Lauren is the owner and founder of Graceful Speech-Language Therapy. Lauren is an ASHA certified and licensed speech-language pathologist in the state of Maryland. She completed her undergraduate degree at Kutztown University in Pennsylvania and earned her Master’s Degree in Speech-Language Pathology from Towson University in Maryland.
Lauren is extremely passionate about working with children with complex communication needs. She is a proud Apraxia Kids Boot Camp Graduate and is recognized by Apraxia Kids for having advanced training and expertise in childhood apraxia of speech (CAS). Lauren has received advanced training in evidence-based approaches for treatment of apraxia, including Dynamic Temporal and Tactile Cueing (DTTC). Through her over 13 years of experience in the field of speech-language pathology, Lauren has helped many children develop a functional and consistent means of communication through verbal communication, shaping vocal approximations, and augmentative and alternative communication. She spent some of her career at the Kennedy Krieger Institute, including working at the Center for Autism and Related Disorders (CARD). She participated in multidisciplinary teams to help identify children with autism spectrum disorders and provide evidence-based, individualized treatment. She later spent time working in both nonpublic and private schools. Lauren is committed to providing evidence-based and child-centered treatment. This involves viewing the child as a “whole” and engaging in a team-based approach, involving parents and other professionals working with the child. As a mom of four young children, Lauren thoroughly understands the importance of families feeling comfortable and confident with their child’s team. Lauren’s clinical areas of interest include autism spectrum disorders, childhood apraxia of speech, augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), receptive, expressive, and pragmatic language disorders, and articulation disorders.
Her certifications and trainings include a Certificate of Clinical Competence from the American Speech-Language Hearing Association (ASHA), licensed in the state of Maryland, PROMPT-trained, Language Acquisition through Motor Planning (LAMP) trained, MinSpeak trained, and Advanced Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) trained. Lauren also recently became a Hanen Certified SLP for the It Takes Two to Talk program.
In her free time, Lauren enjoys running and exploring the outdoors with her husband, her four young children (ages 6, 4, 2, and under 1), and their dog, Mando. She enjoys volunteering in her community. Lauren has led volunteer-based communication groups for young adults utilizing voice output communication devices and online circle-time groups for toddlers. Lauren has served as the co-coordinator for the Baltimore Apraxia Walk since 2022. She is also the Early Childhood Director at her local church.
