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They also share a 10-year friendship, tons of support from their significant others and – after several years of seeing clients in their homes – a new office in a popular township shopping center.
“We met after graduate school when we were hired at an acute rehab facility within days of each other and found out we would be sharing an office,” Tress said. “We quickly went from strangers to supportive co-workers to very good friends.
“After leaving our common job, we mirrored each other professionally, taking similar paths and with separate companies and, more importantly, continuing to grow our friendship.”
With a push from their husbands, Tress and Lucarelli created Precision Therapy LLC in 2013. Last November, with another boost, they opened their own shop at the Valley Ridge Shopping Center on Valley Road.
Both are licensed New Jersey speech-language pathologists and hold ASHA Certificates of Clinical Competency.
Tress is a graduate of New York Medical College, where she earned a Master of Science degree in speech-language pathology and was the recipient of the Award for Clinical Excellence in 2009.
She boasts 10 years of experience treating both children and adults with speech, language, swallowing and cognitive deficits – specializing in autism, language and speech delays, oral motor weakness, traumatic brain injury, strokes, Parkinson's, MS, dementia and more.
Tress, who grew up in Ringwood, has worked in private schools, the Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation, sub-acute facilities, long-term care facilities and home-care settings.
Lucarelli, a Wayne native, received her Bachelor of Arts in communication disorders from West Chester University and a Master of Science degree in speech-language pathology from Marywood University, where she was a member of the Alpha Epsilon Lambda Honor Society.
She later completed an intensive Clinical Fellowship at Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation
Lucarelli also specializes in speech and language delays, oral motor weakness, traumatic brain injuries, strokes, head and neck cancers, dementia, Parkinson's and MS, and has extensive experience dysphagia and swallowing difficulties.
She provides speech therapy services to children for improved articulation, speech and language development.
Their strengths, Tress said include “a very diverse background of experience in the field working with people across the lifespan.
“We can understand the role of parents who entrust us to care for their children because we are parents ourselves.”
Pediatric areas of treatment include language delays, autism, apraxia, speech and articulation deficits, social skills, reading skills and auditory comprehension, as well as fluency disorders, she said.
Adult/geriatric areas of treatment include aphasia, dysphagia/feeding difficulties, apraxia, fluency disorders, cognitive impairments and voice disorders.
The two friends also handle all ends of the business.
“When you call, you speak to us, book appointments with us and see one of us for therapy sessions,” Tress said.
In the end, it comes down to a passion for helping others.
“Our business relationship is built upon our friendship,” Tress said. “We share the same values for helping others, valuing education and wanting to be involved and serve our local community.”
- 600 Valley Road Suite 206A, Wayne
- PHONE: (315) 889-1690
- FAX: (201) 644-3731
- EMAIL: Precisiontherapyllc@gmail.com
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