Edvin Ovasapyan is a first generation American with a dream to empower kids with speech impediments. Ovasapyan’s family immigrated from the former Soviet Caucasus, Armenia, and settled in Los Angeles when he was a child. He grew up with English as a third language and saw the struggles that immigrant families face in their new country. As an immigrant, Edvin Ovasapyan had to work extra hard to home in on his own language skills, speaking with his parents in Farsi and Armenian, and his school friends in English.
As a businessman, Edvin never took anything for a given and dreamed big. Now, he runs an avocado and coffee farming business. Edvin is gritty, competitive and entrepreneurial. He faced and overcame many business and personal challenges throughout his diverse career. Yet, the biggest one he faced was when his kids were diagnosed with speech impediment challenges. “It was one of the greatest family challenges for me,” posits Ovasapyan.
We had to find the right speech therapists and overcome frustration and behavioral problems that were predicated on my kids speech development problems. There is scattered information and no real roadmap. Doctors, therapist and consultants are expensive. This is why Edvin launched a 501(c)3 nonprofit, Dream Out Loud Foundation (www.dreamoutloudfoundation.org). His nonprofit aims to educate, support, and fund speech therapy for children such as his own. Speech is a critical part of a child’s development – words are magic for children, explains Ovasapyan. That’s why our team of passionate speech-language pathologists and therapists work tirelessly to create individualized treatment plans that inspire confidence, foster growth, and unlock each child’s unique potential.
Dream Out Loud’s mission goes beyond therapy sessions and parents’ support groups, which the foundation hosts quarterly in Los Angeles and Miami Beach.
We’re committed to creating a supportive and inclusive community where families are empowered. Through Dream Out Loud workshops, support groups, and advocacy initiatives, we raise awareness about the importance of early intervention and the critical role communication plays in a child’s development.
Speech language pathologists work with people of all ages, from babies to adults. Edvin’s focus is specifically on children’s speech issues because kids are the most vulnerable and their formative years the road map to their entire life as adults:
Speech sounds—how we say sounds and put sounds together into words. Other words for these problems are articulation or phonological disorders, apraxia of speech, or dysarthria.
Language—how well we understand what we hear or read and how we use words to tell others what we are thinking. In adults this problem may be called aphasia.
Literacy—how well we read and write. children with speech and language disorders may also have trouble reading, spelling, and writing.
Social communication—how well kids follow rules, like taking turns, how to talk to different people, or how close to stand to someone when talking. This is also called pragmatics.
Voice—how our voices sound. We may sound hoarse, lose our voices easily, talk too loudly or through our noses, or be unable to make sounds.
Fluency—also called stuttering, is how well speech flows. Someone who stutters may repeat sounds, like t-t-t-table, use “um” or “uh,” or pause a lot when talking. Many young children will go through a time when they stutter, but most outgrow it.
Cognitive-communication—how well our minds work. Problems may involve memory, attention, problem solving, organization, and other thinking skills.
Feeding and swallowing—how well we suck, chew, and swallow food and liquid. A swallowing disorder may lead to poor nutrition, weight loss, and other health problems. This is also called dysphagia.
About 1 in 12 children in the United States has a speech or swallowing disorder. Disorders are most common in young children. If not treated, these disorders can lead to speech problems in adult life. About one million adults in the United States have aphasia (difficulty expressing or comprehending written and verbal language).
It is well established that children with speech sound disorder comprise a large proportion of most school-based speech-language pathologists’ caseloads. This statistic is not surprising, given consistent evidence that speech sound disorder is one of the most common pediatric communication disorders.
Edvin conducted a great deal of his research while searching for treatment solutions for his own children. Speech-language pathologist named Barbara Hodson developed a treatment method that he found useful. Therapist Laura Finkel’s language sampling have also influenced Ovasapyan in his search for new treatment methods.
Speech therapists or speech-language pathologists assess and treat people of all ages. Dream Out Loud aims to provide qualified children’s speech therapists to families in need. Edvin’s Dream Out Loud foundation is based in Miami Beach, Florida, but aims to provide support to families with afflicted children all over America. “As we grow, we want to create not just a national support network, but also an awareness movement.” When my family faced this challenge, we felt alone. I want to change the treatment and support playing field for kids with speech problems, posits Ovasapyan.
Referencing a Walt Disney quote, Edvin points out, “if you can dream it, you can do it”. He explains that this quote was the inspiration for his charity’s name – Dream Out Loud.