Today we’d like to introduce you to Kristie Knickerbocker.
Kristie, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
My story begins with a scared high-school senior unsure if her vocal performance scholarship would be fulfilled. I had a vocal injury at 18 and required surgery to fix it. I received excellent care in the form of voice rehabilitation for my speaking and singing voice to prevent recurrence. Struggling to find a balance between the slow and humbling road to recovery and keeping up with my other voice major friends, I decided to change majors. I really liked what my Speech-Language Pathologist had done for me, and I wanted to help other injured singers like myself. In school, I got as much voice experience as I could, shadowing other clinicians and attending seminars to further my knowledge for the care of the professional voice. I attended master classes and workshops on the singing voice as well. When the chance came for me to start doing free-lance voice exams, I jumped on it and have never looked back. I would not be where I am today without the tremendous support of my husband and family. With his knowledge and guidance, I was able to form my own company and continue to learn and grow as I add more to my business and practice.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Definitely not smooth. When you’re starting something that does not exist in Fort Worth, it is scary. You know there’s a huge need for voice treatment for singers, preachers, teachers, call center workers, pretty much anyone who uses voice to make a living. You have to be ready for things not to go your way regarding credentialing with insurance companies, forging working relationships with physicians and billing for your services. Most of my patients are fabulous, and that’s what keeps me going. They drive me to be always searching for the latest research based treatment methods for what I recommend regarding their cases. The struggles come when a patient may not like your treatment method, or maybe even you as a person. You have to let those days roll off and keep doing the best you can. I’m only human, but I care a great deal about what I do.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
I currently run “a tempo Voice Center” in Fort Worth, Texas. It is a voice and swallowing rehabilitation clinic seeing a variety of voice users and dysphagia patients. I consider myself a Speech-Language Pathologist by trade, as that’s my Texas license and Certificate of Clinical Competence, but I am more specifically a Vocologist, meaning I treat voice disorders like vocal polyps, cysts, nodules, and post-operative care. I have the ability to examine your vocal folds in slow motion to better determine what’s causing your hoarseness with a camera on your tongue. I provide behavioral, acoustic and aerodynamic voice analysis as well. I also do an exam where I view your swallow mechanism with a camera in your nose to determine if food/liquid is going down the wrong way. Many SLP’s only see children for speech and language disorders, but my sub-specialty sets me apart from those SLP’s because it’s a very specific line of work. I am also a singing voice specialist, and currently am the official voice care provider for the Fort Worth Opera. My swallowing patients usually are post stroke or cancer, and I treat them with exercises and neuro-muscular electrical stimulation of their swallow muscles to help them eat normal foods again. I also create and sell resources online for other SLP’s. These manuals and games are created to help the SLP who may not specialize in voice, but needs to treat a few patients on caseload who have voice or swallow problems. The name “a tempo” means a lot to me because it’s a musical term that means to return to the original tempo, after deviating from it for a bit during a song. I find that if I can help my patients with anything, it is getting back to some kind of voice or swallowing normal. Music is such a part of me, I had to find a way to incorporate it into my business name.
What were you like growing up?
I have always loved singing, musical theatre and acting. I played the lead in many productions, so I can understand the pressure some artists feel for juggling it all and keeping your voice in tip-top shape. I enjoy helping people as well and have always loved volunteering for a cause. I get to marry my love of music with my ability to interact with others every day in my job. I’ve always been outgoing, very interested in learning and never scared to take a risk. I think that has served me well with creating and managing this company.
Contact Info:
- Address: a tempo Voice Center
1250 8th Avenue Suite 135
Fort Worth, Texas 76104 - Website: www.atempovoicecenter.com
- Phone: 817-262-3773
- Email: info@atempovoicecenter.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kristie_voice/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/atempovoicecenter/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/atempovoice
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/a-tempo-voice-center-fort-worth
- Other: http://www.atempovoicecenter.com/all-products/
Image Credit:
Kristie Knickerbocker, a tempo Voice Center
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