Today we’d like to introduce you to Lauren Smith.
Hi Lauren, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I opened Speak Up Therapies, LLC in May of 2024. My company lives by the mission of Proverbs 31:8. I aim to give a voice to those who have difficulties with communication. I provide pediatric speech, language and feeding services in the comfort of my patient’s own homes and schools.
When I graduated from school, I dreamed of owning my own business, but never thought I would do it this early in life. However, after 5 years of working in various settings as a speech-language pathologist, I was already feeling burned out. I loved my job, but felt there was a better way to love and serve my patients, as well as offer more flexibility for myself.
Today, I see on average about 3 patients a day during the week. I travel to my patients’ homes, schools and daycares and am able to spend much more time with them individually than I ever could have imagined in my previous jobs. I have created great relationships with the families I serve and am truly feeling like I am making a difference in their lives. I am able to plan sessions that are individualized to the patient and create an environment that is conducive to learning for him or her.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
After graduation, I felt like I had finally made it. I had graduated with my Masters and could finally do the job I had worked so hard to do. Getting into graduate school itself is difficult as a speech-language pathology major and balancing both graduate level classes and clinical rotations was a hard journey, so when I found myself burned out 5 years into my dream job, I felt defeated.
However, since opening my own practice, I have felt freedom again. I have learned the joys of unrushed and individualized therapy, as well as giving myself more time to breathe in between each session. The biggest challenges since opening my own practice include learning how to grow my caseload, completing more business-oriented administration tasks that I did not learn in graduate school, as well as navigating a bit of a pay-cut in the beginning. By the grace of God, I grow every day in all these areas.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Speak Up Therapies, LLC centers around Proverbs 31:8, which says “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves.”
This company began after months of prayer, and ultimately a big leap of faith. Due to this, I aim to serve my patients daily out of the overflow of love God has already given me. He has given me the gifts I have in communication and serving children, and so I aim to use those gifts daily through Speak Up Therapies.
In addition to creating a loving, Christ-centered environment, I also offer more individualized care for each of my patients that I believe is lacking in schools and other private practices. I come to the patient’s home and create an environment that is best for him or her. Sometimes that means we do therapy on the swing in his or her backyard, and other times it means doing therapy at the local library to create opportunities to grow social skills with other peers.
Over the years, I have grown in many different clinical skills, but I have spent a greater amount of time completing continuing education courses on Childhood Apraxia of Speech (CAS). I am trained at the introductory level on an apraxia treatment protocol called PROMPT, that utilizes touch cues to help guide a patient to verbalize words, phrases and sentences. I am also recognized by the Apraxia-Kids directory as a speech-language pathologist with foundational understanding in evaluating and treating children with apraxia of speech. In addition to this, I thoroughly enjoy my early intervention patients. With both CAS and early intervention, I truly get to see a child who had no voice, gain a means to communicate. It’s amazing!
Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
I listen to podcasts regularly throughout my week during my drives to patients in order to learn the latest in news and research for them. Two that I currently listen to are Speechie Side Up and The Feeding Pod. I enjoy Speechie Side Up for information on all things speech and language, and The Feeding Pod for all things feeding and tongue-tie related.
In the past, I have also received a lot of my continuing education from speechpathology.com and The Informed SLP. Both are great at keeping me up to date with the latest research in this ever-growing field.
This year, I am excited to attend the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Convention in Washington D.C.,where I will be able to attend in-depth continuing education courses and make connections with some of the most well-known therapists in the field from all across the U.S.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.speakuptherapies.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/speakuptherapies/
- Other: [email protected]
