Terria Miller, M.S.P., CCC-SLP, is now a graduate of the Apraxia Kids Intensive Training Institute (Apraxia Boot Camp) and is considered Recognized by Apraxia Kids for Advanced Training and Expertise in Childhood Apraxia of Speech.

With over 25 years of experience in diverse medical settings, I offer a unique clinical perspective that spans the entire human lifespan. My career is defined by two distinct chapters: the first half dedicated to adult and geriatric rehabilitation, and the past 13 years focused on the pediatric population, ranging from 18 months to 18 years old. As a comprehensive generalist, I maintain high-level proficiency across the full scope of our field, including speech, language, swallowing, voice, and cognition. However, my journey as a lifelong learner recently led me to a specialized calling: Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS). Over the past five years, I have translated my foundational experience into deep expertise in CAS through intensive research and advanced clinical training. By combining decades of medical insight with cutting-edge motor-speech intervention, my goal is to serve as a cornerstone for communication in my community, empowering children to find their voices for a lifetime.

Terria offers services in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
Check out Terria’s Apraxia Kids SLP Directory Listing to learn more.

Apraxia Kids: What are the top 3 things you learned from this training experience?
Terria:

1. I learned that CAS is very complex speech disorder that requires several assessments and other diagnostic tools to diagnose.
2. I learned that CAS could span throughout a person’s entire life, having a lasting impact on socioeconomic, financial, mental health, and vocational outcomes.
3. I learned that there are various treatments for CAS. There is not just a particular treatment that will garner the best results, but there may be a necessity to use treatments in a consecutive manner to optimize the child’s motor speech skills.

Apraxia Kids: How did the boot camp experience change or expand your network of colleagues/friends?
Terria: The bootcamp experience allowed me to meet colleagues from all over the world who share the same passion for CAS as I do. Additionally, it allowed me to network with SLPs who want to become the best community support in their perspective cities to assist children and families through the process of improving the communication and overall lives of the children.

Apraxia Kids: Describe how you have implemented the knowledge you gained at boot camp.
Terria: I have implemented the acknowledged I gain at boot camp to improve my treatment and assessment of children with suspected CAS and those who were currently being treated for the disorder. The information I learned during the boot camp helped me to create more functional treatment goals, to employ additional assessment resources, and to work through challenges with less difficulty.

Apraxia Kids: What is an example of how you have been able to (or plan to) use your expertise as a local resource/support for other professionals and/or families since attending the intensive training?
Terria: I was able to guide a fellow colleague in the proper way to assess and treat CAS using the information that I learned during boot camp. I did not share any specific written information; however, I was able to guide her with using DTTC properly and with using more than one assessment to make a definitive diagnosis.

Apraxia Kids: What would you say to someone considering applying to boot camp next round?
Terria: I would say just do it! The information that you will learn is not just for you but for all of those little ones that you see who can’t tell you what it is they want to say!