ms. Bulka lives in the Bay Area with her family and enjoys hanging out with her 12 year old son and doggie "Uncle Albert," or eating at her favorite restaurant, Howie's Artisan Pizza and playing tennis when not working with groups at the Playhouse.