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About

From speech therapy to learning design.

I’m a learning experience designer with clinical roots. I build dynamic, accessible e-learning grounded in how the mind actually develops and retains understanding — because all learners can succeed when instruction is strategically scaffolded and accessible.

Alyssa Hirschi, instructional designer.

A decade of listening before designing

Before I designed learning online, I spent nearly a decade as a licensed Speech-Language Technician — delivering speech therapy and structured-literacy reading interventions to learners across public schools, online programs, and university clinics in Utah.

That work taught me to meet people exactly where they are. Every intervention was a small, evidence-based design problem: break the goal down, remove the friction, and build the scaffolding that lets understanding click into place. It’s also where I learned that being a speech therapist makes me unusually well-equipped for human-centered design.

I completed my M.Ed. in Educational Technology & Instructional Design while working as a Speech-Language Technician in the Ogden School District and a reading tutor at the University of Utah Reading Clinic — bringing that same instinct to digital learning, and pairing the science of cognition with the craft of clean, welcoming, accessible course design.

How I work

01

Learner-first

I start with the human on the other side of the screen — their context, motivation, and the cognitive load they’re carrying. All learners can succeed when instruction is strategically scaffolded and accessible.

02

Evidence-based

Backward design, Gagné’s Nine Events, Merrill’s First Principles, spaced practice and retrieval — the science of learning and proven ID frameworks shape every decision, not just the polish.

03

Accessible by default

Universal Design for Learning, WCAG, plain language, and clear structure are baked in from the first storyboard — never bolted on at the end.

Education & credentials

  • M.Ed., Educational Technology & Instructional Design
    Western Governors University
  • M.S. track, SLP Outreach Program
    Utah State University
  • B.S., Communicative Disorders & Deaf Education (Music minor)
    Utah State University
C-SLPA
Certified Speech-Language Pathology Assistant (ASHA).
Utah SLT license
Licensed Speech-Language Technician (teaching).

Tools & toolkit

Authoring & development

Articulate 360NearpodCanvaScreenPalPadletTalentLMSLovable

Frameworks & standards

ADDIE · SAMBackward DesignGagné’s Nine EventsMerrill’s First PrinciplesUDLWCAG

Clinical foundation

Structured LiteracyPhonological AwarenessSpeech Sound DisordersIEP CollaborationLanguage DisordersExecutive Functioning

Let’s make something learners will actually remember.

Tell me about your audience and the change you’re hoping to see.

Alyssa Hirschi
Instructional Designer · Human-centered learning
© 2026