17 Jun Congratulations Laura Deer, M.S. CCC/SLP, CAS

Congratulations to Laura Deer, M.S. CCC/SLP, CAS, for graduating from the Apraxia Kids Intensive Training Institute (Apraxia Boot Camp)!

Laura completed her undergraduate and graduate coursework from Florida State University in 2004. She had experience in the school system and clinic setting before she started Deer Speech Therapy. She currently provides therapy in the natural environments for her clients in the Los Angeles area. Her therapeutic approach is individualized for her client’s needs. She combines strategies such as parent coaching for early intervention, DTTC, PROMPT, Floortime visual cues, and many more. She adjusts her approach to ensure client success. She provides sensory cues and allows for movement during the sessions to make therapy fun and naturalistic. Families are always encouraged to participate and observe in therapy sessions.  She feels parents are the experts in their children while she has years and experience working with children with communication delays. She joins the parents as a team to provide a holistic approach to meet every child’s individual needs.

She has been awarded the ASHA ACE award twice in a row for continuing education and is always adding new trainings. In April 2019, she was recognized by Apraxia Kids for advanced training and expertise in childhood apraxia of speech. She has been a Certified Autism Specialist since June 2015.

Apraxia Kids: If you were to state the #1 thing you learned from this training experience, what would that be?

Laura: I have a better understanding how different evidenced-based practices for apraxia of speech can be used together and how to better incorporate in the principals of motor learning.

Apraxia Kids: Tell us about any relationships that you formed through the training experience.

Laura: Apraxia Kids boot camp gave me the opportunity to connect and network with a group of ambitious brilliant speech language pathologists who specialize in CAS.  I now feel like I have a reliable network to ask questions to and obtain new resources.  I’m already using the network and feel so blessed that I can keep learning from this group!

Apraxia Kids: Have you served as a local resource/information source for other professionals and families since attending the intensive training?

Laura: I’ve been a recourse to the online community in many Apraxia Kids Facebook support groups.  Many parents are new to learning about apraxia and they want what is best for their children.  I’m able to answer some of their questions to help guide them in the right direction.  I’m also involved with many local SLP groups and connect with other SLPs in the area.  I’m able to be a resource to them and consult with some of their clients.

Apraxia Kids: What would you say to someone considering applying to boot camp next year?

Laura: You should definitely apply if you are passionate and dedicated to working with children with childhood apraxia of speech.  The whole process was a lot of work but every minute of it was totally worth it.