Our Team
Natalia Meehan
Natalia Meehan serves as the Director and Co-Founder of Flowering Futures, where she leads with a commitment to respectful, relationship-centered support for nonspeaking and neurodivergent individuals. With a dual academic background in Environmental Science and Psychology from Tulane University, Natalia brings an interdisciplinary lens to her work, integrating neuroscience, somatic regulation, and holistic health.
Over the past decade, she has supported autistic and nonspeaking individuals with apraxia, specializing in spelling-based communication methods. Clinically trained in herbalism, Natalia incorporates body-based practices to support nervous system regulation, communication, and overall well-being. Her practice is grounded in both scientific training and holistic modalities, allowing her to bridge conventional and alternative approaches with care and precision.
Natalia’s dedication is deeply personal, shaped by her experience with her nonspeaking sister Nina. This lived experience continues to inform her advocacy, consulting, and program development for families and professionals. At Flowering Futures, she fosters a space where communication is honored, embodiment is supported, and each individual is met with dignity and endless possibility.
As a trained and trusted Communication and Regulation Partner (CRP), herbalist, and integrative health coach, Natalia works directly with nonspeaking individuals to teach and support purposeful motor skills through spelling to communicate. Her sessions combine purposeful motor skill practice with nervous system regulation. In addition to working with spellers, she collaborates closely with families, educators, and caregivers to create personalized lifestyle and wellness protocols—drawing from her training in herbal medicine, functional health, and somatic healing—to promote sustained well-being, regulation, and meaningful connection across all environments.
Caroline Mazza
Caroline Mazza is a licensed physical therapist with over 25 years of experience supporting children with disabilities, particularly in public school settings. Her career has focused on pediatric care, inclusive education, and movement-based therapies for children with complex communication and motor needs.
Caroline’s approach integrates functional neurology with alternative communication methods, including spelling to communicate. Her advanced training with Dr. Brandon Crawford and Dr. Robert Melillo has shaped her ability to support regulation, sensory integration, and brain-body connection in neurodivergent children.
After years in the school system, Caroline transitioned into private practice, where she collaborated with a functional medicine doctor to deliver individualized, holistic care. She continues to consult with school districts on inclusion strategies and supports the development of programs that help nonspeaking students thrive in general education environments.
At Flowering Futures, Caroline draws on her clinical background and education-based experience to create accessible, movement-informed supports that center each child's regulation, communication, and dignity. She has also contributed to advocacy efforts through her work with the Nina Foundation, and served on the Board of Directors for Team Woofgang, promoting neurodivergent inclusion and opportunity.
Nina Meehan
Nina Meehan is a 19‑year‑old autistic self‑advocate and the inspiring founder of The Nina Foundation, a nonprofit for spellers. After spending 17 years “locked inside,” she found her voice through Spelling to Communicate (S2C), a method that has allowed her to express her rich inner world.
Her lived experience with apraxia informs her bold advocacy: autism is not a cognitive disability—it is a motor‑skill condition—and every non-speaker deserves the dignity of presumed competence. Nina works tirelessly to shift societal narratives, educating families, professionals, and institutions about the power of communication given the right support.
Through The Nina Foundation, she promotes spelling training and resources, and is leading the development of our educational center at Flowering Futures in Fairfield, CT, to make spelling‑based communication accessible to more individuals. Nina’s vision: to “liberate nonspeakers from being silenced” and ensure every individual has the opportunity to express their intelligence, feelings, and desires freely. She has been featured in Psychology Today sharing her story. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/psychology-meets-neurodiversity/202403/nina-a-nonspeaker-who-found-her-voice
Her authorship is supported by research, including a 2020 eye‑tracking study demonstrating genuine communicative intent in nonspeakers using S2C. She is advocating for much more intentional research to come with respect to nonspeaking subjects. She serves as an advisor on The Telepathy Tapes Documentary, ensuring that the nonspeaking experience is depicted with love and accuracy. Through public speaking/spelling, outreach, and her foundation's initiatives, Nina is building a world where no one remains unheard—expanding access, awareness, and possibility for millions globally.