Overcoming Apraxia

I have personally reached out to Laura through social media after reading her book twice. She is so kind and willing to help in anyway she can. She is a gift to the CAS world as an experienced SLP and mama. I would recommend this book to any parent who needs comfort, valuable information and guidance on next steps in their journey.

This book really doesn't have any objective value. I read it in the hopes that there would be some information that I could utilize at home to assist my child with the suspected apraxia issue; however, the majority of the book is the author using this as a platform to slam other SLTs as unqualified. Questionably, she never actually provides any evidence based information in the book. The only purpose of this book is to self promote the author and her website, and diminish other SLPs in the eyes of her readers so that potential clients will see her as the only potential savior for their children who may have CAS.I also find the omission of autism glaring. The only place in the book where autism is ever mentioned is in the potential other causes with a laundry list of potential causes of general definitions.This is the third book I have read related to speech delays. Prior to that, I read four books related to autism, and I have read countless clinical studies related to various issues. I have worked with three SLPs who have worked with my son related to his speech delay. I shared my opinion about the self serving nature of this book with the two who are currently working with my son so they know this type of garbage is circulating in the speech community.

I am a professor who studies childhood apraxia of speech and I use this book in both my undergraduate and graduate courses in speech sound disorders. Student feedback indicates that this has greatly enhanced their learning, taught them in great depth about CAS diagnosis and treatment, and the comorbid disorders and breadth of emotions parents and siblings may feel surrounding this diagnosis. I also invited Laura Smith to speak to my class and she was amazing!!! Definitely recommend that this book is required reading for every speech sound disorders class and that clinicians keep an extra copy to lend to families when working with a child with CAS. I had my students do a reflection on this book and later will be doing a project in which they write up a diagnostic report and treatment plan based on all the relevant details that Ms. Smith has peppered throughout. In sum, families, clinicians, faculty and students will all benefit greatly from this read— it’s chock full of research evidence and personal experience and it is beautifully written. It will absolutely stay on my syllabus.

I will never forget how I felt after hearing the words “your son has apraxia.” Heartbroken, sad, angry, empty, lost and in denial to name a few. I did what most parents would do after hearing a diagnosis and I hit the internet for information. Everything I was reading was scary. Apraxia is uncommon. Apraxia is a neurological disorder that he will not grow out of. Treatment consists of years and years of speech therapy. I couldn’t believe I was reading that he will always have to deal with having apraxia. What kind of future did he have? I stumbled across this author on Facebook. I am so glad I did. I quickly learned that she was a SLP who was very knowledgeable on apraxia. Bonus: she wrote a book about it! Let me tell you..this book couldn’t have arrived at a better time. Finally, something that had to do with apraxia made me smile! Each chapter that I read, I gained more and more hope for my son. I learned that he is going to be okay! This book is amazing. There is so much in here that parents like myself need to know! Most importantly, I learned just how special he is. How strong he will be in speech therapy. Laura’s daughter, Ashlynn in this book has become our little superhero. She is brave and has made big accomplishments in her life and our son will too!

This is a really great place to start if you’re trying to understand Apraxia of Speech/Verbal Apraxia/CAS. Personally, I felt like our SLPs that we’ve worked with in the past didn’t really explain the disorder to us clearly. A lot of what I tried to research was overly technical for a mom who just wanted to know what our future might look like. Laura writes the book from the perspective of a well informed parent, so as a mom I not only learned a lot but I also felt incredibly validated in all the emotions I have felt throughout our experience. It’s a quick read and I gave my mom the book to read after I finished it. If you have family members or educators in your child’s life who want to understand, I suggest getting this for them. I even brought it to an IEP meeting as a resource I offered to the team. Laura also has a great social media presence that serves to inform and support the Apraxia of Speech/Verbal Apraxia/CAS community. We need more resources like this in the world.

Fun story! I purchased this book before Christmas and felt that many of what Laura says in this book is us. Beautiful info, direction, resources, the whole kitten caboodle. I put it down the week of Christmas about half way through because, life. Yesterday our school SLP hit me with a whopper saying we needed to retest my son because they felt he is probably severe phonological rather than Apraxic and I was hit hard because I’ve spent 4 years becoming an expert in Apraxia of Speech, not severe Phonological disorders. I happen to pick up the book today, wondering if I had a dog in the fight I had been fighting all these years and stumble on this page. Laura actually addresses phonological disorders and I found peace. One, in having it explained so eloquently and for two, knowing I do still have a dog in the fight and that I was not wrong for thinking so.I recommend this book because you might know nothing about the journey, or you might know it all. My very best guess, though, is that you will learn something by reading it. In our world, even learning one new thing is absolutely priceless.Can’t wait to get a copy for the school...

Really good. This book would have been great when my son was 2, but i followed the authors blog from then. Enjoyed ut and well rounded and readable in presenting her experience of a mum and slp dealing with apraxia.

Amazing book if you have a child who is newly diagnosed with apraxia or you suspect a diagnosis. Really easy to read and understand. I read this in one night, and could not put it down! Very relatable content. Thank you so much for all the work you do and for spreading awareness of apraxia. This book has helped me on my journey as a apraxia mummy.

Laura's book is amazing! As a mum to a child with motor speech difficulties and also a SLP it was a great read. I recommend it to all my families I see

This was extremely helpful for my family. Thank you Laura