You know the decisions in life you anticipate will have a short-term impact, and then you look back decades later only to realize that single decision was the start of a completely unexpected life? That’s how my apraxia story begins.

It was 2008, my first semester of grad school, and I had just learned about my options for my culminating experience to graduate: comprehensive exam or thesis. I immediately knew I wanted to do a thesis (a comprehensive exam that covered 4 years of education didn’t sound like a fun time). I approached my professor about the possibility of doing a thesis and asked if he had any studies he wanted to do. He gave me two options; replicate a study that had already been done or trial his treatment approach with children with apraxia of speech (CAS). I chose the second option thinking it was my ticket out of grad school and that would be all.

I never expected that decision to ripple throughout my entire career as a speech therapist. I knew nothing about apraxia at that point. I had no clue how hard it would be to find participants for the study. I had no idea how hard children with CAS worked in order to be understood. The experience my thesis provided me was invaluable and irreplaceable. I’ve never once regretted the choice I made. Not only did it give me a unique grad school experience with more knowledge and experience with CAS than anyone else in my cohort had, it also gave me a path to pursue after grad school. The field of speech pathology is incredibly broad, but I knew I wanted to go the private practice route so I could continue to grow my knowledge and experience in working directly with children with CAS.

In the early years of my career, I took every apraxia related continuing education course I could find (or so I thought). And then one day the company I work for received a letter from Apraxia Kids inviting anyone with CAS experience to apply to be listed in their Directory. This was my first introduction to Apraxia Kids. I applied and was accepted to be listed in the Directory. Then, I learned about the annual conference and that it was being held in San Diego, only a 5-hour drive from me. I went and had the most amazing time. A whole conference dedicated to apraxia?! Nothing gets better than that. After, I was given the opportunity to attend “Bootcamp” where I made some lifelong connections with other CAS-passioned speech therapists as well as with Apraxia Kids. The very next year I started coordinating our local Walk for Apraxia in order to give back to Apraxia Kids for all of the education and opportunity they provided me and to celebrate the amazing kids I get to work with.

I can’t tell you how many children with CAS I’ve worked with since that decision in 2008, but I can tell you my favorite moment remains the same – it’s the one where they realize they can take control, they can say what they want to say, and their confidence starts to shine. I can also tell you that getting to be on their team and being the one helping them find their voice has been an honor for me. I have so many vivid memories of kids’ first words or first time saying a new word. I often wonder if their parents realize those moments became important memories for me just like they did for them.

All the kids I’ve worked with (and the ones I haven’t worked with yet) will always hold special places in my heart. As I sat down to write this, I tried to think of a specific story to include, but I couldn’t pick just one. N finally being able to say “mama,” R trying to say her name for the first time, M starting to combine smooth sentences, Z tackling his challenging words, C finding his voice and being able to communicate verbally, T being understood by his teachers at school. The list goes on and on. I still remember the kids who participated in my thesis and even reconnected with one 13 years later. I am thankful every day I made that decision in grad school to try something new. It took me on adventures I never would have thought to dream about.

I look forward to many more years of hearing first words and joining more Apraxia Stars’ teams. To any current or future SLPs reading this, don’t be afraid of apraxia. These kids need us to be fearless in leading them. There are so many free educational resources available to us. Take advantage of them and watch the amazing things that happen when you shift to true motor speech therapy.

To any parents reading this, keep cheering and finding the right team for your child. Therapy for CAS is intensive, but give your child breaks. Those are just as important as the intense practice. It will make a difference.

And to the children or adults with CAS reading this, you inspire me and motivate me to show up to work every day as a better clinician than I was the day before. Your words matter.

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