Katherine McKernan-McCracken, SLPD, CCC-SLP/L, 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.

Dr. Katherine McKernan-McCracken founded North Star Speech and Language in San Diego, CA in 2020. She specializes in supporting individuals with CAS, Deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals, and supporting the use of speech-generating devices. She utilizes a holistic, neurodiversity-affirming, child-led approach to speech-language pathology. Dr. Katherine utilizes a variety of research-based methods to support individuals with CAS, including ultrasound visual biofeedback. Dr. Katherine is a passionate advocate for improving the understanding of intersectionality, depathologizing autism and disability, and supporting lifelong learning and application of research in the field of speech-language pathology. She loves working closely with parents and families to give them the tools to confidently support their child’s development. When she’s not working at North Star, you can find her at the pottery studio, hanging with her cats, or crocheting.

 

Katherine offers services in San Diego, California.
Check out Katherine’s Apraxia Kids SLP Directory Listing to learn more.

 

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

Katherine: My biggest takeaway is the use of probe data to help me better quantify the accuracy of a child’s speech movements during sessions. The intensive training also helped me better understand how to select achievable goals for my clients using Dr. Kathy Jakielski’s Building Speech and Quantifying Complexity (2022). Working closely with my boot camp mentor, I also received valuable feedback about my report writing skills.

 

Apraxia Kids: How did the boot camp experience change or expand your network of colleagues/friends?

Katherine: It has been so special to meet like-minded SLPs from across the world. During the evenings at boot camp, I enjoyed discussing real life clinical issues related to CAS and related to other important topics. The participants from my cohort have an active WhatsApp chat where we keep in touch and support each other’s clinical questions.

 

Apraxia Kids: Describe how you have implemented the knowledge you gained at boot camp.

Katherine: I have been utilizing probe data to better understand and track my clients’ speech movements for target words. I also utilize Building Speech and Quantifying Complexity (Jakielski, 2022) to better understand how to select achievable targets for my clients. I have utilized research-backed assessment measures, such as the Pro-CAD (Iuzzini-Seigel et al., 2022), the Intelligibility in Context Scale (ICS; MacLeod et al., 2012), and the Speech Participation and Activity Assessment of Children (SPAA-C; McLeod, 2004) with many clients, including those without CAS.

 

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?

Katherine: The information I learned was immediately applicable. I already presented to my employees on three occasions about resources I learned about through the intensive training. I will also be presenting at the California Speech-Language Hearing Association (CSHA) in March 2026 on CAS assessment and intervention.

 

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

Katherine: Boot camp will blow your mind by how much there is to know about CAS and how much SLPs stand to learn.