The gap was staring me right in the face.
OUR STORY
Talk Eat Play was born from a moment of truth, in my hometown, in Aruba where I realized that talking about access wasn't enough. It was time to do something about it.
HOW IT STARTED
A visit home changed everything.
After completing my health technology fellowship and doctoral program, I found myself deeply drawn to one question: why do so many children go without the specialized care they need simply because of where they were born? I dove into the research. I read everything I could about access to care for speech-language pathologists and the families we serve. It became clear that this wasn't just an administrative problem. We as clinicians had a role to play too.
Then I went home to Aruba.
A family friend approached me about a child with severe feeding difficulties. I did a quick consult and was confident I could connect this family with a qualified provider in Aruba who could continue their care. I was wrong. No matter how hard I looked, I couldn't find one. Not because providers didn't want to help — but because there was no specialized training in pediatric feeding and swallowing accessible to clinicians in Aruba. The expertise simply didn't exist there.
The access gap I had been reading about and discussing in the United States was happening right in front of me, in my hometown, the place where I was born and raised. And I realized I wasn't doing anything about it in the place that mattered most to me.
Talk Eat Play is my answer to that moment. It exists to bring specialized pediatric feeding and swallowing care to families who have never had access to it - starting in Aruba, across the Caribbean, and beyond.
"Advancing Pediatric Feeding Care Through Family, Technology & Access"
OUR MISSION
MEET THE FOUNDER & CLINICIAN
Dr. Cindy Herdé
SLPD, CCC-SLP, CLC
I am a pediatric feeding and swallowing specialist with 21 years of clinical experience and a deep commitment to making specialized care accessible to every family, no matter where they live.
My work sits at the intersection of clinical excellence, technology, and health equity. As a healthcare innovation fellow and doctoral-level clinician, I have spent my career not only caring for children with feeding and swallowing challenges, but working to reshape how and where that care reaches families.
I am originally from Aruba and that is not a footnote in my story. It is the reason Talk Eat Play exists.
WHY IT MATTERS
Feeding challenges don't wait for access to catch up.
For many children, eating is not simple. Feeding and swallowing difficulties can affect a child's nutrition, growth, development, and quality of life — and the families navigating these challenges need expert guidance, not a waiting list or a referral that leads nowhere.
In much of the Caribbean and beyond, that expert guidance has simply not existed. Families have been left to manage on their own, without the specialized support their children need and deserve.
Talk Eat Play was built to change that — using technology to bring specialized care directly to families, wherever they are, and to train the providers who serve their communities.
WHAT WE STAND FOR
Our values
Ready to take the next step?
Whether you're a family looking for support or a provider ready to grow, we're here.